Nick will be here shortly with all the action from the Amex Stadium. In the meantime, here’s Amy Lawrence on the match:
Iñigo Calderón could scarcely bear to watch his television last Sunday as his fellow Spaniard Santi Cazorla dazzled while Arsenal defeated Manchester City. Calderón, who hails from the Basque country, not so far from the Asturias region that Cazorla calls home, is an enthusiastic admirer of his compatriot’s talent but there was a point where watching became almost too much. “I tried to switch off the TV,” Calderón says with a chuckle. “They were on fire and I tried not to destroy my confidence.”
Jokes apart, this awareness about his own confidence levels – and how they can be manipulated by external influences and personal techniques – is particularly highly tuned in a player who has become a stalwart for Brighton & Hove Albion since his arrival five years ago.
As a young player Calderón combined his sporting aspirations with education at the university in Vitoria. He spent five years soaking up the nuances of a sports science degree and when he finished he took a masters in sports psychology. All while representing the shirts of Alicante and Alavés. He uses the insights and intuition he picked up in the classroom constantly in the dressing room and on the training ground. It is, he believes, a fundamental part of his footballing life.
