Shilton Sydney D'Silva (born 15 September 1992) 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 plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Gokulam Kerala Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Calicut, Kerala. Founded in 2017, the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of Indian football league system. They won the 2020–21 I-League to become the ...

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 ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Mumbai (Bombay) Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, D'Silva was discovered playing football for his school team, the St Pius X High School (Bombay), shortly thereafter he was selected to play for state-level

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s in the Maharashtra U14 team. After playing for the state during a 10-day football festival, D'Silva joined the youth set-up of

side

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, befo ...

. While with Mahindra United, D'Silva played for the under-15 side in the Manchester United Premier Cup. Then, when Mahindra United U15s played against the India U16 side D'Silva was spotted by youth coach Colm Toal and was thus selected to join the India youth set-up.

Pailan Arrows

In 2010, after the disbanding of

, D'Silva was selected to play for the

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 known as AIFF XI, of the

. This team would be a team full of under-23 players in preparation for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

. D'Silva made his professional debut for AIFF XI on 1 December 2010 against Chirag United in which AIFF XI fell 1–2 in their first ever game. He then scored his first professional goal on 22 December 2010 against

Air India FC Air India Football Club is an Indian professional football club, founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. They are sponsored by Air India, and have enjoyed some success in the MDFA Elite League. They have also competed ...

. His 34th-minute strike helped AIFF XI win 2–1. He then scored his second goal of the season against

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Mr. Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941 along with his younger brother Mr. Vaikuntrao Dempo. Mr. Vasantrao S. Dempo ...

with a 10th-minute goal that lead to a 1–1 draw against the champions. On 20 December 2011, during a

Federation Cup (India) The Federation Cup (also known as Hero Federation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was an annual knockout football competition in Indian football which started in 1977. From its inception, until I-League was started in 1997 (then called NFL), it ...

match against

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system, alongside the MDFA Elite League. It was founded in 2007, with the o ...

, D'Silva suffered an ACL tear. This injury lead him to miss 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. After a year out, D'Silva rejoined the team in November 2012, however, in a friendly match against

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

, challenge by Phoolchand Hembram left D'Silva with a broken tibia and fibula. This led to another surgery which meant that D'Silva would miss 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, the last ever season for Pailan Arrows.

Rehab

After the disbandment of

, D'Silva took a break from football to focus on his education and finish his exams. After completing graduation, former

India national under-19 football team The India national under-20 football team, also known as India Under-20s or India U20(s), represents India at all under-20 football tournaments. They act as the main feeder team for the India national under-23 football team and the senior India ...

head coach, Colm Toal, recommended D'Silva to complete his rehab at the

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...

Academy in

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 ...

. D'Silva said "The rehab went perfectly. I will remain indebted for life to the physiotherapists who helped me there. AIFF took care of all my expenses and Colm has also always been a pillar of support".

Bengaluru FC

Before the 2014–15 season, D'Silva was signed by reigning

champions

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 20 July 2013, and began its first ...

Mumbai FC (loan)

On 31 March 2015, D'Silva signed for fellow

club

on loan from

. He appeared on the bench for the team on 3 April against

Shillong Lajong Shillong Lajong FC (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya, that competes in the Shillong Premier League. The club was established in 1983 with the prime objective of improving the declining st ...

. He did not play as Mumbai fell 6–0. D'Silva then made his first professional appearance in four years on 22 April against Sporting Goa. He came on as an 85th-minute substitute for

Climax Lawrence Climax Lourenco Lawrence (born 16 January 1979) is a retired Indian professional football midfielder. He last played for FC Bardez in the Goa Professional League in 2017. National team In 2002, he was called to the India national football team ...

as Mumbai drew 1–1. After the season finished, D'Silva returned to his parent club before being released. However, soon after being released, it was announced that D'Silva would be available for selection during the 2014 Indian Super League domestic draft.

Mumbai

On 27 February 2016, D'Silva made another return to professional football, appearing on the bench for

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in an

match against Sporting Goa. On 6 December 2016 D'Silva made his season debut for Mumbai in their opening

MDFA Elite Division The Mumbai Football League, also known as the Harwood League, is organised by Mumbai Football Association (MFA) as a ladder-based competition involving a total of five divisions and over 300 teams. It is the top football league in Mumbai and t ...

match against Mumbai Customs. D'Silva started the match as Mumbai came out 8–3 winners.

Mohun Bagan

On 24 July 2017 it was announced that D'Silva had signed with

side

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 ...

. He made his debut for the club in their opening I-League match on 25 November 2017 against Minerva Punjab. He started and played the whole match as Mohun Bagan drew 1–1.

Mohammedan SC

Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) Mohammedan Sporting Club is an Indian multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Its association football, football team competes in I-League, the Indian football league system, second-tier of Indian football, as well as in Calcutta Footb ...

signed Shilton D'Silva from Mohun Bagan on January 4, 2021, for I-league season 2020–21.

International

After playing for

U15 against the India U16 side, D'Silva was spotted and selected by Colm Toal to join the India youth set-up. He represented the India U16 side during the

2008 AFC U-16 Championship The 2008 AFC U-16 Championship was the 13th competition of the AFC U-17 Championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which was held between 4 and 19 October 2008 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Qualifiers was held in 2007 from ...

and then participated with the India U19 side during the qualifiers for the

2010 AFC U-19 Championship The 2010 AFC U-19 Championship was the 36th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. Qualification for the tournament started in October 2009 with the finals tournament being hosted in October 2010. The AFC reco ...

. On 23 February 2011, D'Silva made his debut for the India U23 team against Myanmar U23 during the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

qualifiers. D'Silva then made his debut for the

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 ...

senior team on 21 March 2011 against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

in the

2012 AFC Challenge Cup The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progra ...

qualifiers. He came on a substitute for

Rakesh Masih Rakesh Masih (born 18 March 1987) is an Indian football player who currently plays for Tollygunge Agragami in the Calcutta Football League. Career Masih spent four years at the Tata Football Academy and was regarded as one of the best cadets o ...

as India won 3–0.

Career statistics

Honours

Bengaluru FC *

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 ...

: 2014–15 Mohun Bagan *

: 2019–20 *

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 ...

: 2018–19 *

Sikkim Gold Cup The Sikkim Gold Cup, known as the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, is an Indian football tournament held in Sikkim and organized by Sikkim Football Association (SFA). Past champions include New Road Team of Nepal in 2007, Three Star Club of Nepal in ...

: 2017 Rajasthan United *Baji Rout Cup: 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Silva, Shilton 1992 births Living people Footballers from Mumbai Indian men's footballers Indian Arrows players Bengaluru FC players Mumbai FC players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Men's association football midfielders I-League players India men's international footballers India men's youth international footballers Maharashtra football team players Rajasthan United FC players Gokulam Kerala FC players People from Mumbai