Clifford Miranda

Clifford Miranda
Personal information
Full name	Clifford Rayes Miranda
Date of birth	11 July 1982 (age 39)
Place of birth	Margao, Goa, India
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team	Goa (assistant)
Youth career
1996–2000	Tata FA
Senior career*
National team
Teams managed
2018–2019	Goa Reserves
2019–	Goa (assistant)
2020	Goa (interim)
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Clifford Rayes Miranda (born 11 July 1982) is an Indian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of I-League 2nd Division side Goa Reserves, the reserve team of Indian Super League side FC Goa. During his playing days, Miranda played for Dempo in the National Football League and I-League from 2000–2015. During his time with the Goan side, Miranda helped Dempo win five league titles and four domestic cup honours.

Miranda was also a part of the India national team from 2005 to 2014, earning 45 caps and scoring six goals. While representing his country, Miranda helped India win the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008, thus qualifying the side for the AFC Asian Cup. He also won two SAFF Championship tournaments.

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.

In July 2015 Miranda was drafted to play for Atlético de Kolkata in the 2015 Indian Super League.^[1]

International career[]

Miranda made his debut against Pakistan in 2005. 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.

International statistics[]

As of 4 July 2014^[2]

India national team
Year	Apps	Goals
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

International Goals[]

showGoal	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

Coaching career[]

Miranda retired from playing football in 2017 and went into coaching after being convinced to do so by his former coach, Derrick Pereira.^[3] He joined his former playing club, Goa, as assistant to Pereira for the club's youth development team and reserve side.^[3] In 2018, Miranda became the head coach of Goa Reserves side in the Goa Professional League and I-League 2nd Division.^[4]