Raju Eknath Gaikwad (born 25 September 1990) is an Indian

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 defender for

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually part ...

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 ...

. Gaikwad primarily 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 ...

, but can also play as a full back and is a long throw specialist.

Career

Pailan Arrows

After spending time at

Tata Football Academy Tata Football Academy (Tata FA or TFA) is an association football academy situated in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, sponsored by Tata Steel, which owns ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. It is one of the renowned football academies in India. History ...

Gaikwad signed for

Pailan 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 talen ...

(then AIFF XI) in the

. He made his league debut for the club on 3 December 2010 against Prayag United 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 ...

which was also Pailan Arrows's first ever game in the I-League; Pailan lost 2–1.

East Bengal

In July 2011 Gaikwad signed for

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

after one season at Pailan and made his debut for the club on 4 February 2012 after missing the first few months of the season through injury.

Mohun Bagan A.C.

In June 2015 Gaikwad signed for

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 ...

from rival club

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

Kerala Blasters

Kerala Blasters signed Raju as a replacement for

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 ...

in the 2019–20 ISL season.

International

Gaikwad made his debut for the India U23 on 23 February 2011 against Myanmar's U23s in the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers; India U23 won 2–1. He then made his senior debut 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 ...

on 21 March 2011 in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers against Chinese Tapei at the

MBPJ Stadium The Petaling Jaya Stadium, also known as the MBPJ Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Kelana Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The stadium was opened in 1996 and has a capacity of 25,000. It was built in time for the 1998 ...

Petaling Jaya ) , website = , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling J ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

; India won 3–0. Gaikwad then won his first championship with India on 11 December 2011 when he helped India beat

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in the 2011 SAFF Cup. Gaikwad then went on to lead India to win the

2012 Nehru Cup The 2012 Nehru Cup was the 15th edition of the Nehru Cup and 3rd Nehru Cup since it was revived in 2007. It was held from 22 August to 2 September. The tournament was hosted in New Delhi, India. A total of 5 teams participated in the tournament ...

when India managed to beat Cameroon's B team on 2 September 2012 at the Nehru Stadium in the Indian capital,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Career statistics

Club

National team statistics

''Statistics accurate as of 6 May 2015''

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 ...

runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

East Bengal *

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 *

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield tourn ...

(1):

Mohun Bagan *

: 2015–16 Churchill Brothers *Baji Rout Cup runner-up: 2022

References

1990 births Living people Indian footballers I-League players Footballers from Mumbai India international footballers India youth international footballers Indian Arrows players East Bengal Club players Mumbai City FC players Indian Super League players Association football central defenders Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India Kerala Blasters FC players FC Goa players Mohun Bagan AC players Jamshedpur FC players {{India-footy-bio-stub