Inigo Calderon
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
PUBLISHED
19:00 1st July 2014
by James Hilsum and Sam Pearce
I enjoyed being in the country a lot; the World Cup is a party of football so I thought that it was really good."
Inigo Calderon
Inigo Calderon
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Inigo Calderon is delighted to be back in England to resume pre-season with Brighton & Hove Albion - after enjoying his summer break watching the end of an era in Brazil at the World Cup. The Albion right-back, who has signed a new one-year contract watched Spain's two group match defeats which signalled the end of a triumphant international spell.He said “I saw both Spain and England play. I watched two Spain games, against Chile and Holland, which were not the best games for us, but I had a fantastic time there.
“I enjoyed being in the country a lot; the World Cup is a party of football so I thought that it was really good.
“I was in Salvador for five days and spent another five days in Rio. I heard about the security concerns, but it was really calm and relaxed there.
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“Everyone was enjoying the sun, the beach and obviously the football. It went on for 24 hours out there. All the Argentina and Chile fans were based there and it was like a party every single day.”
Calderon caught up with old friends, including former Albion teammate Gonzalo Jara - who gave him tickets for Spain's clash with Chile.
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"He got me the tickets, they were with the Chile fans and that was a brilliant experience. I felt for him when he missed the penalty against Brazil - but he can be proud, as he had a brilliant tournament."
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The 32-year-old also managed to hook up with famous Seagulls fan, Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, and took in one of his World Cup concerts while in South America.“It was really great and I enjoyed it a lot. He is a great lad - I didn't know him before I met him out there, but I knew he was a Brighton supporter so I got in contact with him.
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“I saw a poster in Rio advertising his concert and managed to get in touch via a mutual friend. When I went to see him at his hotel it was like he had been a friend of mine all my life, so it was a really good experience.”
Calde - who also hooked up with Rio Ferdinand and the BBC Match of the Day team while in Rio - is relishing the challenges ahead in the upcoming campaign and is aiming to finish his career at the club.
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He added, “Brighton is the place I want to be. It has only been a matter of time because I agreed everything earlier in the close season but I was not here to sign. Now I can’t wait to start training with the lads.
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“It was all very straightforward after the club said that they wanted me for one more year. That's been great for me; I was able to enjoy my time off, because it can be quite complicated if you are without a club.
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“I am very excited now because we have been doing really well in the last few seasons, so we want try to do a bit more to get into the play-offs or even go straight up into the Premier League.
“With the new manager and training ground, I am really looking forward to the new season.
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“It is still very early to think about the rest of my career, but I’m very happy here. I have been here for the last five seasons and I would love to end my career here.”
Original article