Rahul Raju

Rahul Raju (born 20 November 2003) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club Gokulam Kerala.

For the 2005 missing-persons case of the Indian child of the same name, see Disappearance of Rahul Raju.
Rahul Raju
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-11-20) 20 November 2003[1]
Place of birth Kulathoor, Kerala, India
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker, Winger, Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Gokulam Kerala
Number 7
Youth career
2019–2020 United Kochin FC
2020–2021 SB FA Poovar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Bengaluru B 7 (7)
2022–2023 Bengaluru 0 (0)
2022–2023 → Gokulam Kerala (loan) 19 (1)
2023– Gokulam Kerala 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:33, 12 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Youth

Born in the football frenzy state of Kerala, Rahul Raju started his career at an early age with the local clubs United Kochin FC and, later, SB FA Poovar of Thiruvananthapuram. He then caught the attention of Bengaluru FC scouts and was roped in by the club for their reserves side in 2021.[2][3]

Bengaluru FC

Rahul Raju began his senior career at the fourth-tier football of India with Bengaluru FC B[2][3] at the 2021–22 season of BDFA Super Division. He scored five goals for the club and had one assist to his name.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

The reserves side of Bengaluru FC participated in the maiden season of Reliance Foundation Development League in 2022 and it was a tournament to remember for the then-eighteen-year-old as he went on to secure the golden boot in the tournament with seven goals in seven games for the club who became the league premiers.[10][11][12][13]

Gokulam Kerala FC

After tasting success with Bengaluru FC B, Rahul Raju was loaned out for a season, back to his home state of Kerala but this time to the northern part of the state where the I-League club Gokulam Kerala FC is based.[2][3] Rahul Raju started for the club fifteen times and found back of the net once in the 2022–23 I-League season.[14][15][16]

Career statistics

Club
As of 25 August 2023[17]
Club Season League League Cup Domestic Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bengaluru B 2022 RF Development League 7700——77
Gokulam Kerala (loan) 2022–23 I-League 1913[lower-alpha 1]0——221
Gokulam Kerala 2023–24 00004[lower-alpha 2]0—40
Career total 268304000338
  1. Appearance(s) in Super Cup
  2. Appearance(s) in Durand Cup

Honours

Bengaluru FC B

Individual

References
  1. "Sofascore profile". Sofascore.
  2. "Gokulam Kerala FC Signs Rahul Raju On Loan From Bengaluru FC | IFTWC - Indian Football Team For World Cup". 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  3. Chakraborty, Swapnomoy (2022-08-29). "I-League: Rahul Raju completes loan move to Gokulam Kerala FC". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  4. @bengalurufc (October 22, 2021). "Striker Rahul Raju was on target for the Blue Colts, who went down 3-2 to Bangalore Eagles at the SUFC ground, in Ulsoor" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. @bengalurufc (December 7, 2021). "45' GOAAAAL! Rahul Raju finds the back of the net on the brink of half-time after Lalthangliana's shot came off the post for the striker to tap home. 0-1" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. @bengalurufc (December 13, 2021). "15' GOAL! Rahul Raju's shot has too much on it and the Independents 'keeper spills it to give the Blue Colts the lead. 1-0" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. @bengalurufc (December 13, 2021). "Rahul Raju broke the deadlock for the Blue Colts at the BFS today, and had a hand in two more goals as they ran out 4-0 winners over Bangalore Independents" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. @bengalurufc (March 28, 2022). "Rahul Raju got on the scoresheet for the Blue Colts as they ran away with a victory against SESA FA" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. @bengalurufc (December 7, 2021). "65' GOLAZO! Rahul Raju drags the 'keeper off his line and finds Jagdeep Singh who floats it into an empty net to make it two nil to the Blue Colts!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "First-ever RFDL title up for grabs as Kerala, Bengaluru lock horns in clash of titans". 90min.com. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  11. "Bengaluru FC hold Kerala Blasters to emerge inaugural RFDL champions". The Times of India. 2022-05-12. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  12. "Bengaluru FC hold Kerala Blasters FC to a draw to win inaugural RFDL title". OneFootball. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  13. "On the mark: A look at the top five goalscorers in Reliance Foundation Development League". Indian Super League. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  14. Shetty, Chittu (2022-12-04). "Mumbai Kenkre hold defending champions Gokulam Kerala to a draw". Football Counter. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  15. "I-League: Gokulam Kerala thrash 10-man Aizawl FC 3-0, climb to third". The Times of India. 2023-02-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  16. "I-League: Gokulam Kerala down Aizawl FC". onmanorama.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  17. Rahul Raju at Soccerway
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