The daring of Darren: The rare sportsman who won't 'stick to sports'
Such are the times we live in that apprehension builds up even as this is being typed. Is talking about Darren Caldeira actually being detrimental to Darren Caldeira? Will it call attention to an athlete already swimming outside his lane, against the tide, doing way more than his required 'hard yards'?
To those who don't follow Indian football, Caldeira's name has more recall for what he's done off the field in the past six-odd months: speak his mind on issues outside his colourful but restricted professional terrain.
Indian sport breathes an atmosphere of silence around the big social or political issues. The majority of India's athletes, particularly those who depend on the government for jobs, promotions and awards, tend to steer clear of matters outside their domain. Not Caldeira, who has joined cricketer Irfan Pathan, winter Olympian Shiva Kesavan, fellow footballers CK Vineeth and Rino Anto and badminton player Jwala Gutta as athletes who will not 'stick to sport.'
Caldeira, 32, first spoke out in the winter of 2019-20 through his Twitter handle to support public protests against the controversial citizenship amendment laws, and after students in Delhi were attacked by the police and tear-gas was fired into a college library.
That incident, Caldeira said, was what prompted him to speak out instead of his usual practice of retweeting or 'liking' others' posts calling out hate speech and violence. "When the students were getting physically assaulted, I was like, this is too much."
"There was a time earlier, while growing up, when I didn't show a lot of interest in politics," he says. "I didn't really bother. To a certain extent I understand why we want to just let things be." Yet, today, he says the fallback of being "apolitical" is "not a luxury anymore," regardless of the toxicity of the trolls and the social media backlash.
As his Twitter profile says, he believes his conscience is his guide. "If you look at whatever is happening in the country, we definitely don't have the luxury of not bothering and not caring, [saying] whatever's happening is happening." He would have done the same, he says, even if he'd been a regular guy in a regular job. "It's just who I am. If it's bothering me, it's bothering me and I have to stand up and speak up for the right thing."
Being a professional footballer (he's currently out of contract in the football off-season), a public person even if modestly known, makes it more necessary, he feels, to make best use of his position. "I even feel like God has given me a certain platform. A couple of hundred people know me as a person and as a professional, and if I have got this platform... Sometimes, we say 'Oh, go and kill it on the field, express yourself there.' But I feel like you need to show what it's all about, maybe express yourself even outside of that. Not just a football field."
It might be a big call in these times but Caldeira will stand by it because of how and where he grew up and the beliefs that instilled in him. He's a '90s kid from a suburban housing complex called Takshila, in Mumbai's Andheri East, 30-plus apartment blocks packed with a diverse mix of residents. He was one of hundreds of Takshila children who played sport - cricket all year round, plenty of football in the rain - and dived into celebrating each other's festivals through the year.
Perhaps it was what happened next that cemented his beliefs: He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology, his growing football prospects dragging him away from a BSc course (the route to the merchant navy, his dream job) and lab practicals at Wilson College. It was the physical and mental drill, he says, of trying to submit assignments on time, take exams and play semi-pro football as a teenager (on consecutive days on more than one occasion), that helped him grow. "Education, studying, makes you well-rounded; you may not learn so much from the book but you meet different people, pick up things. It helps."
With India's public discourse around him changing, Caldeira held on to the memory of that childhood and a future he seeks for children around him, including those he, a Christian married to a Hindu, hopes to have. "The kids that I know now, 20 years down the line they will be like, all this was happening and what were you doing... I don't want my own children, to ask, Papa, what you were doing when all this happened."
Caldeira understands why some stars don't speak up because of repercussions, including their fears over their family's safety. "I totally put myself in their shoes. There will be the troll army attacking them, you don't know what cases will be filed against them, they have a lot to lose," he says and then adds, "First of all I'm not even in that bracket, I'm just your average guy, but I can't just see things happening in front of me and say it's fine. I need to be sleeping at night knowing that I did the right thing. Otherwise, it would just eat me up."
Naturally, people around him are worried. His footballing colleagues and people who know his family send messages asking Caldeira to 'calm down', 'take it down a notch' and he continues to have DM arguments on his Twitter timeline. He says he is always civil but, "the more we shut up and not say anything, it's only going to get worse and that's why are they are trying to silence everyone."
He understands there could be professional consequences for speaking out, like not getting a contract or being ostracised by the community. "I have thought about it a few times, but, like I said, it's a choice you make. I feel the need to voice my opinion and I'm sticking with it."
In an age of information overload, he accepts that a lot of news is "very sad and toxic" but it is clear Caldeira has chosen to move away from the choice many competitive Indian as well as overseas athletes take - of living inside what seems like a bulletproof sporting bubble. "You can't just be haan, theek hai [everything's fine], I'm in my 3BHK house with the air-conditioner on, food's available, the telly's on and everything is fine. It's not fine. There is a lot that is happening right outside, maybe on your doorstep."
Then Darren Caldeira, average guy, football pro, 3037 Twitter followers, stereotype-slayer, clarifies that he is living on rent in a 1bhk - and laughs.
I will not blame the players here. Indian clubs especially ISL has inflated salaries for Indian players. Im no away against higher wages but im against the idea of paying more for same or less quality which has been happening in Indian football. This will continue to happen as AIFF and FSDL keep killing competitions leading to reduction in the pool of players.
Agree ISL clubs inflated salaries instead of trying new set of players or developing U-19 players..
But players should be wiser enough to choose.. If some X player chasing money at the age of 30, it makes sense. But here with our players, it is different.. At the age of 20-22, players chasing money instead of looking for better opportunities and development. I don't think they will develop much playing in ISL/I League.
Leonardo, Brazilian player who played last season in J2 for Albirex Niigata used to play for J3 club and his earnings are very minimal. Now, he is playing for J1 league club, Urawa Red Diamonds and earning good amount..
There should be salary caps in India. Maximum 3 lakhs/month and minimum 50,000/month net salary after all taxes. Foreign players should be excluded. Now that FSDL has total control, it makes sense to cut costs on hugely over inflated salaries for Indian players.
Another thing is most of these guys are 25 when they become professionals and most know there career would last upto 5-10 years max and would want to make as much as money as possible.
The system is so corrupted that players don't think of going abroad
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The daring of Darren: The rare sportsman who won't 'stick to sports'
Such are the times we live in that apprehension builds up even as this is being typed. Is talking about Darren Caldeira actually being detrimental to Darren Caldeira? Will it call attention to an athlete already swimming outside his lane, against the tide, doing way more than his required 'hard yards'?
To those who don't follow Indian football, Caldeira's name has more recall for what he's done off the field in the past six-odd months: speak his mind on issues outside his colourful but restricted professional terrain.
Indian sport breathes an atmosphere of silence around the big social or political issues. The majority of India's athletes, particularly those who depend on the government for jobs, promotions and awards, tend to steer clear of matters outside their domain. Not Caldeira, who has joined cricketer Irfan Pathan, winter Olympian Shiva Kesavan, fellow footballers CK Vineeth and Rino Anto and badminton player Jwala Gutta as athletes who will not 'stick to sport.'
Caldeira, 32, first spoke out in the winter of 2019-20 through his Twitter handle to support public protests against the controversial citizenship amendment laws, and after students in Delhi were attacked by the police and tear-gas was fired into a college library.
That incident, Caldeira said, was what prompted him to speak out instead of his usual practice of retweeting or 'liking' others' posts calling out hate speech and violence. "When the students were getting physically assaulted, I was like, this is too much."
"There was a time earlier, while growing up, when I didn't show a lot of interest in politics," he says. "I didn't really bother. To a certain extent I understand why we want to just let things be." Yet, today, he says the fallback of being "apolitical" is "not a luxury anymore," regardless of the toxicity of the trolls and the social media backlash.
As his Twitter profile says, he believes his conscience is his guide. "If you look at whatever is happening in the country, we definitely don't have the luxury of not bothering and not caring, [saying] whatever's happening is happening." He would have done the same, he says, even if he'd been a regular guy in a regular job. "It's just who I am. If it's bothering me, it's bothering me and I have to stand up and speak up for the right thing."
Being a professional footballer (he's currently out of contract in the football off-season), a public person even if modestly known, makes it more necessary, he feels, to make best use of his position. "I even feel like God has given me a certain platform. A couple of hundred people know me as a person and as a professional, and if I have got this platform... Sometimes, we say 'Oh, go and kill it on the field, express yourself there.' But I feel like you need to show what it's all about, maybe express yourself even outside of that. Not just a football field."
It might be a big call in these times but Caldeira will stand by it because of how and where he grew up and the beliefs that instilled in him. He's a '90s kid from a suburban housing complex called Takshila, in Mumbai's Andheri East, 30-plus apartment blocks packed with a diverse mix of residents. He was one of hundreds of Takshila children who played sport - cricket all year round, plenty of football in the rain - and dived into celebrating each other's festivals through the year.
Perhaps it was what happened next that cemented his beliefs: He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology, his growing football prospects dragging him away from a BSc course (the route to the merchant navy, his dream job) and lab practicals at Wilson College. It was the physical and mental drill, he says, of trying to submit assignments on time, take exams and play semi-pro football as a teenager (on consecutive days on more than one occasion), that helped him grow. "Education, studying, makes you well-rounded; you may not learn so much from the book but you meet different people, pick up things. It helps."
With India's public discourse around him changing, Caldeira held on to the memory of that childhood and a future he seeks for children around him, including those he, a Christian married to a Hindu, hopes to have. "The kids that I know now, 20 years down the line they will be like, all this was happening and what were you doing... I don't want my own children, to ask, Papa, what you were doing when all this happened."
Caldeira understands why some stars don't speak up because of repercussions, including their fears over their family's safety. "I totally put myself in their shoes. There will be the troll army attacking them, you don't know what cases will be filed against them, they have a lot to lose," he says and then adds, "First of all I'm not even in that bracket, I'm just your average guy, but I can't just see things happening in front of me and say it's fine. I need to be sleeping at night knowing that I did the right thing. Otherwise, it would just eat me up."
Naturally, people around him are worried. His footballing colleagues and people who know his family send messages asking Caldeira to 'calm down', 'take it down a notch' and he continues to have DM arguments on his Twitter timeline. He says he is always civil but, "the more we shut up and not say anything, it's only going to get worse and that's why are they are trying to silence everyone."
He understands there could be professional consequences for speaking out, like not getting a contract or being ostracised by the community. "I have thought about it a few times, but, like I said, it's a choice you make. I feel the need to voice my opinion and I'm sticking with it."
In an age of information overload, he accepts that a lot of news is "very sad and toxic" but it is clear Caldeira has chosen to move away from the choice many competitive Indian as well as overseas athletes take - of living inside what seems like a bulletproof sporting bubble. "You can't just be haan, theek hai [everything's fine], I'm in my 3BHK house with the air-conditioner on, food's available, the telly's on and everything is fine. It's not fine. There is a lot that is happening right outside, maybe on your doorstep."
Then Darren Caldeira, average guy, football pro, 3037 Twitter followers, stereotype-slayer, clarifies that he is living on rent in a 1bhk - and laughs.
https://www.espn.in/football/darren-caldeira/story/4131299/the-daring-of-darren-caldeira-the-rare-sportsman-who-wont-stick-to-sports
He can get ISL contract any time..
But players should be wiser enough to choose.. If some X player chasing money at the age of 30, it makes sense. But here with our players, it is different.. At the age of 20-22, players chasing money instead of looking for better opportunities and development. I don't think they will develop much playing in ISL/I League.
Leonardo, Brazilian player who played last season in J2 for Albirex Niigata used to play for J3 club and his earnings are very minimal. Now, he is playing for J1 league club, Urawa Red Diamonds and earning good amount..
The system is so corrupted that players don't think of going abroad
https://khelarbela.com/football/former-east-bengal-footballer-baljit-singh-sahni-leaves-football-after-getting-job-in-walmart-store/415/