I. M. Vijayan

Inivalappil Mani Vijayan, (born 25 April 1969) popularly known as Kalo Harin (Black Buck),[1] is a former professional Indian football player who also captained the India national football team. He played as a striker, where he formed a successful attacking partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia for the Indian national team in the late nineties and early 2000s. Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999,[2] the first player to win the award multiple times.[3] He was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 2003.[4]

Inivalappil Mani Vijayan
Vijayan in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-04-25) 25 April 1969
Place of birth Kerala
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
1994–1997 JCT Mills Phagwara 44 (19)
1997–1998 FC Kochin 50 (24)
1998–1999 Mohun Bagan 33 (15)
1999–2001 Athletic Bilbao 153 (89)
2001–2002 East Bengal Club 18 (19)
2002–2004 JCT 34 (10)
2004–2005 Churchill Brothers 16 (22)
2005–2006 East Bengal Club 41 (11)
National team
Years Team Apps
1989–2006 India 68 (55)

Vijayan started out as a soda seller in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium, Kerala earning 10 paise (0.02 Cents) a bottle. Eventually he was chosen to play for the Kerala Police club and rose to become one of the top names in domestic football. A highly aggressive player, he eventually became the highest earner in Indian club football as well as a regular choice in the Indian team. He scored one of the fastest ever international goals in a match against Bhutan in the 1999 SAF Games, where he managed to score in 12 seconds after kickoff.[5] Vijayan's talents attracted interest from clubs in Malaysia and Thailand, although he spent his entire career in India until retirement. By the end of his career he had scored 40 international goals in 79 matches for India.[6] Since retiring from international football Vijayan has set up a football academy to train young players in his home town. After a short gap, presently he is playing for Kerala Police. He was the captain of Indian team from 2000 to 2004.

Early life and domestic career

Vijayan was born into a Malayali Family[7] on 25 April 1969 at Thrissur City, Kerala. He began his life in a gravely poor environment, and had to sell soda bottles in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium to help his family. He studied in Church Mission Society High School, Thrissur (CMSHSS, Thrissur). He had passion for the game of football, and somehow caught the eye of the then DGP of Kerala, M.K. Joseph who got him selected for the Kerala Police football club at 17 years of age. Vijayan delivered brilliant performances for Kerala Police at Quilon Nationals 1987, and was able to impress the national football fraternity very soon with his impeccable skills and highly aggressive style of playing. He continued to play for Kerala Police until 1991. He then joined Mohun Bagan, before coming back to Kerala Police in 1992 and then switching back to Mohun Bagan the very next year for a second spell at the club. In 1994, he joined JCT Mills Fagwara, and stayed with them for 3 more years until 1997, when he left JCT to join FC Kochin. After spending a one year tenure with the club, he moved once more to Mohun Bagan in 1998, his third spell with the club, and then returned to FC Kochin in 1999. Vijayan left FC Kochin in 2001 and joined East Bengal Club, before leaving in 2002 to join JCT Mills Phagwara once more. After finishing a two-year stint with the club, he left JCT in 2004 and joined Churchill Brothers S.C.. He left the club after one year and joined East Bengal in 2005, which was his last professional football club as an active football player. He left East Bengal in 2006. In the 2020-21 Season, I.M. Vijyan was playing for the Gokulam Kerala Futsal Team.

Vijayan with Bhaichung Bhutia in the inauguration ceremony of Palakkad Noorani Football stadium

International career

I.M. Vijayan made his debut in international football in the year 1989 and played in a number of tournaments such as Nehru Cup, Pre-Olympics, FIFA World Qualifiers, SAFF Championship and SAF Games. Vijayan and Bhaichung Bhutia formed one of the deadliest forward lines the Indian Football team had ever seen, and helped the team score various vital goals in international tournaments. Vijayan was part of the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored one of the fastest international goals in history of sport during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan after only 12 seconds.[5] He also finished top scorer in the Afro-Asian Games event held in India in 2003 with four goals. Vijayan formally retired from international football after the Afro-Asian Games of 2003.[2]

International Statistics

[6]

Honours

Kalo Hiran

A biographical film, titled Kalo Hiran and directed by Cherian Joseph, was released in 1998. The title translates as black buck and is a reference to Vijayan's popular nickname during his playing days.

Acting career

After retiring from football, Vijayan started his acting career. His debut was through playing the lead role in the film Shantham, directed by Jayaraj. Later on, he went to act more than 20 films, in Malayalam & Tamil.

Family

Vijayan is married to Raji.[8]

Other activities

In 2004, he started a sports equipment company named "Boxer Sports Goods Company (BSGC)" in Thrissur.[9][10]

After retirement from active football, Vijayan concentrated his attention upon his football School that he had opened in Thrissur.

He was also a member of the now defunct National Congress (Indira).[11] In 2010 Vijayan formally took over a coaching job with Southern Samity, a premier division side in the Calcutta Football League.[12] In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Vijayan as the national observer for football.[13] In October 2018, Vijayan announced that he is starting a film production company called 'Bigdaddy Entertainment' jointly with his friends, which will be mainly revolve around football.[14][15]

See also

References
  1. "The legend who sold soda bottles – A Tribute to I.M.Vijayan". Sportskeeda. 13 July 2012.
  2. "A down to earth footballer". Sportstar. 22 November 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  3. "AIFF award 2008". Top news.in. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  4. "Arjuna award 2003". The Hindu. 3 August 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  5. "Gone in 13 seconds or less: The fastest international goals". ESPN FC. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  6. "Invalappil Mani Vijayan - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  7. "Deer-Footed Magician". Outlook. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "About Us". boxersports.in. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  10. "Vijayan's `football' ready for launch". The Hindu. UNI. 14 July 2004.
  11. "A new role for Vijayan". The Hindu. 15 July 2005. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  12. "Vijayan begins coaching career". Rediffnews. 18 July 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  13. "Government designates 12 Olympians as National Observers". The Indian Express. PTI. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  14. "Footballer-turned-actor IM Vijayan launches production company". cinemaexpress.com. Cinema Express. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  15. "IM Vijayan to make his production debut with a football based film". ONLOOKERS MEDIA. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
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