Denechandra Meitei
Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei (born 28 March 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who last played as a defender for Indian Super League club Punjab.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei | ||
| Date of birth | 28 March 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Manipur, India | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Punjab | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2009 | Mohun Bagan | ||
| 2009 | Sambhalpur Academy | ||
| 2011–2013 | Pune | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2014 | Pune | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Ozone | 1 | (0) |
| 2017 | Sagolband United | ||
| 2017–2018 | Churchill Brothers | 15 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | NEROCA | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | TRAU | 12 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Kerala Blasters | 9 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Odisha (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2023– | Punjab | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| India U23 | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:34, 4 March 2023 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
Born in Manipur, Meitei started playing football from the age of 10 years.[1] He initially trained at a local stadium to improve his technical ability.[1] He eventually managed to make it into his district team and then the Manipur football team in the youth nationals.[1] Then in 2008 he was signed by Mohun Bagan A.C. to join their academy.[1] After a one-year stay at the academy, Meitei joined the Sambhalpur Academy in Orissa.[1] However, due to problems with both academies in terms of how they taught academics, Meitei dropped out of both.[1] He then went back to Manipur to play for a local club.[1]
Then, after going back to Manipur, James Singh of Mumbai F.C. recommended Meitei to trial at Pune F.C. for a spot in the Pune F.C. Academy.[1] Meitei trialed for the spot in the academy and passed.[1] While with the Pune F.C. Academy Meitei had won the I-League U19 twice.[1]
Pune Football Club
On 10 October 2013, Meitei made his professional debut for Pune F.C. in the I-League against Mohun Bagan A.C. at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which he came on in the 89th minute for Pierre Douhou as Pune won the match 2–0.[2]
Kerala Blasters
On 5 August 2020, it was announced that Meitei would join Kerala Blasters from TRAU FC.[3] He made his first appearance for the club on 29 November 2021, against Chennaiyin FC.[4] On 6 May 2021, Metei signed a new three-year contract with Kerala Blasters, keeping him at the club until 2024.[5]
Meitei was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the 2021 Durand Cup,[6] and played his first match against arch-rivals Bengaluru FC on 15 September, where he received a red card and the match ended in a 2–0 defeat for the Blasters.[7] He played his first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season as a substitute for Nishu Kumar against Bengaluru itself in the 88th minute of the, which they lost 0–1.[8]
International career
Meitei has represented India at the under-23 level in which he played for them in a tournament held at Bangladesh.[1]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 29 April 2023[10]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | AFC | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pune | 2013–14 | I-League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Ozone | 2016–17 | I-League 2nd Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Churchill Brothers | 2017–18 | I-League | 15 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| NEROCA | 2018–19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| TRAU | 2019–20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | 3 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Kerala Blasters total | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Odisha (loan) | 2022–23 | Indian Super League | 14 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Punjab | 2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 56 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 0 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Super Cup
- Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
- Appearance(s) in play-offs for AFC Cup
Honours
Kerala Blasters FC
- Indian Super League runner up: 2021–22.[11]
References
- "14. Y. Denechandra Meitei". Pune Football Club. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- "Pune vs Mohun Bagan 2 - 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- "Denechandra Meitei joins Kerala Blasters". ANI News. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "ISL 2020-21 highlights, Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Albino penalty save helps KBFC earn point vs CFC". Sportstar. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- "Denechandra Meitei extends contract with KBFC till 2024". Kerala Blasters FC. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- "Durand Cup 2021: Kerala Blasters FC announces squad". Sportstar. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- "Durand Cup: Bengaluru FC beat eight-men Kerala Blasters 2-0". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- "ISL 2021-22 Highlights, Kerala Blasters vs Bengaluru FC: KBFC 0-1 BFC". News18. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- Modak, Sourav (6 July 2022). "ISL: Odisha FC sign Denechandra Meitei on loan from Kerala Blasters | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- Denechandra Meitei at Soccerway
- "ISL final: Hyderabad give Kerala the blues". The Indian Express. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
External links
- Denechandra Meitei at Soccerway