Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional
football club based in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
. The club competes in the
Indian Super League, the top flight of
Indian football. Founded on 27 August 2019, the club replaced
Pune City after they were disbanded and their franchise rights were sold to Telangana businessman Vijay Madduri and former
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 ...
CEO Varun Tripuraneni. Later, actor
Rana Daggubati stepped in as one of the co-owners. The club began their first professional season in October 2019.
On 16 June 2020, German club
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
struck a partnership deal with the club for grassroots development.
Manuel Márquez Roca is the current Hyderabad head coach, taking over on 31 August 2020 replacing
Albert Roca who went to
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...
as a ''fitness coach''. Hyderabad play their home matches at the
G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium in the Hyderabad suburb of
Gachibowli
Gachibowli is a suburb of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, located in the Serilingampally mandal of the Rangareddy district. It is situated about 5 km away from HITEC City, another IT hub. Gachibowli is home to numerous tech companies and res ...
. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 for matches.
Hyderabad played their inaugural match on 25 October 2019, suffering a 0–5 defeat to
ATK. The club completed their first season in the Indian Super League in 10th place, failing to qualify for the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
. The club won their first ever championship in the
2021–22 ISL by defeating
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 ...
3–1 penalties in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
.
History
Formation
In February 2019, it was reported that
Indian Super League side
Pune City were struggling financially and that their owners were looking to sell the franchise.
The club reportedly were behind on paying players and had also attempted to discuss merging with local rivals
Mumbai City
Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...
.
After the
2018–19 season, Pune City released all their players and participated in the
Super Cup using academy players.
On 26 August 2019, it was reported by the ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' that Pune City had disbanded and that former
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 ...
CEO Varun Tripuraneni had bought a majority stake in the club. Neither then Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel or Tripuraneni confirmed the reports. However, the next day, on 27 August 2019, it was announced that Hyderabad would replace Pune City for the
2019–20 season, with Tripuraneni and businessman Vijay Madduri buying the ownership rights to the franchise. The club's branding and first kits were then revealed prior to their first season on 29 September 2019.
Inaugural season
On 29 August 2019, it was announced that
Phil Brown, the last head coach of
Pune City, would be the first head coach for Hyderabad. In late September, just before the start of the
2019–20 season, it was revealed that Hyderabad had signed almost every player from Pune City's final squad.
The club played their first ever match on 25 October 2019 against
ATK 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 f ...
. They were defeated 0–5 in a match which Brown described as "not our usual standards".
Hyderabad then succumbed to defeat again in their second match against
Jamshedpur.
Marcelinho scored the first goal for the club's history but could not prevent his side's 1–3 defeat. The club finally earned their first victory in their third match on 2 November 2019 against the
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 ...
. This was also Hyderabad's first home match. Goals from
Marko Stanković and Marcelinho helped Hyderabad to a 2–1 victory.
On 11 January 2020, with the club in last place in the table, with just one victory and two draws from 12 matches, Brown and the club decided to part ways. 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
Mehrajuddin Wadoo
Mehrajuddin Wadoo (born 12 February 1984) is an Indian professional manager and former footballer. He is the current head coach of I-League club Mohammedan. During his playing days, Wadoo played for clubs such as Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Sal ...
took over as caretaker for one match before assistant coach
Xavier Gurri López became interim coach for the rest of the season.
The club finished their season with a 5–1 victory over
NorthEast United on 20 February 2020. Overall, the club finished the season in last place and failed to qualify for the
ISL playoffs.
2020–21 season
Ahead of the
2020–21 Indian Super League season
The 2020–21 Indian Super League season was the seventh season of the Indian Super League (ISL) since its formation and the 25th season of the top division of the Indian football league system. The season started on 20 November 2020 and ended ...
, Hyderabad appointed
Manolo Márquez as their head coach
after
Albert Roca mutually parted ways with the club when he was approached by
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...
to become their fitness coach.
Hyderabad FC began their second competitive season on 23 November with a win against
Odisha FC
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 ...
. After struggling early in the season, the team made a decent comeback, as they had an unbeaten run which lasted for 12 matches. They managed to get 29 points from 20 games, which includes six wins, three losses and eleven draws. Their last game against
FC Goa became crucial for them as they needed a win to qualify into the playoffs. After having a goaless draw against Goa, Hyderabad narrowly missed the play-offs as they finished 5th in the league table.
2021–22 season
In their third season of the
Indian Super League, Hyderabad FC won their maiden title on March 20, 2022 in Margao, Goa. They beat
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 ...
3-1 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time.
Hyderabad FC goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani saved four penalties in the shootout, including one that was retaken after being saved initially.
Crest, colours & kits
The team colours and logo for Hyderabad were unveiled on 21 September 2019.
The club colours are yellow and black. According to the club, the logo is titled "Reliving Hyderabad's Football Legacy" and is meant to represent
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
and the city's heritage.
The logo features the minarets from the
Charminar
The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...
in the city and
Koh-i-Noor
The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The ...
diamonds.
According to Hyderabad co-owner Vijay Madduri, the logo "is inspired from the city's history, we now hope that HFC will be a great boost for the sport in the region... we can give a boost to the legacy that is already present in the city's history and roots."
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Stadium
Hyderabad play their home matches at the
G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium, located in the Hyderabad suburb of
Gachibowli
Gachibowli is a suburb of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, located in the Serilingampally mandal of the Rangareddy district. It is situated about 5 km away from HITEC City, another IT hub. Gachibowli is home to numerous tech companies and res ...
.
A
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
, the stadium is mainly used to host
football matches and was built in 2002 prior to the
2003 Afro-Asian Games
The 2003 Afro-Asian Games, officially known as the First Afro-Asian Games or I Afro-Asian Games and unofficially known as the Inaugural Afro-Asian Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Hyderabad, India, from 24 October (exc ...
. The stadium used to host matches for
Fateh Hyderabad in the
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 ...
but the club relocated after saying that the "pitch was not in good shape".
Prior to Hyderabad's first season, the grass was relaid and the stadium was renovated and cleaned in anticipation of the
2019–20 season.
Supporters
In a very short period of time Hyderabad FC have managed to get local support from the city fans. In their first home match against
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 ...
, more than 14,000 people came to support the club which the club won by 2-1. ''Deccan Legion'' is active fan group of Hyderabad FC.
Ownership
The current co-owners of Hyderabad are Vijay Madduri, Varun Tripuraneni, and
Rana Daggubati. Madduri, the chief executive officer of the
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
-based company Incessant Technologies, said that he was looking forward to his "significant role in developing football in the state, reviving its past glory".
Tripuraneni is the former CEO of the
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 ...
, another
Indian Super League side. During the club's announcement, Tripuraneni said "It is a proud moment for me, to be co-owner of Hyderabad FC. Hyderabad is a city with great football culture. I look forward to working with key stakeholders and building a strong foundation for the club, which will eventually contribute to society and do the city proud. Our immediate task is to prepare for the new season".
On 24 October 2019, it was announced that prominent
Telugu actor
Rana Daggubati would also join Madduri and Tripuraneni as a co-owner of the club.
After acquiring ownership, Daggubati stated "Hyderabad has a great legacy with the sport. This team, therefore, is a chance to rekindle that legacy."
Players
First-team squad
Out on loan
Former players
Reserves
Personnel
Current technical staff
Records and statistics
Head coaches record
Team records
Most appearances
Most goals
eSports
The organizers of ISL introduced eISL, a
FIFA video game tournament, for the ISL playing clubs, each represented by two players. Hyderabad FC hosted a series of qualifying games for all the participants wanting to represent the club in eISL. On 20 November the club announced the signing of the two players.
Roster
Honours
*
Indian Super League
** Champions (1):
2021–22
Affiliated clubs
The following clubs are currently affiliated with Hyderabad FC:
*
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
(2020–present)
*
Marbella FC (2020–present)
References
External links
Hyderabadat the
Indian Super League official website
Hyderabadat the
AIFF official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyderabad FC
Indian Super League teams
Football clubs in Telangana
Football clubs in Hyderabad
Association football clubs established in 2019
2019 establishments in Telangana
Sport in Hyderabad, India