Iván Calderón: El proyecto de la Academia Canaria

Iván Calderón

The date is March 14th 1993 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and young couple Manuel Calderón and Elena Rodríguez have just given birth to their only son Iván. From a young age Iván was always fascinated by football and regularly attended CD Tenerife matches as a kid with his father. Iván knew that when he grew up he was going to be a footballer, and he wasn't the only one, he was a naturally gifted player and by the time he turned 11 he had joined the academy of the very club he grew up watching. He excelled in the CD Tenerife academy due to the discipline and determination he gained from his father and by the time he turned 18 he was a regular starter for the B team and despite his excellence in the middle of the park he could never quite break into the first team. During his time at Tenerife he developed somewhat of a reputation for coaching players whilst on the pitch - a natural ability he gained from his mother who was a primary school teacher. In 2014 he moved to UD San Sebastián de los Reyes in mainland Spain where he was a top player in the lower divisions, from there he moved to Cultural Leonesa in 2017 and CD Mirandés in 2020. throughout his career he seemed to always have knee problems, the worst of this occurring at CD Mirandés where he spent a lot of time with the U19 squad during his rehab where he became a mentor to the younger players and almost a sort of coach to them. As his knee got worse and worse and the fact he never got a chance to play at the level he knew he was capable of he made the decision to cut his career short at the age of 29 in 2022. This wasn't the end of his story however as Mirandés took notice of his ability to teach and decided to hire him as an academy coach where he excelled and the academy saw an improvement in quality immediately. In 2023 he decided to leave his job at Mirandés and moved back home to Tenerife, a gamble which paid off as CD Tenerife decided to hire him as the head coach of their U17 team for the 2023-24 season and this is where Iván Calderón's story really kicks off. During his time as the U17 head coach he developed a clear philosophy of playing high possession Tiki-Taka football, a playstyle that Spain became synonymous with as they used it to win 3 consecutive International tournaments between 2008 and 2012. For the 2024-25 season he made the bold and controversial decision to leave his boyhood club to become the head coach of the U19 team at their fiercest rivals UD Las Palmas. His U19's team hit the ground running under his coaching and after a fantastic season Iván Calderón led them to the Group 6 title - beating out CD Tenerife's own U19 team by 9 points in an invincible season. During this 2024-25 season the first team at Las Palmas struggled, losing 4-0 to second division side Elche in the Round of 32 and winning only 8 league fixtures on their way to a majorly disappointing 19th place finish in La Liga. This poor season left the board at Las Palmas in a difficult situation, they wanted a new identity, they wanted a focus on youth, and they wanted someone to take charge and impose that identity for the foreseeable future which left them thinking… they didn't want a big name for the sake of hiring a big name, they wanted a man that could build a team sourcing from the club's academy for years to come… and they didn't have to look far.

The Appointment

“In a surprising twist, UD Las Palmas have promoted Iván Calderón to first‑team manager after his extraordinary season with the U19s. The decision has stunned many outside the club, but within the walls of Gran Canaria there is a firm belief that Calderón represents the identity and future Las Palmas desperately need. Only time will tell if this bold gamble pays off.” - MARCA

“Iván has earned this opportunity through his work, his ideas, and his commitment to our philosophy. We believe he is the right person to lead Las Palmas into a new era built on identity, youth, and ambition.” - Miguel Ángel Ramírez, President of UD Las Palmas

Day One

The first order of business for Iván was a full staff clear out in which almost every contract for the coaching and medical team were mutually terminated and contracts were offered out for replacements, the same happened with the U19 squad and the managers were replaced for both the B and C squads respectfully. Next up was the tactics, having committed to a tiki-taka style of play during his time as a youth coach Iván kept up that style of play and committed once to playing the style of football he grew up watching, and the style of play he wants to teach to the future generation of Spanish football.

After is tactics were set up the squad was evaluated and a first 11 was settled on however with star midfielder Kirian declared medically unavailable for the first 2 months of the season Enzo Loiodice will be stepping up during his absence, Manu Fuster will also have to step up with his main competition for the left wing position Sandro out injured for the vast majority of the season with a torn medial meniscus. Some of the younger talent to look out for throughout the course of the season include holding midfielder Iñaki González, centre half Juanma Herzog, and on loan Estanis Pedrola who will provide backup across the front 3. With the staff and tactics sorted out and the squad evaluated, next on the agenda was to meet to media. A press conference was called at the Estadio de Gran Canaria in which 5 journalists were in attendance, Diego Soro of The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Football Express, Mario Parlato of OneFootball, Àngel Fabra of Sphera Sports, Àngel Cervantes of The Spanish Football Free Press, and Santiago Benítez of The Spanish Football Express. During this press conference Iván Calderón once again stated his intention to develop talent through the clubs own academy as opposed to sourcing talent from elsewhere, he also expressed his desire to take this club to the very top and expressed his admiration of the clubs fans and urged them to buy into the project he wants to build. Iván also took the time to arrange a meeting with the squad to introduce himself and have the chance to chat with the players who seemed to respond positively to what he had to say and seemed to buy into the project.