Anwar Ali (footballer)

Anwar Ali
Personal information
Full name Anwar Ali
Date of birth (1984-09-24) September 24, 1984
Place of birth Rurka Kalan, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 12 in)
Playing position Centre Back
Club information
Current team
Mohun Bagan
Number 21
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 JCT 32 (2)
2009–2010 Dempo 18 (0)
2010–2012 Mohun Bagan 25 (0)
2012–2013 United Sikkim 23 (2)
2013–2014 Mumbai 23 (1)
2014– Delhi Dynamos 17 (0)
2014Mohun Bagan (loan) 7 (0)
2016-Mumbai(loan)
National team
2008– India 33 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:13, 6 December 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:18, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

Anwar Ali is an Indian footballer, currently playing for Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League as a centre back.

Career

Anwar joined the Rurka Kalan Academy of his village, which is about 30 kilometers away from the city of Jalandhar when he was in school. Initially he used to play as a right-back for his school, DAV Jalandhar and impressed the national team scouts in the 2002 sub-junior nationals. Anwar was part of the 2004 Punjab Santosh Trophy team that lost to Kerala in the final; the same year he joined Punjab Police.

JCT

Joga Singh, assistant coach of Punjab Police, recognized Anwar's potential to play as a central defender because of his height, strong physique and strength in the air. From then on Anwar would start playing as a central defender and in 2005, he realized his dream of signing for JCT. The 2006–07 season would turn out to be a very important season in Anwar’s career as it was in this campaign that he really came into the limelight. He was adjudged as the most promising footballer of the 2006 Durand Cup, where JCT reached the final and narrowly lost to Dempo. In the National League (now I-League), Anwar was one of the best defenders and his performances played a crucial role in JCT’s runner-up finish.

Dempo

Ali signed with Dempo for the 2009-10 I-League season and was a regular for his team, featuring 18 times during the league but left at the end of the season.

Mohun Bagan

Anwar signed with Mohun Bagan for the 2010-11 I-League season and before the 2011 Asian Cup. Anwar had an impressive season, featuring 25 times at the heart of the defense for the Mariners.

United Sikkim

Ali signed for United Sikkim of the I-League in 2012.[1]

On 28 January, he scored with a superb scissors kick from an Ashish Chettri free kick against Pailan Arrows at Kalyani, West Bengal and gave the visitors the lead on the 74th minute, though substitute Tirthankar Sarkar equalized 6 minutes later to ensure level-pegging.

Mumbai FC

Anwar spend the 2013-14 I-League with Mumbai, building a strong defensive partnership with promising youngster Sandesh Jhingan who he knew form his time at United Sikkim, helping his side avoid relegation.

Delhi Dynamos

Anwar was snapped up by Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos for the 2014 season.[2] Anwar was a regular for his team and played all of his teams' 14 league fixtures.

Mohun Bagan

Anwar signed with Mohun Bagan for the 2014-15 I-League[3]

International

Anwar continued to improve the following season and finally got a call up to the national team squad. His first tournament was the 2008 SAFF Cup but the AFC Challenge Cup could be considered as his major breakthrough tournament as it was in this competition that he established himself as a regular. Anwar formed a formidable partnership with Gouramangi Singh at the heart of the central defence as India conceded only three goals in five matches.

The tall defender has been a first team regular ever since, helping India to retain the Nehru Cup title in 2009 and also featuring regularly in the international friendlies of 2010.

He was also in the 23-member squad selected for the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

References

External links

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