Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem (born 4 July 2000), 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

in the

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 ...

. He gained fame for his performance at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Club career

Early life and career

Born in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

, Dheeraj was part of the

AIFF Elite Academy The AIFF Elite Academy is the elite academy of the overall AIFF Academies. Started on 1 February 2013, the Elite Academy was started under a youth development project that was started between the AIFF and FIFA. The Elite Academy is the final fro ...

batch that was preparing for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be hosted in India. After the tournament, Singh was selected to play for the

Indian Arrows Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) was an Indian developmental football club that competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, with a main goal of nurturing young Indian football tal ...

, an All India Football Federation-owned team that would consist of India under-20 players to give them playing time. He made his professional debut for the side in the Arrow's first match of the season against

Chennai City Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. He started and kept the clean sheet as Indian Arrows won 3–0. On 31 December 2017 he ended his contract with the AIFF to attend trials in Europe, beginning with Motherwell in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

Kerala Blasters

Dheeraj represented

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 ...

in the 2018–19 Indian Super League season. He was the first choice goalkeeper for the club. Dheeraj played his first match for the club on 29 September 2018 in the opening fixture of the 2018-19 Indian Super League season against ATK which ended 0-2 to the Blasters. He played 13 league matches and one Super Cup match with the club. He pulled off some miraculous saves earning praises from different managers. His stunning performance in the season for Blasters earned him place in the India U23 National Team.

ATK

After an impressive season for Kerala Blasters, Dheeraj signed for Indian Super League side ATK for the 2019-20 season. He played just one match for ATK throughout the campaign as he was charted on the lineup on 22 February 2020 for the match against Bengaluru FC which ended in 2-2 draw. He has also signed a football sponsorship deal with PUMA.

ATK Mohun Bagan

After the merger of ATK with

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

, Dheeraj signed for ATK Mohun Bagan for the

2020-21 Indian Super League Season The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

Goa

On 15 January 2021, it was announced that Dheeraj has signed a three year deal with

. He made his debut for Goa on 29 November against

SC East Bengal East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...

. He was named in AFC Champions League team of matchday for his performance against

Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled as ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and funct ...

on 14 April 2021, where he kept a cleansheet. He again kept a cleansheet in a match against Al Wahda on 17 April. Dheeraj won th
man of the match award
in a match against

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

on 20 April. He has emerged as the best goalkeeper in the group league round of the AFC Champions League even though his side failed to advance to the knockouts in its maiden appearance. He made a whopping 26 saves in five matches to top the goalkeeping chart of the West Zone group league stage. "Dheeraj Singh certainly made a name for himself on his continental debut, pulling off a tournament-leading 26 saves in just five games, among them a number of memorable efforts that earned high praise from impressed observers," the AFC said on its website. On November 26 2021, he was named in the AFC Champions League team of the season, the first Indian player to achieve so.

International

India U17

Dheeraj represented the India U17 side that participated in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup which was hosted in India. He was the first choice goalkeeper and played all three group matches that India had. Even though he couldn't keep a clean sheet in any of the World Cup games, he was highly praised by fans and various managers for his technique and skills.

India U23

Even though he could earn a place in the U23 Indian National team. Dheeraj was again the first choice goalkeeper for India U23 for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers. He earned his spot in the team after a brilliant season with the

in the 2018-19 ISL Season. He made his debut against Qatar U23 in an international friendly preparatory match for the 2019 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

India * SAFF Championship:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Individual * AFC Champions League Team of the Tournament:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Dheeraj 2000 births Living people People from Manipur Indian footballers AIFF Elite Academy players Indian Arrows players Association football goalkeepers Footballers from Manipur I-League players India youth international footballers Indian Super League players Kerala Blasters FC players FC Goa players ATK (football club) players ATK Mohun Bagan FC players