Centre-back Delgado returns to Odisha FC fold after two years

Carlos Delgado to the club after two seasons, which will reunite the Spaniard with compatriot head coach Josep Gombau. Welcoming his old friend Delgado at the Bhubaneswar-based side, the gaffer said, "First of all, I would like to welcome Carlos back to the club. As a coach, I am very happy that he decided to return to us. He is a player who has a lot of talent and experience in playing in the Indian Super League. Carlos is someone who knows very well what kind of football we want to play and implement at Odisha FC." "I want to wish him a very successful year here at the Juggernauts," Gombau added for the new inclusion to the Juggernauts squad.

A product of the Malaga CF youth academy, Delgado made his professional debut for the club's B side more than a decade ago. After representing the reserve sides of Real Valladolid, UD Almeria, and a stint with Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam, the centre-back signed for Valencia in 2012. Starting with the B team, Delgado eventually made his senior debut for the club in a UEFA Champions League match against Lille. He last played for Castellon in the Spanish third division before joining Odisha. Delgado amassed 1389 minutes of serious game time over 16 matches in his first season with the Juggernauts, after it was rechristened as Odisha FC from Delhi Dynamos at the start of 2019-20 season. With a goal to his name, the full-back had 635 passes combined with 837 touches and a whopping passing accuracy of 86.45% which averages to 39.69 passes per game.