Gary Caldwell

Gary Caldwell, (born April 12 1982, in Stirling), is a Scotland international football player who currently plays for Scottish Premier League team Celtic F.C..

Primarily considered a central defender, Caldwell proved extremely versatile and had been deployed as a right-back, defensive midfielder and man-marker at various spells in his career.

Club career

Caldwell started his career with Celtic Boys Club. At 16 he went to England, alongside his elder brother Steven Caldwell at Newcastle United F.C.. Breaking through from the reserves proved difficult, however, and in search of regular first team football, he went on loan to other clubs on several occasions: Darlington F.C. and Hibernian F.C. in 2001-02, then Coventry City F.C. and Derby County F.C. the following season. In the summer of 2003 he was given a free transfer, and despite being linked with boyhood favourites Celtic F.C., he returned to Easter Road Stadium to sign with Hibs.

Transfer speculation continued to see him linked with a move to Celtic F.C., and persistent rumours that he had signed a pre-contract agreement to join the club in the summer of 2006 were finally confirmed on January 20.

Bad feeling still exists between Kilmarnock and Celtic fans following Caldwell's tackle on former Celtic striker David Fernandez. Opinion is divided as to whether Caldwell's foul was deliberate or merely very clumsy. Either way it ruled Killie's new signing Fernandez out for the best part of ten months. As of Septmber 2007 the player is still struggling to recapture the form he was in at the time of the incident. In the event, despite calls for a sending off, Caldwell was only yellow carded; he still complained to referee. To the player's credit he did apologise to Fernandez after the game, however, if the foul was deliberate is the apology of any value?

International career

Since winning his first Scotland national football team cap in 2002, under the reign of Berti Vogts, Caldwell had established himself as a squad, if not first team, regular. As of October 2006, he has played 23 times for his country, scoring twice.

Caldwell's international debut came in the first match of Berti Vogts management, a 5-0 defeat to France national football team at the Stade de France. Ironically, what is possibly the finest moment of his career came also against France, scoring the only goal of the game as Scotland defeated the World Cup runners up 1-0 at Hampden Park, on October 7, 2006 in a 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying match