Carlos Delgado (footballer)


Carlos Javier Delgado Rodríguez is a Spanish footballer who plays for Indian club Odisha FC on loan from CD Castellón as a central defender.

Club career

Early years / Sparta

Born in Puerto Real, Cádiz, Andalusia, Delgado joined Málaga CF's youth system at the age of 15. In early 2008, he rejected a new contract and went on trial with Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam, finally signing in January 2009 but failing to make a single appearance, subsequently returning to his country and joining Real Valladolid, who assigned the player to their reserves.
In summer 2010, Delgado signed with another reserve team, UD Almería B. In January of the following year, after playing only five matches in Segunda División B, he returned to the Netherlands and Sparta on loan. He made his debut for the latter – who now competed in Eerste Divisie – on 28 January, against RBC Roosendaal ; on 11 February, he scored in a 3–2 away victory over FC Dordrecht.
Delgado returned to Spain in July 2011, joining Orihuela CF also in the third level.

Valencia

On 12 June 2012, Delgado signed a two-year contract with Valencia CF, being initially a part of the B-team setup in the third tier. He made his debut for Mestalla on 26 August against Gimnàstic de Tarragona and, the following month, was called up to train with the main squad by manager Mauricio Pellegrino due to Ricardo Costa's injury; on the 29th, he was an unused substitute for a La Liga game against Real Zaragoza.
On 2 October 2012, Delgado made his competitive debut for the Che, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home defeat of Lille OSC in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. He continued to appear regularly with the reserves until the end of his tenure.

Leganés

On 8 August 2014, Delgado joined CD Leganés who had recently promoted to the Segunda División. He made his debut for the club on 23 November, starting in a 0–1 away loss against CD Mirandés.
After appearing in only 13 competitive matches, and totalling just 664 minutes of action in the league, Delgado was released.

Recreativo / Albacete

On 2 August 2015, Delgado signed a one-year deal with Recreativo de Huelva of the third division. On 28 June 2016 he moved to fellow league side Albacete Balompié, and achieved promotion to the second level as captain.

Castellón

On 16 July 2018, free agent Delgado agreed to a three-year contract with third-tier's CD Castellón. One year later, he was loaned to Indian Super League franchise Odisha FC.