Clifford Miranda

Clifford Miranda
Personal information
Full name Clifford Rayes Miranda
Date of birth (1982-07-11) 11 July 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Margao, Goa, India
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Mumbai City (assistant)
Youth career
1996–2000 Tata FA
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2015 Dempo 300+ (40+)
2014 → Goa (loan) 11 (1)
2015–2016 Atlético de Kolkata 1 (0)
2016 → Mumbai (loan) 2 (0)
2016 Minerva Punjab
2017 Churchill Brothers 4 (0)
International career
2005–2014 India 45 (6)
Managerial career
2018–2019 Goa Reserves
2019–2022 Goa (assistant)
2020 Goa (interim)
2022–2023 Odisha (assistant)
2023 Odisha (interim)
2023–2024 Mohun Bagan (assistant)
2023 India U23 (head coach)
2024– Mumbai City (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Clifford Rayes Miranda (born 11 July 1982) is an Indian professional football manager and former player who is the assistant coach of Indian Super League club Mumbai City and the head coach of the India national under-23 team.[1]

Miranda was an attacking midfielder who spent most of his career with Dempo in the National Football League and the I-League from 2000 to 2015.[2] During his time with the Goan side, he won five league titles and four domestic cup honours. He was capped 45 times for the India national team from 2005 to 2014. He was a part of 2008 AFC Challenge Cup winning Indian team, thus qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup after 27 years. He also won two the SAFF Championship twice.

After retiring as a player, Miranda coached Goa Reserves and won the Goa Professional League title. He joined Goa an assistant coach in 2019, later took over the first-team as an in interim head coach in 2020 and won the league title. In 2022, Miranda was appointed as an assistant coach at Odisha. Promoted as an interim head coach in 2023, he won the Super Cup and qualification to AFC Cup group stage. In August 2023, he was appointed as the head coach of India national under-23 team.

Club career

After starting his career with the Salcete FC, a team renowned in South Goa for being a nursery of young players. He moved to the prestigious Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur where he honed his football skills for four years.

Clifford was the only TFA graduate from his batch to sign a professional contract when he signed for Dempo, a second division club in 2000. He helped Dempo lift the National League title five times and the Indian Federation Cup in 2004. He was also part of the team that played the 2008 AFC Cup semi-finals.[3]

In July 2015 Miranda was drafted to play for Atlético de Kolkata in the 2015 Indian Super League.[4]

International career

Miranda made his senior international debut for India against Pakistan in 2005.[5] During the Bob Houghton era, Miranda became a regular member of Houghton's team due to his ability to dribble and deliver deadly crosses from the left side of the field.

Miranda was a part of the Nehru Cup winning squads of 2007 and 2009 and helped Baichung Bhutia, the then captain of the Indian team lift the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. He was also a member of the India team that participated in the 2011 Asia Cup in Qatar.

Managerial career

Goa youth

Miranda retired from playing football in 2017 and went into coaching after being convinced to do so by his former coach, Derrick Pereira.[6] He joined his former playing club Goa as an assistant to Pereira, club's director of youth development.[6] In 2018, Miranda became the head coach of Goa Reserves side in the Goa Professional League and I-League 2nd Division.[7] He won the 2018–19 Goa Professional League with the club.[8]

Goa (assistant and interim)

Prior to 2019–20, Miranda was as appointed as an assistant coach with the senior team under Sergio Lobera. On 3 February 2020, he was appointed as the interim head coach after the club sacked Lobera.[9] In charge of last three league matches and two playoff matches, he guided the club to league title and Goa became the first Indian club to qualify for AFC Champions League group stage.[10] He continued at the club as an assistant coach till the end of 2021–22 season.

Odisha (assistant and interim)

On 28 June 2022, Miranda was appointed as an assistant coach at Indian Super League club Odisha.[11] After head coach Josep Gombau parted ways with club at the end of the 2022–23 season, he was appointed as the interim head coach on 16 March 2023.[12] He led Odisha to their first ever major title with a 2–1 win over Bengaluru in the 2023 Indian Super Cup final and became the first Indian coach to do so.[13] He later led the club to a historic 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage qualification with a 3–1 win over Gokulam Kerala in the qualifier.[14]

Mohun Bagan SG (assistant)

On 1 August 2023, Miranda was appointed as an assistant coach to Juan Ferrando at Mohun Bagan SG.[15] He later took over as caretaker manager in the 2024 Indian Super Cup after the sacking of Ferrando.[16]

India U23

On 3 August 2023, Miranda was appointed as the head coach of India national under-23 team ahead of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification.[17]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[18]
National team Year Apps Goals
India
2005 3 0
2006 0 0
2007 6 0
2008 4 0
2009 0 0
2010 7 0
2011 10 3
2012 6 0
2013 7 3
2014 2 0
Total 45 6
Scores and results list India's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Miranda goal
List of international goals scored by Clifford Miranda
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 5 December 2011 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi  Bhutan 2–0 5–0 2011 SAFF Championship
2. 5 December 2011 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi  Bhutan 3–0 5–0 2011 SAFF Championship
3. 11 December 2011 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi  Afghanistan 2–0 4–0 2011 SAFF Championship
4. 6 February 2013 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi  Palestine 1–0 2–4 Friendly
5. 4 March 2013 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon  Guam 1–0 4–0 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification
6. 19 November 2013 Kanchenjunga Stadium, Siliguri    Nepal 2–0 2–0 Friendly

Managerial statistics

As of match played 19 January 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
M W D L GF GA GD Win %
Goa (interim) 3 February 2020 30 April 2021 5 4 0 1 19 9 +10 080.00 [19]
Odisha (interim) 16 March 2023 25 April 2023 6 5 1 0 14 5 +9 083.33 [20]
India U23 3 August 2023 Present 2 0 0 2 1 5 −4 000.00 [a]
Mohun Bagan SG (caretaker) 9 January 2024 19 January 2024 3 2 0 1 5 5 +0 066.67 [21]
Total 16 11 1 4 39 24 +15 068.75

Honours

Player

Dempo

India

Manager

Goa Reserves

Goa

Odisha

Notes

  1. ^ Matches in 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification

References

  1. ^ "Clifford Miranda appointed India U-23 Head Coach". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. ^ Das, Shibashis (7 March 2022). "I-League 2: Looking back at when Dempo SC dominated Indian Football". footballexpress.in. Goa: Football Express India. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  3. ^ "AFC Cup: Dempo Make History With Thrilling Win". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  4. ^ Noronha, Anselm (10 July 2015). "Indian Super League clubs' domestic transfer dealings". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  5. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "NFT player — National team & Club appearances: Miranda, Clifford". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b Noronha, Anselm (1 September 2017). "'Derrick convinced me into coaching' - Clifford Miranda turns to management". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Panjim Footballers hold Goan FC". Herald Goa. 13 April 2018. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  8. ^ a b Yuvraj Gurung (14 May 2019). "Goa Professional League Roundup – Final Round". theawayend.co. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022.
  9. ^ "ISL 2019-20: FC Goa names Clifford Miranda interim coach, Pereira technical director". sportstar.thehindu.com. 3 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b "FC Goa hammer Jamshedpur FC, finish on top of Indian Super League table | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Odisha FC appoints former Indian player Clifford Miranda as Assistant Coach". thebridge.in. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  12. ^ ISL Media Team (16 March 2023). "Clifford Miranda named Odisha FC head coach until end of season". indiansuperleague.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b Rawat, Akhil; AIFF Media Team (25 April 2023). "Odisha FC bask in Kozhikode rain; beat Bengaluru FC to claim Hero Super Cup crown". the-aiff.com. Kozhikode: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023.
  14. ^ P K Ajith Kumar (29 April 2023). "Super Cup champion Odisha FC qualifies for AFC Cup group stages after win against Gokulam". sportstar.thehindu.com. Kozhikode. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  15. ^ Madhavan, Rahul (1 August 2023). "Mohun Bagan Super Giant name Clifford Miranda as assistant coach ahead of the 2023-24 season". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Clifford hopes to repeat Super Cup magic with Mohun Bagan". The Times of India. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Clifford Miranda appointed India U-23 Head Coach". All India Football Federation. 3 August 2023. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023.
  18. ^ Clifford Miranda at National-Football-Teams.com
  19. ^ "FC Goa » Fixtures & Results 2019/2020". worldfootball.net. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Odisha FC » Fixtures & Results 2022/2023". worldfootball.net. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  21. ^ "ATK Mohun Bagan FC » Fixtures & Results 2023/2024". worldfootball.net. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  22. ^ a b India – List of National Champions Archived 23 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, RSSSF.com
  23. ^ India – List of Durand Cup Finals Archived 29 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine, RSSSF.com
  24. ^ India – List of Federation Cup Winners Archived 17 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, RSSSF.com
  25. ^ India – List of Super Cup Finals Archived 3 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, RSSSF.com

Further reading