Carlos Javier Delgado Rodríguez (; born 22 April 1990) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Club career

Early years and Sparta

Born in

Puerto Real Puerto Real () is a municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , it had a population of 42,151. The town is located on the northern shore of the inner lobe of the Bay of Cádiz. It wa ...

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Delgado joined

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

's youth system at the age of 15. In early 2008, he rejected a new contract and went on trial with

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

, finally signing in January 2009 but failing to make a single appearance, subsequently returning to his country and joining

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

, who assigned the player to their reserves. In summer 2010, Delgado signed with another

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

UD Almería B Unión Deportiva Almería "B" is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 2001, it is the reserve team of UD Almería and currently plays in , holding home gam ...

. In January of the following year, after playing only five matches in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

, he returned to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and Sparta on loan. He made his debut for the latter – who now competed in

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

– on 28 January, against

RBC Roosendaal RBC, previously known as RBC Roosendaal, is a football club based in Roosendaal, Netherlands. RBC currently plays in the fifth-tier Vierde Divisie after bankruptcy in 2011, restarting the club in the tenth tier Vijfde Klasse. History 1912– ...

(4–1 home win). On 11 February, he scored in a 3–2 away victory over

FC Dordrecht Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...

. Delgado returned to Spain in July 2011, joining

Orihuela CF Orihuela Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1993 it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio Municipal Los Arcos'', with a capacity of 7,000 seats. History On 4 August 1993, th ...

also in the third division.

Valencia

On 12 June 2012, Delgado signed a two-year contract with

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

, being initially a part of the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

setup in the third tier. He made his debut for Mestalla on 26 August against

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

and, the following month, was called up to train with the main squad by manager

Mauricio Pellegrino Mauricio Andrés Pellegrino Luna (; born 5 October 1971) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, currently manager of Lanús. After nearly one decade with Vélez Sarsfield, he spent the vast majority of his ...

due to Ricardo Costa's injury; on the 29th, he was an unused substitute for a

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

game against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

. Delgado made his competitive debut for the ''Che'' on 2 October 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home defeat of

Lille OSC Lille Olympique Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as LOSC, LOSC Lille or simply Lille, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lille, Northern France competing in Ligue 1, the top division of Football in Franc ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Leganés

On 8 August 2014, Delgado joined

CD Leganés Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid. They currently compete in La Liga, the first tier of the Spanish league system. Leganés was officially founded 23 June 1928 and played thei ...

who had recently promoted to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. He made his debut for the club on 23 November, starting in a 1–0 away loss against

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Miranda de Ebro, Province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 3 May 1927, the club competes in the Segunda División ...

. After appearing in 13 competitive matches, Delgado was released.

Recreativo and Albacete

On 2 August 2015, Delgado signed a one-year deal with

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

of the third division. On 28 June 2016 he moved to

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

in the same league, and achieved promotion to division two as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Later career

On 16 July 2018,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Delgado agreed to a three-year contract with third-tier

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

. One year later, he was loaned to

franchise

Odisha FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

. Delgado spent the 2021–22 season with

CD Atlético Baleares Club Deportivo Atlético Baleares, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Palma de Mallorca, Palma, the capital of the Mallorca, island of Mallorca, in the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. Foun ...

in the newly created

Primera División RFEF Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

. In June 2022 he returned to Odisha, reuniting with manager

Josep Gombau Josep Gombau Balague (born 5 June 1976) is a Spanish professional football manager. He is a former Barcelona youth team coach and has held multiple positions at the club's youth academy. Career Born in Amposta, Tarragona, Catalonia, Gombau w ...

. He made his official debut on 17 August, in a 6–0 rout of

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

in the

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

Career statistics

Honours

Odisha *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delgado, Carlos 1990 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Cádiz Men's association football central defenders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Primera Federación players Atlético Malagueño players Real Valladolid Promesas players UD Almería B players Orihuela CF players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players CD Leganés players Recreativo de Huelva players Albacete Balompié players CD Castellón footballers CD Atlético Baleares footballers Eerste Divisie players Sparta Rotterdam players Indian Super League players Odisha FC players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India