Angelo Calfo Jr. (born November 4, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays for Flower City Union.
Personal life
Calfo was born in Seattle, Washington.
Youth career
Crossfire
He started his youth career with local side Blue Arrows before spending the majority of his time at Redmond based club Crossfire Premier with head coach Bernie James.
Italy
In 2011 he was selected by Marco Monti to train with Inter Milan in Italy where he did so for two weeks. During this time Calfo trained with the U14 academy team at Centro Sportivo Giacinto Facchetti.
High school
Calfo attended the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences for one year before pursuing online school.
RIASA
In 2018 Calfo travelled to Leeds, England to join the RIASA program under coach John Hendrie. During this time he played against Sheffield Wednesday U23, Hibs U23 and Finnish side AC Oulu. In a 2020 interview with The Athletic, Calfo explained why he joined the programme.
In his second year he captained the side to the finals of the JFC Youth Championships in Shenzhen, China.
College career
Calfo returned to the United States in 2020 to join the Gonzaga Bulldogs in NCAA Division I, where he was captain for three years and was named in the West Coast Conference All Academic Team for 2020.
Senior career
Cascadia
Whilst in the UK he was called up by the Cascadian Football Federation, captained by James Riley. Calfo made two appearances against The Chagos Islands and Darfur respectively, scoring one goal.
Portland Timbers U23
In 2021, during his off-season with Gonzaga he played 9 matches with Portland Timbers U23 where he was also captain. He made his début on June 4, 2021, in a 3–0 win over OVF Alliance at John Chambers Field. Calfo continued to start at center back, completing 90 minutes against Lane United FC, as well as the return fixture at OVF Alliance and a 2–0 win at home to PDX FC, where he picked up a booking.
In total he played 9 matches for the club, where the team were USL League Two 2021 Northwest Division Champions.
Ballard FC
The following year, he captained Ballard FC in their inaugural season. In total he played 10 games for The Bridges, completing 90 minutes each time, all at center half. His final appearance came on July 10, 2022 away to Capital FC.
Flower City Union
After a successful trial, Calfo agreed a deal to join Flower City Union for the 2023 season in Rochester NY. He made his first league appearance on April 1, 2023, in a 1–0 defeat against Maryland Bobcats at Maryland SoccerPlex. and registered his first assist three days later in a US Open Cup match against Manhattan SC. His first start came on April 22 in a 1–0 loss to Chattanooga FC.
He continued to start, first at Segra Field against Loudoun United in the third round of the US Open Cup, then again against Maryland Bobcats at Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium and Los Angeles Force.
Style of play
Calfo is right footed and plays as a midfielder or ball playing center back. He is known for his leadership, captaining Gonzaga, Timbers U23 and Ballard FC and attributes much of his own playing style to street football and futsal.
Coaching career
Calfo began his coaching career in 2017 as head coach of Seattle Celtic Under 9s.
Media
In 2020 Calfo was featured in The Athletic, where he discussed his experience in Leeds.
In the summer of 2022, he was interviewed by The Seattle Times regarding his contribution to Ballard FC's inaugural season.
Career statistics
Honors
Individual
2020 West Coast Conference All Academic Team.
Team
Portland Timbers U23
2021 USL League Two Northwest Division Champions.