Iván Calero Ruiz (born 21 April 1995) is a Spanish

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 either a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

or a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

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 ...

. He began his career at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, playing in its

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

teams before joining

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in 2014. He had two years at the English club, and spent a short loan at

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

before having a one-year spell at Dutch side

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 ...

and subsequently returning to Spain, where he played for

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

before establishing himself in the

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 ...

. Calero has represented Spain internationally, up to under-19 level.

Club career

Atlético Madrid

Born in

Parla Parla () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the southern part of the region, approximately 20 km from the capital, Madrid. History Origins Earliest evidence of human occupation includes stone tools m ...

in the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

, Calero graduated from local

's youth system, and made his senior debut with the C-team in the 2011–12 campaign, in

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. He appeared regularly in the following season, also making his senior debut with the reserves in

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 ...

on 9 September 2012, replacing Pedro Martín after 60 minutes of a 1–3 loss at

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 ...

. On 20 February 2013 Calero was called up to the main squad by manager

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970), nicknamed "El Cholo" (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He has been the manager of club Atlético Madrid since December 2011 mak ...

for a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match against

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–2 ...

. However, he remained unused in the eventual 1–0 away win. On 19 May 2013, in only his second match with the reserves, Calero scored his first senior goal, netting the last of a 4–1 win at Rayo Vallecano B. He was definitely promoted to the B-team in the 2013 summer, and scored four goals in 29 matches in 2013–14.

Derby County

In July 2014, Calero went to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

, and signed a two-year deal with the ''Rams'' on 18 July. Manager Steve McLaren said "He's a young player with excellent pedigree. We are really pleased that he sees his future at Derby County." Calero played his first match as a professional on 26 August, replacing Simon Dawkins for the last 20 minutes of a League Cup victory over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

Pride Park Pride Park is a business park on the southern outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. It covers 80 hectares of contaminated former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines, and was developed between the 1990s and ear ...

, netting the game's only goal in the 87th minute. On 14 September he played in the league for the first time, replacing

John Eustace John Mark Eustace (born 3 November 1979) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently head coach of club Derby County. During his playing career, he played as a central midfielder for Coventry City, Stoke City, ...

for the final 13 minutes of a 1–1 draw away to

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. After spending time training there, Calero was loaned to nearby League Two club

for a month on 2 February 2015. He was signed by

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...

, whom he had watched play for Atlético Madrid in 1999–2000, and said "He was a big hero because of his goals. He's one of the reasons I came...I can learn many things from him. It's a great opportunity for my development and to get some experience". Five days after signing he made his debut, replacing

Adam McGurk Adam Michael McGurk (born 24 January 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward. McGurk started his career in the Aston Villa youth academy in 2004, but failed to break into the first team, and joined Hednesford ...

for the last two minutes of a 3–1 win at

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

. On 10 February he made his first start in his first match at the

Pirelli Stadium Pirelli Stadium is an association football stadium on Princess Way in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built in 2005 and is the current home of Burton Albion FC, replacing the club's old Eton Park home, also on Princess Way, ...

, playing the first 64 minutes of a goalless draw against

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

before being replaced by Abdenasser El Khayati. After Calero returned to Derby, Burton were promoted to League One at the end of the season as champions, while Derby missed out on the play-offs with a 0–3 home defeat to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on the last day. After appearing on the bench only once in the 2015–16 season, Calero was one of five Derby youngsters released at the end of the campaign.

Sparta Rotterdam

On 2 June 2016 Calero signed a two-year contract with Dutch club

Elche

On 8 July 2017, Calero signed for

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

in the third division. On 27 July of the following year, after achieving promotion to

, he was loaned to fellow third division side Salamanca CF for one year.

Numancia / Málaga

On 8 July 2019, Calero joined

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in , holding home games at '' Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos''. Besides football it ...

on a two-year deal after terminating his contract with Elche. On 28 August of the following year, after suffering relegation, he signed a three-year contract with

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 ...

. In December 2020, Calero suffered a serious

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury, only returning to action the following September. On 15 January 2022, he moved to fellow second division side

AD Alcorcón Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcorcón, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1971, it currently plays in Primera Federación, holding home matches at the Municipal de Santo Domingo, ...

on loan for the remainder of the season.

Cartagena

On 3 July 2022,

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 ...

Calero signed a three-year deal with

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 sp ...

, still in the second tier. He was a regular starter for the side, being managed by his father during most of the 2023–24 campaign.

Zaragoza

On 16 July 2024, Calero agreed to a three-year contract with

also in division two.

International career

On 23 November 2010 Calero was called up to the Spain under-16s. He subsequently represented the under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.

Personal life

Calero's father

Julián Julián is the Spanish equivalent of the name Julian. Notable people with the name include: * Julián, Julián Cuesta, Spanish footballer * Julián Orbón (1925–1991) Cuban composer * Julián Carrón (1950) Spanish Catholic theologian * Juliá ...

had a lengthy career in coaching and management, including as assistant to

Fernando Hierro Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football executive and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He won five La Liga and three Champions League trophies with Real Madrid in 14 years ...

for the Spain national team at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calero, Ivan Living people 1995 births People from Parla Footballers from the Community of Madrid Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football wingers Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Atlético Madrid C players Atlético Madrid B players Elche CF players CD Numancia players Málaga CF players AD Alcorcón footballers FC Cartagena footballers Real Zaragoza players English Football League players Derby County F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Sparta Rotterdam players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Spain men's youth international footballers Jong Sparta players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen