Nanjangud Shivananju Manju (born 9 May 1984) 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 played as a defender for Bengaluru FC in 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 ...

. He was capped 25 times for

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 ...

. He is currently working as a Football Commentator in Star Sports 1 Kannada Channel for 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 ...

Career

Early career

In his early career, Manju played for

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited S.C. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Sporting Club, often abbreviated as HAL or HASC, was an institutional Indian association football, football club based in Bangalore. It was named after the company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The club com ...

, Mahindra United, and

Mohun Bagan A.C. 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 ...

all in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and

. Manju was nominated for the ‘Best Indian Player’ Award at the inaugural edition of the FPAI Awards Night in 2009.

United Sikkim

On 18 February 2011, it was announced that Manju had signed with

United Sikkim F.C. United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the I- ...

of the I-League 2nd Division along with national team teammate

Renedy Singh Potsangbam Renedy Singh, simply known as Renedy Singh (born 20 June 1979), is a former Indian football player and football pundit, who was the interim manager of Indian Super League club East Bengal for 2021–22 season. He is also the former ...

. The major decider in him going was the fact that the team was owned by his national teammate

Baichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

Pune FC (loan)

On 7 January 2012, it was confirmed that Manju had signed for

side

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 ...

on loan for the remainder of the

2011–12 I-League The 2011–12 I-League was the fifth season of the I-League. The season began in October 2011 and ended in May 2012. Salgaocar are the defending champions, having won their maiden title in the previous season. The current edition has a tota ...

season.

Bengaluru FC

After not playing at all during the

2012–13 I-League The 2012–13 I-League was the sixth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 6 October 2012 and finished on 12 May 2013 with Churchill Brothers ...

season, Manju signed for new direct-entry

club Bengaluru FC for the 2013–14 season. He made his debut for the club on 2 November 2013 against

Mumbai F.C. Mumbai Football Club was an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system, alongside the Mumbai Football League, MDF ...

at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which he played the full match as Bengaluru FC drew the match 2–2.

International

After doing well in domestic league football, Manju earned a call-up to the

India national football team The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The team is affiliated to FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Indian team, which was once cons ...

. Before playing for the seniors, Manju was captain of the India U23 team. He was on the India national squad who won the prestigious

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international association football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), named after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to ...

in 2007 and 2009. He was on the squad that toured Barcelona as a preparatory camp for the Nehru Cup 2009, but unfortunately got himself injured in the first match of the Nehru Cup 2009 vs Lebanon which ruled him out of the Nehru Cup 2009, IFA Shield, Durand Cup as well as Federation Cup.Manju to miss IFA Shield and Durand Cup
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International goals

:''Scores and results list India's goal tally first.''

Honours

India *

SAFF Championship The South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly known as SAFF Championship (previously known as ''South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup'' and ''South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup''), is the main international ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

; runner-up:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manju, Nanjangud Shivananju 1984 births Living people Indian men's footballers Sportspeople from Mysore 2011 AFC Asian Cup players I-League players I-League 2nd Division players India men's international footballers India men's youth international footballers Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC players Mahindra United FC players United Sikkim FC players Mohun Bagan SG players Pune FC players Bengaluru FC players Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers from Karnataka Men's association football defenders Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games silver medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in football