Gabriel Calderón facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gabriel Calderón

Calderón managing Persepolis in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Gabriel Humberto Calderón
Date of birth	(1960-02-07) 7 February 1960 (age 65)
Place of birth	Rawson, Argentina
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Khor Fakkan
Youth career
1974–1976	El Porvenir
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1976–1977	El Porvenir	25	(3)
1977–1981	Racing Club	113	(16)
1978	→ Lanús (loan)	24	(0)
1981–1983	Independiente	74	(15)
1983–1987	Real Betis	131	(38)
1987–1990	Paris Saint-Germain	102	(20)
1990–1992	Sion	47	(17)
1992–1993	Caen	36	(2)
1993–1994	Lausanne Sports	31	(5)
Total		583	(116)
International career
1977–1981	Argentina U21	20	(5)
1981–1990	Argentina	23	(1)
Managerial career
1997–2000	Stade Malherbe Caen
2003	Lausanne Sport
2004–2005	Saudi Arabia
2007–2008	Oman
2008–2010	Al-Ittihad
2010–2011	Al-Hilal
2011–2012	Baniyas
2012–2013	Bahrain
2014	Real Betis
2014–2016	Al-Wasl
2017	Qatar SC
2019–2020	Persepolis
2022	Khor Fakkan
Medal record Men's football Representing  Argentina FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 1979 Japan FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1990 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gabriel Humberto Calderón (born on February 7, 1960) is a famous Argentinian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Khor Fakkan Club in the UAE Pro League.

Calderón played for many teams, including Racing Club de Avellaneda and Club Atlético Independiente in Argentina. He also played for Real Betis in Spain and Paris Saint-Germain in France. He was part of the Argentina Under-20 team that won the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. He also played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

After he stopped playing, Calderón became a coach. He managed teams like Stade Malherbe Caen, Lausanne Sports, and several teams in the Middle East. These included the national teams of Saudi Arabia and Oman. He also coached clubs like Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Baniyas, Al-Wasl, Qatar SC, and Persepolis F.C.. He even managed Real Betis in Spain.

Gabriel Calderón's Playing Career

Gabriel Calderón was born in Rawson, Argentina, on February 7, 1960. He started his football journey with the youth team of Club El Porvenir in 1974. By 1976, he was playing for their main team.

Early Club Football

Calderón playing for Independiente in 1983

In 1977, Calderón moved to Racing Club de Avellaneda. He played there for over three seasons. During this time, he also spent a short period on loan at Club Atlético Lanús.

After that, he played for Club Atlético Independiente for two seasons. Then, he moved to Spain to join Real Betis. He played 131 games for Betis and scored 38 goals.

Playing in Europe

In 1987, Calderón joined Paris Saint-Germain in France. He played for them for three seasons and was a key player in his second year. In 1990, he moved to FC Sion in Switzerland.

He returned to France in 1992 to play for Stade Malherbe Caen. The next year, he went back to Switzerland. He finished his playing career with FC Lausanne-Sport in 1994, when he was 34 years old.

International Football for Argentina

Calderón played for the Argentina Under-20 team. They won the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. In 1981, he was called up to the senior national team. His first game was against Brazil.

He scored his only international goal against Denmark. Calderón played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He played alongside the legendary Diego Maradona in these tournaments. He was a very important player for Argentina in the 1990 World Cup, where they reached the final.

After the 1990 World Cup, he retired from international football. He was 30 years old and had played 23 games for Argentina, scoring 1 goal.

International Goal Scored

Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Goals
1987-04-02	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Denmark	1–0	Friendly	1

Gabriel Calderón's Coaching Career

Gabriel Calderón started his coaching journey in 1997. He became the head coach of Stade Malherbe Caen, a club he had played for before.

Coaching in Saudi Arabia

In late 2004, Calderón became the coach of the Saudi Arabia national football team. He successfully led them to qualify for the Football World Cup 2006 in Germany. They beat Uzbekistan 3–0 in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia was the only team in their group that didn't lose any matches during qualification.

Calderón was very happy about this achievement. He said that qualifying for the World Cup is a dream for any coach. However, in December 2005, he was fired. This happened because the team did not perform well in the Football at the 2005 West Asian Games, losing to Iraq.

Coaching the Oman National Team

Calderón at a press conference for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup

On April 9, 2007, Calderón signed on to coach the Oman national football team. He led them in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Oman started with a 1–1 draw against Australia. They then lost 0–2 to Thailand and drew 0–0 with Iraq. Oman was eliminated in the group stage.

On June 30, 2008, he left his role as Oman's coach. He wanted to become the new head coach of Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.

Managing Al-Ittihad

Calderón returned to Saudi Arabia on June 30, 2008, to coach Al-Ittihad. In his first season, he won the Saudi Premier League. His team beat Al-Hilal 2–1 in the final match. They finished five points ahead of Al-Hilal.

However, they were knocked out of the 2008 AFC Champions League and lost the final of the King Cup of Champions to Al-Shabab. In his second season, he won the King Cup of Champions, again beating Al-Hilal in the final. He also led the club to the final of the 2009 AFC Champions League. They won their group and beat Al-Shabab in the Round of 16. They then defeated Pakhtakor and Nagoya Grampus to reach the final. In the final, they lost 1–2 to Pohang Steelers from Korea. Calderón was sacked two months later, on January 13, 2010.

Coaching Al-Hilal

On November 5, 2010, Calderón became the new head coach of Al-Hilal. He led the club to win the 2010–11 Saudi Professional League without losing any games. They also won the Crown Prince Cup. He guided the team to the knockout stage of the 2011 AFC Champions League. However, they were defeated by his former club, Al-Ittihad, in the Round of 16.

Despite his success, he was dismissed on July 19, 2011. This followed a 3–0 defeat to Al-Ittihad in the 2011 King Cup of Champions.

Managing Baniyas

On November 23, 2011, Calderón was appointed head coach of Baniyas SC in the UAE Pro-League. Baniyas was near the bottom of the league when he arrived. He helped the club avoid being relegated and they finished in 9th place.

He also led Baniyas to the final of the 2011-12 UAE President's Cup, but they lost to Al-Jazira. Under his leadership, Baniyas reached the knockout stage of the 2012 AFC Champions League for the first time ever. They were defeated by Al-Hilal, Calderón's former team. After this loss, he announced he would not renew his contract. He left the club on May 30, 2012.

Coaching Bahrain and Real Betis

On October 28, 2012, Calderón became the head coach of the Bahrain national football team. His first match was against Yemen in the 2012 West Asian Football Federation Championship. He was sacked on August 13, 2013.

On January 19, 2014, he was appointed head coach of Real Betis in Spain. He left the club at the end of that season.

Later Coaching Roles

In October 2014, Calderón was named head coach of Al-Wasl. He left the club in May 2016. On July 5, 2017, he signed a two-year contract with Qatar SC. He was sacked on November 22, 2017.

Coaching Persepolis

Calderón with Persepolis in 2019

On July 1, 2019, Calderón became the manager of Persepolis F.C.. This team had recently won the Persian Gulf Pro League and the Iranian Hazfi Cup. He resigned on January 12, 2020, due to financial issues.

Managerial Statistics

Honours and Achievements

As a Player

• Real Betis
  • Copa de la Liga runner-up: 1986
• Paris Saint-Germain
  • Ligue 1 runners-up: 1988–89
• FC Sion
  • Swiss Super League: 1991–92
  • Swiss Cup: 1991
• Argentina National Team
  • FIFA World Youth Championship: 1979
  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1990

As a Manager

• Saudi Arabia National Team
  • Qualified for the FIFA World Cup: 2006
• Al-Ittihad
  • AFC Champions League runner-up: 2009
  • Saudi Professional League: 2008–09
  • King Cup: 2010
• Al-Hilal
  • Saudi Professional League: 2010–11
  • Crown Prince Cup: 2011

See also

In Spanish: Gabriel Calderón para niños