Author: Apoorrv Pandey
India has produced many talented footballers but unlike the foreign players, Indian players do not get the recognition they deserve in the country they live in let alone the world. So, Football India 24x7 thought of covering the Top 10 footballers produced by India. Let us get acquainted with them and be proud of their achievements.
10. Climax Lawrence
Born on 16 January 1979, this veteran midfielder has been a loyal servant to the Indian national team. In 2002 Lawrence was called to the Indian national football team by coach Stephen Constantine and has been a part of the national team since then. In the AFC Challenge Cup, he scored the winning goal in the 91st minute against Afghanistan to help India to a hard fought 1-0 victory. Lawrence retired from national team on 1 February 2012 and has been since playing for a local club Laxmi Prasad S.C. in Goa.
9. Peter Thangaraj
Called the towering custodian of Indian football, legendary Peter was a pivotal player in the national team. Peter died at the age of 72 on 24 November 2008. He started playing for his country in 1954 and continued till 1968. He played for Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting clubs. Initially he started playing as a centre forward but later on he changed his position to a goalkeeper and thus became a hit. He was named the Best Goalkeeper of Asia in 1958 and he won the Arjuna award in 1968, thanks to his contributions towards the national team.
8. Gostha Pal
A Mohun Bagan legend, "Chiner Pracheer"(The Wall of China) Gostha Pal was one of the very best defenders in the country. Having joined Mohun Bagan at the age of 16, Pal played for the Kolkata based club for 24 years. In 1924, he was appoined the captain of the national team. Pal also beacame the first Indian footballer to be honoured with the Padma Shri.
7. Jarnail Singh Dhillon
Jarnail Singh Dhillon, a former Indian football player played as a stopper-back for India and football club he represented. He was the captain of Indian national football team from 1965 to 1967. He was given the Arjuna Award in 1964 for his achievements in the game. Indian Express's poll in 1963 declared him as the most popular sports person in India. He achieved a unique feat which no ther Indian ever managed to do, captain the Asian All Star team in 1966.
6. Sunil Chhetri
Currently, he is the poster boy of Indian football. Sunil Chettri is.He is both the most-capped player, and all-time top goalscorer for the India national team, with 53 goals in 93 appearances. He is also the captain of the national team and amongst the top 5 active goal-scorers in International football. Chettri has also played his trade in two foreign clubs Kansas City FC in the MLS (USA) and Sporting Lisbon B in Portugal. On 11 December 2011 after scoring a goal in SAFF Cup's final, he set a new record by scoring seven goals in a single edition of the SAFF Championship surpassing I.M.Vijayan's record of six goals in the 1997 edition. Along with the 4 I-League titles and 1 Federation cup trophies to his name, Chettri has also won 3 Nehru Cups, one AFC Challenge Cup and one SAFF Championship with the national side. He boasts a respectable individual trophy collection consisting of Arjuna Award, 4 AIFF Player of the Year awards, one FPAI Indian Player of the Year, one
AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player , one Nehru Cup Top Scorer award, one SAFF Championship Top Scorer and one SAFF Championship Player of the Tournament award. The legendary man recently stated his desire to retire from International football after the 2019 Asian games.
AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player , one Nehru Cup Top Scorer award, one SAFF Championship Top Scorer and one SAFF Championship Player of the Tournament award. The legendary man recently stated his desire to retire from International football after the 2019 Asian games.
5. Subimal Chuni Goswamy
He went on to play for India in 50 international matches including in Olympics, Asian Games, Asia Cup and Merdeka Cup. He captained India to the Asian Games Gold Medal in 1962 and a Silver in the 1964 Asia Cup in Tel Aviv and in the Merdeka Cup.His individual award collection includes the Best Striker of Asia Award in 1962, Arjuna award in 1963, Padma Shri award in 1983 and the Mohun Bagan Ratna in 2005.
4. IM Vijayan
Inivalappil Mani Vijayan is a former professional Indian football player. He formed a successful attacking partnership with Baichung Bhutia while playing as a striker for the Indian national team in the late nineties and early 2000s. He was awarded the Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999 thus becoming the first player to win the award multiple times. He was also awarded the Arjuna award in 2003. A player of immense talent, Vijayan had many opportunities to play for the clubs from Thailand and Hong Kong but he preferred to stay in the country. He has scored a respectable 32 goals in 70 games for the national team.
3. Sailendra Nath Manna
Sailendra Nath Manna is considered to be one of the best defenders India has ever produced. Manna, a Mohun Bagan legend(Played for 19 years) has represented and captained India in different international competitions including Olympics and Asian Games. He is the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953. In the 1948 London Olympics, Manna captained India wherin Indian lost to France by a margin of 1-2. Under his captaincy, India won the Gold Medal in the 1951 Asian Games and also won the Quandrangular Tournament for four consecutive years from 1952 to 1956. In 1953, the England Football Association rated him among the 10 best
skippers of the world in its yearbook. Manna was also the captain of the Indian team in 1952 Olympics and a member of the 1954 Asian Games. His Individual trophy collection boasts of : 10 best Captains of the world by English FA in 1953, Awarded the Padma Shri in 1971 by the Government of India, Awarded the "Footballer of the Millennium" by All India Football Federation in 2000, Awarded "Mohun Bagan Ratna" in 2001. He died at the age of 87 in the year 2012.
skippers of the world in its yearbook. Manna was also the captain of the Indian team in 1952 Olympics and a member of the 1954 Asian Games. His Individual trophy collection boasts of : 10 best Captains of the world by English FA in 1953, Awarded the Padma Shri in 1971 by the Government of India, Awarded the "Footballer of the Millennium" by All India Football Federation in 2000, Awarded "Mohun Bagan Ratna" in 2001. He died at the age of 87 in the year 2012.
2. PK Banerjee
The 1962 Asian Cup gold medalist PK Banerjee has been a true legend inthe Indian Football history. After playing in the Santosh trophy in his youth for Bihar and later on for Aryan FC and Eastern Railway, Banerjee made his debut for the national team in the 1955 Quadrangular tournament in Dacca (presently Dhaka), East Pakistan (now capital of Bangladesh) at the age of 19. Pradip Kumar Banerjee represented India in 3 Asians Games(1958, 1960, 1966) and winning the gold in 1962 games. He was also a part of the national team that played at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne & later on in the nect Olympics, he captained India at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In this Olympics, Banerjee scored an equalizer against France in a 1-1 draw which proved to be a higly respectable scoreline for th Indians. He represented India thrice at the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur, where India won silver medal in 1959 and 1964 and bronze in 1965. He has scored 65 goals in his career featuring in the national side for 84 times. PK Banerjee retired in 1967 due to successive injury issues. His individual trophy list boasts of an impressive collection consisting of Arjuna Award in 1961, Padma Shri in 1990, Indian Footballer of 20th Century (Awarded by FIFA) and FIFA Centennial Order of Merit. He also became the only footballer from Asia to receive the FAIR PLAY Award.
Before we move on to our number 1 player in Indian Football History, here are the 3 honorable mentions:
Mohammed Salim: The first indian football player from the Indian sub-continent to play for a European club, Celtic FC.
Tulsidas Balaram: One of the most important component of India’s Gold winning team of 1962. Regarded as one of the best striker ever produced by India.
Yousuf Khan: Included in the 1965 Asian All Stars XI. Part of the team that won gold at the 1962 Asian Games.
Tulsidas Balaram: One of the most important component of India’s Gold winning team of 1962. Regarded as one of the best striker ever produced by India.
Yousuf Khan: Included in the 1965 Asian All Stars XI. Part of the team that won gold at the 1962 Asian Games.
Indian football's biggest name is none other than.......
1. Bhaichung Bhutia
This man needs no Introduction, Bhaichung Bhutia is definitely the most famous footballer from India. The torchbearer of Indian football, is often nicknamed the 'Sikkimese Sniper' because of his shooting skills as a striker. IM Vijayan described bhutia as "God's gift to Indian football". He has scored 27 goals in 84 appearances for the national team. He has also played his trade at Bury FC (Greater Manchester, England). Thus, Bhutia became the first Indian player to pen a deal with a European club. He played 37 times for the English club scoring 3 times in the process between 1999 and 2004. He then had unsuccessful trials with Fulham, West Brom and Aston Villa before finally returning to India. He is considered as a legend of Mohun Bagan FC, the most successful Indian Football club. In October 2010, he founded Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi in partnership with football by Carlos Queiroz and Nike. In August 2011, Bhutia announced his retirement from international football. His farewell match was with the India national team on 10 January 2012 against Bayern Munich at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi which India lost 4-0.
Let us hope India produces many more like them so that we can relish them playing in the World Cup or in some big European club. Indias' FIFA ranking is set to rise to 101 when the latest FIFA rankings are released. This will be a great morale booster for the Indian football team. Along with that, Octobers' FIFA World Cup 2017 (U-17) which will be held in India is definately going to form a good platform for the young budding footballers. Currently, everything is favouring Indian football, let us hope that our country moves forward at a good pace in the world of football and we become a force to be reckoned with in the in the future sooner rather than later. Cheers!!
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Comment down below or Mail us your views and ideas @ [email protected]
You can also join us and we will help you publish your Article or Video
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Cheers!
Go Football!