Clifford Miranda
Encyclopedia
Clifford Miranda is an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player.He plays as a midfielder for Dempo SC and plays for India
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...

  at International level. He was selected by coach Bob Houghton for the Asian Cup 2011 and was given the number 10 jersey.

Career

The left winger has been at Dempo throughout his professional career but his football journey started with a local Cansaulim club, with whom he won all major trophies in South Goa at under-14 level. At the age of 13, he moved to Salcette SC before joining the Tata Football Academy. Clifford spent four years at TFA. Interestingly he was the only TFA graduate from his batch to sign for a second division club, Dempo, but that is a move which he did not have to regret as he went on to play a key role in the Goan club’s successes.

At the age of 19 he earned his first call up to the Indian team for the 2001 SAFF Cup but unfortunately for Clifford the tournament did not go ahead because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in USA. But he continued to enhance his reputation in the domestic circuit as Dempo started to make their presence felt in Indian football. Clifford finally made his international debut in 2004 against Pakistan and that season he was in fine form as he helped Dempo win their first league title.

Dempo won the league and cup double with Clifford being an integral part. His bombarding runs on the left flank and crosses were difficult for any side in the country to defend. He also improved his delivery from set-pieces thus making him a traditional winger. So with English coach Bob Houghton taking over the India job in 2006, Miranda became an automatic choice for the national squad.

Miranda has established himself as an important member of the Indian squad during Bob Houghton’s tenure. He was part of the 2007 Nehru Cup and 2008 AFC Challenge Cup winning squads. But it is at club level where the left footed player has been the most effective. He has won four league titles in total with Dempo and also reached the AFC Cup semis. With Anthony Pereira missing due to injury, Miranda might just get a place in the starting lineup in Qatar 2011

External links

  • http://goal.com/en-india/people/india/25381/clifford-miranda
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