Anas Edathodika (born 15 February 1987) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

and the Indian national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Kondotty Kondotty is a developing town, municipality, and aerotropolis in the Malappuram district state of Kerala, India which is located near Calicut International Airport, 24 km from Malappuram. It is the headquarters of Kondotty Taluk, which wa ...

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, He studied in the

EMEA College of Arts and Science EMEA College of Arts and Science, also known simple as E.M.E.A College, is an arts and science college located in the village Kumminiparamba, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It was established in 1983. Location The college is situated at ...

. Anas began to take up football as a serious activity when he was in tenth grade, joining the Malappuram U14s. While playing football, Anas also worked as a driver who would drive people around town for Rs. 180 a day. He then joined the football team of N.S.S College, Manjeri, where he groomed his skills under Dr. P.M. Sudhir Kumar. Eventually, he was spotted by former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

international

Feroz Sherif Feroz Sherif is a former Indian professional footballer and current coach. He played as a goalkeeper for State Bank of Travancore and India. Career Born in Kochi, Kerala, Sherif spent some of his youth career with Santos Club. Sherif soon jo ...

while playing in an inter-collegiate game. Sherif advised Anas to attend the trials for

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind Indian ...

side

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

which Edathodika did. He passed the trials and was signed by the club on a one-year deal. After one season with Mumbai, Anas managed to lead the club to promotion to the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

. After helping the club gain promotion he was re-signed by the club on a three-year deal. While at Mumbai, Anas credited his former head coach

Dave Booth David Booth (born 2 October 1948) is an English association football, football manager and former player. Early years Booth was brought up in Darton near Barnsley and attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield where he played rugby and ...

for making him the defender he is today.

Pune

After playing for four seasons with

Anas signed for rivals

Pune F.C. Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club has competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian footb ...

of the

on a two-year deal on 23 July 2011. On his signing, Pune's Head of Operations, Chirag Tanna, said "We have been tracking Anas's progress since the last two years and we are glad that he has signed a two-year contract". One of his first matches for the club came up in a friendly against English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

at the

Balewadi Sports Complex The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex is a sports complex located in Pune, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from Pune downtown and 5 km from Hinjawadi. This complex was the venue for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Kh ...

on 7 October 2011. However, the match did not last long for Anas as he was sent off after 15 minutes for his second yellow card for a rough tackle on

Mauro Formica Mauro Abel Formica (born 4 April 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Colón. He is nicknamed ''El Gato'' (''The Cat''). Career Newell's Old Boys Having signed a professional contract, Formica ...

. Before the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season it was revealed that Anas had been hit with

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

which made him miss part of Pune's pre-season. However, it was reported that on 2 August 2012 that he had returned to Pune's pre-season training. After that set-back Anas had his best season yet in his footballing career in which he started in all 26 matches for Pune in the I-League, helping the Pune defence concede only twenty-six goals that season. Due to this feat Anas managed to win the Pune Football Club Player of The Year award for 2012–13. In winning the award, he became the first Indian to win the club's biggest award and also the first defender to win it. As another reward for his impressive two seasons at the club, Anas was offered a two-year contract extension by the club which he accepted.

2013–14 season

Going onto the 2013–14 season Anas was named as the club captain. He led the side in the club's first league match of the season against

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

at the

Salt Lake Stadium The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK; ), commonly known as the Salt Lake Stadium, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, with current capacity of 85,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekananda, the stadium fo ...

on 21 September 2013. Anas played the full match for Pune as the club won the match 3–1. After the match, he said on wearing the captain's armband for the first time that he was very honoured and that he thanked the new head coach,

Mike Snoei Mike Snoei (born 4 December 1963) is a former Dutch football player and manager. He is currently in charge of Eerste Divisie side Telstar. During his playing days, Snoei played for Excelsior and Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie and Eerste Di ...

, on giving him the opportunity to lead the side, "Honestly much honoured… great. I had never worn the captain's armband ever. This was a first in my playing career at any level as far as my memory stretches and I am thankful to one and all for this opportunity. Initially, the coach said he was taking a risk by fielding me in the playing eleven, but when he announced that I was leading the side I got the confidence I needed. I thank coach for helping me believe."

Delhi Dynamos

In 2015, he was picked up by

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

. Later in 2016, the club sent Anas to

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

club

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

for a week long trial cum training camp.

Jamshedpur

On 23 July 2017, Anas was selected in the first round of the

2017–18 ISL Players Draft The 2017–18 ISL Players Draft was a players draft conducted by the Indian Super League on 23 July 2017. Format Regulations for the 2017–18 Indian Super League season allow for each club to have a minimum of 15 Indian players and a maximum of ...

for the

2017–18 Indian Super League season The 2017–18 Indian Super League season was the fourth season of the Indian Super League, one of the top Indian professional association football, football leagues. It was established in 2013. The regular season started on 17 November 2017 and ...

, thus making him the first player in Jamshedpur history. He made his debut for the club during the first-ever match on 18 November 2017 against

NorthEast United NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Supe ...

. He started and played the whole match as Jamshedpur drew 0–0.

Kerala Blasters

In 2018, he was signed by

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

, his home club. He partnered with his national teammate

Sandesh Jhingan Sandesh Jhingan (born 21 July 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the Indian national team. He won the AIFF emerging player of the year award in 2014 and made his ...

at centre-back.

ATK

In 2019, he signed for ATK. He was given the number 30 jersey.

International career

Anas made his senior international debut for India on 22 March 2017 in a 3-2 friendly win against

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. He represented India at the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

India * Intercontinental Cup:

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2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

References

External links

Indian Super League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edathodika, Anas 1987 births Living people People from Malappuram Indian footballers Mumbai FC players Pune FC players Jamshedpur FC players Kerala Blasters FC players Association football defenders Footballers from Kerala NSS College Manjeri alumni I-League players I-League 2nd Division players Indian Super League players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players ATK (football club) players India international footballers