Diane Caldwell is receiving a lot of media attention following the strong comments she made about ex-Republic of Ireland women's head coach Vera Pauw.
Caldwell was a part of the 23 players who travelled to Australia alongside Pauw and her coaching staff this summer to participate in the 2023 Women's World Cup, which was Ireland's first time ever participating in the women's tournament.
The Irish team had a disappointing showing at the World Cup, managing to only muster one point in three games, and only scoring one goal in the three matches.
Although the girls failed to win a game, their performances during each game were valiant and earned a lot of respect from the sporting world.
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Speaking ahead of Ireland's Nations League game against Northern Ireland on Saturday, which will be the first match the women's side will play in the Aviva Stadium, Caldwell said the success achieved by the women's side was down to the players, and "in spite of Vera being our coach.”
Who is Diane Caldwell
Diane Caldwell is a defender for FC Zürich Frauen and the Republic of Ireland's women's national team. She has 97 caps for the Republic of IReland.
How old is Diane Caldwell?
The FC Zürich Frauen defender is 35-years-old. Her birthday is the 11th of September and she was born in 1988.
What did Diane Caldwell say about Vera Pauw?
Caldwell did not hold back in her criticism of the former Ireland manager.
"From my position as a pretty experienced player I don't think it was up to the standard I expected at international level.”
"I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach.
"We just need to raise our standards in all levels of performance on and off the pitch. Expectations of ourselves and expectations of staff.
Caldwell has been a staple of the Ireland defence for years but was hardly involved in Ireland's World Cup campaign as Pauw moved Megan Connolly to a centre back role.
Caldwell did spoke yesterday about her brief appearance in the World Cup, as a late sub in Ireland's final game against Nigeria.
“She’d mentioned it the day before, that she’d try to get me on. Maybe a token gesture. Obviously I would have preferred to have had a cap by playing and starting, being in the first XI as opposed to being maybe a token gesture. Obviously it’s still something I appreciated nonetheless but again it’s something that fills me with a lot of pride.”
What county is Diane Caldwell from and where did she grow up?
Diane was born in Balbriggan, County Dublin. She spent her entire early life in Balbriggan, where she attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
It was around this time Caldwell started having an interest in football and she joined the local football club Balbriggan FC.
From there Caldwell joined Raheny United in 2006 and played in the Dublin Women's Soccer League until 2010.
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What teams has Caldwell played for?
Including her grassroots club side Balbriggan FC., Caldwell has played for 12 football clubs throughout her 17+ year-long playing career, playing in six different countries.
Caldwell represented and played for teams in Ireland, America, Iceland, Norway, Germany, England and Switzerland.
| Years Present | Team | Appearances | Goals |
| N/A - 2006 | Balbriggan FC (Ire) | ||
| 2006 - 2010 | Raheny United (Ire) | ||
| 2010 - 2011 | Hudson Valley Quickstrike (USA) | ||
| 2011 | Albany Alleycats (USA) | ||
| 2011 - 2012 | Þór/KA (Iceland) | 7 | 1 |
| 2012 - 2015 | Avaldsnes IL (Nor) | 57 | 5 |
| 2016 | 1. FC Köln (Ger) | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 - 2021 | SC Sand (Ger) | 93 | 2 |
| 2021 | North Carolina Courage (USA) | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | Manchester United (Eng) | 5 | 0 |
| 2022 - 2023 | Reading (Eng) | 6 | 0 |
| 2023 | FC Zürich Frauen (Swi) | 0 | 0 |
READ HERE: Ireland Felt They Could Have 'Got More Out Of The Games' At World Cup
Caldwell's Irish International Career
The Balbriggan native made her Republic of Ireland debut at just 14-years-old for the Republic of Ireland U17 squad. She was involved in the 2005 and 2006 UEFA Women's U19 Championship qualifying squads, earning 18 caps by 2005.
Caldwell then went on to make her senior Republic of Ireland debut on March 15th, 2006, at just 17 years old.
Her debut appearance was against Denmark in a 4-0 defeat in the 2006 Algarve Cup.
The 35-year-old scored her first senior international goal on March 6th, 2013 in a 5-1 win over Northern Ireland in the 2013 Cyprus Cup.
This game also marked her 21st cap for the Irish women's senior side and where she first danwed her trademark no.7 shirt following the retirement of Ciara Grant.
The Irish defender was honored with captaining her home nation for the first time on February 19th, 2022. Unfortunately, the Girls in Green suffered a 1-0 defeat to Russia in the 2022 Pinatar Cup that day.
Diane Caldwell Partner
Caldwell married her longtime partner Mona Lohmann in Greece on June 10th 2023.
Lohmann is also a professional football player. The 32-year-old last played for SC Sand in 2021.
SEE ALSO: Ireland Defender Says Team Were Hindered, Not Helped, By Vera Pauw
