Nanjangud Shivananju Manju

N. S. Manju
Personal information
Full name Nanjangud Shivananju Manju
Date of birth May 9, 1987 (1987-05-09) (age 24)
Place of birth Mysore, India
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Pune FC
Number 33
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007-2010 Mohun Bagan 24 (0)
2011 United Sikkim FC 1 (2)
2011-Present Pune FC
National team
2004- India 41 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Nanjangud Shivananju Manju (born May 9, 1987 in Nanjangud, in Mysore, Karnataka in India) is an Indian professional football player. He plays as a defender and is known for his high work rate and goal scoring ability. He currently plays for Pune FC in the I-League

Contents

Career

N. S. Manju caught the attention of Indian football followers while playing for Mahindra United during the 2005 Federation Cup, where he not only exhibited how good defender he is but also demonstrated his ability to score goals from set-pieces. Mahindra went on to win that tournament and Manju played a key role in helping the Mumbai club win the National League that season. His performances earned him a call up to the senior camp.[1]

The Mysore born player shot to fame during India’s tour of Pakistan in 2005, featured in the 2006 Asian Games and impressive performances in that tournament earned him a starting place in the senior squad during the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers. One of his fine moments came in heavy 7-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia, the match in which he scored to give India a surprise lead. He then captained the India under-23 side in five of their six 2008 Olympic qualifiers. He also was a part of the Indian national squad who won the prestigious Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009.[2]

Manju was out of the national team after suffering a hamstring injury during the SAFF Cup 2008 and he missed the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup 2008 that India won to qualify for the Asia Cup 2010.[3]

He was a part of the squad that toured Barcelona as a preparatory camp for the Nehru Cup 2009,[4] but unfortunately got himself injured in the first match of the Nehru Cup 2009 vs Lebanon which ruled him out of the Nehru Cup 2009,[5] IFA Shield, Durand Cup as well as Federation Cup.[6]

He was instrumental in keeping Mohun Bagan alive for the I-League 2008-2009 title race till the last match as well as put in a spectacular performance in the Super Cup 2009 which Mohun Bagan won beating I-League Champions Churchill Brothers[7] which earned him a nomination for the FPAI Awards in the Best Indian Player category along with Sunil Chettri and Anthony Pereira.[8]

Manju was a part of the Indian Senior Football team that took part in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2011 held at Qatar.

International Goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 December 2005 Karachi, Pakistan Maldives 1-0 1-0 2005 SAFF Cup
2 06 September 2006 Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah  Saudi Arabia 1-0 1-7 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification

References

  1. ^ Manju's Profile
  2. ^ Manju's Profile
  3. ^ Manju back in favour
  4. ^ Manju selected for the national camp
  5. ^ NS Manju Out Of Nehru Cup
  6. ^ Manju to miss IFA Shield and Durand Cup
  7. ^ Mohun Bagan in the title race
  8. ^ Manju nominated for FPAI Awards

External links

1 Subrata • 2 M. Singh • 3 Manju • 4 Masih • 5 Anwar Ali • 6 Baldeep • 7 Pradeep • 8 Rennedy • 9 Yadav • 10 Miranda • 11 Chhetri • 12 Deepak • 13 G. Sadhu • 14 Gawli • 15 Baichung (c) • 16 Mehraj • 17 Surkumar • 18 Rafi • 19 Gourmangi • 20 Climax • 21 Subhasish • 22 Nabi • 23 Dias • Coach: Houghton