Naduparambil Pappachen Pradeep (born 28 April 1983), commonly known as NP Pradeep, is a retired

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 ...

n 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. Pradeep hails from

Moolamattom Moolamattom is the headquarters of Arakulam Panchayath in Thodupuzha Taluk, Idukki district in Kerala, India. It lies 22 km from Thodupuzha, on the banks of the Thodupuzha River, a tributary of the Muvattupuzha river. Moolamattom is famou ...

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 Canar ...

. He was also the captain of India's U23 team. He is currently working as a Malayalam co-commentator and pundit on Star Sports network.

Club career

Pradeep used to play as a striker during his youth career and represented his state, Kerala, at Under-17 and Under-21 levels. At the age of 17 he signed for SBT and soon was transformed into a midfielder. He represented India at various age group levels, including the Under-20 team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 AFC Under-20 Championships. Pradeep continued to impress at SBT, helping them to win four Kerala League titles. His first call up to the senior team was during the 2005 SAFF Cup in Bangladesh, which India went on to win. In 2006, Pradeep made his first big move at club level as he joined National League champions Mahindra United. There Pradeep developed a quality of being very versatile as he also at times played as a fullback. The man from Kerala also captained the India Under-20 side that reached the last eight of the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup. He won the IFA Shield and reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup with Mahindra and caught the eye of newly appointed India coach Bob Houghton. Initially he was used as a left back by the English tactician but by the start of the 2007 Nehru Cup, Pradeep was in the India squad as a goal scoring midfielder. India's first goal in that competition was scored by the man from Kerala but his best moment came in the final. In 2016, he worked as a player scout for ISL side

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 in ...

Viva Kerala FC

For the 2010–11 I-League season Pradeep signed with Viva Kerala and scored two goals in four games. He scored his third goal against Dempo for Viva on 8 April 2011.

Mohun Bagan AC

During the off season after the

I-League 2010-11 The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional Association football, football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across th ...

season Pradeep signed for

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 ...

club Mohun Bagan A.C.

Dodsal Football Club

The Indian international did not have a 2011–12 I-League season to remember as he was on the fringes of the first team at Mohun Bagan. NP Pradeep signed for Dodsal F.C. in 2012, along with the likes of Surkumar Singh &

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

. It is also said that head coach Bimal Ghosh and his liking for the city of Mumbai were the two main reasons for him choosing to sign up with the 2nd-tier I-League side. On 6 April 2013, he scored a 2nd-minute goal at

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

against Rangdajied United F.C., though the Tigers lost the match 1–3.

Mumbai FC

On 24 November 2013 it was announced that Pradeep has signed for Mumbai on loan from IMG RELIANCE with three other players Khelemba Singh,

and Peter Costa. He made his debut on 2 December 2013 against East Bengal F.C. at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which he scored a goal in 65th minute and played till the 76th minutes before being replaced by Sandjar Ahmadi as Mumbai won the match 3–2.

International career

Pradeep is a regular on the Indian National Team. He plays as an attacking midfielder and has often scored scorching long rangers. He has played for

in the AFC Asia Cup 2007 qualifiers and scored a goal against

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sha ...

. Pradeep has also represented India in the Vancouver Whitecaps Invitational in 2006 scoring a goal there as well. He played extremely well in

's exposure trip to Portugal in 2007 where they played Portuguese club sides. His most memorable performance was perhaps in the Nehru Cup 2007 where he scored 2 stunning goals, including the goal in the finals versus

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

which won

the cup. Incidentally he opened and also closed the scoring in the Nehru Cup 2007. Pradeep is remarked by critics as a player whose talents and skills can potentially surpass former Indian captain

I. M. Vijayan Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (born 25 April 1969), also known by the nickname Kalo Harin ( Blackbuck), is a former professional football player who also captained the India national football team. He played as a striker, where he formed a successf ...

. Since then Pradeep has been a regular in the first eleven of the senior national team, helping them to win two more trophies. In the Asian Cup 2011 Pradeep played a vital defensive role for India. Despite his efforts India crashed out of the Asian Cup after three defeats in the group stage.

International goals

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

Honours

India *

AFC Challenge Cup The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that was categorized as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme. "Vision Asia", created by former AFC president, ...

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; ...

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:

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 ...

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 Benazir Bhutto ...

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; Protests ...

India U20 *

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic ...

Silver medal:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Personal life

After retiring from football, Pradeep worked as a scout for Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC).

References

External links

Interview in Mohun Bagan Official WebsitePradeep's scorcher in the Nehru Cup 2007 final
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pradeep, Naduparampil Pappachen 1983 births Living people Indian footballers India international footballers India youth international footballers Footballers from Kerala Malayali people People from Idukki district 2011 AFC Asian Cup players I-League players Mohun Bagan AC players Chirag United Club Kerala players Mumbai Tigers FC players Mumbai FC players Sree Kerala Varma College alumni Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Association football forwards Association football midfielders Asian Games competitors for India Association football commentators Indian sports broadcasters Kerala Blasters FC non-playing staff South Asian Games silver medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in football