Sukhwinder Singh is a former Indian footballer and football manager. He was the manager of the

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literally ...

based

Indian Women's League The Indian Women's League, known as ''Hero Indian Women's League'' for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp is the women's top tier professional football league in Indian football. Founded in 2016, currently a total of 18 teams from across the c ...

side, Rising Students for the 2013–14 season and was also the coach of the India U-23 side and formerly of 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 tal ...

of 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 ...

. After completing his coaching course from National Institute of Sports in Patiala, Singh was appointed chief coach of JCT on 1 July 1992. He also served as deputy general manager and joint secretary of the Phagwara-based club.

Playing career

Singh represented

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

at the Santosh Trophy and won first title in 1974–75 season, when the team was managed by legendary footballer Jarnail Singh. They finished the tournament having scored 46 goals.

Managerial career

Singh managed the Indian senior team from 1999 to 2001 alongside managing

JCT FC Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (formerly known as JCT Mills FC; abbreviated as both JCT FC, or simply JCT) was an Indian professional football club based in Phagwara, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored by Jagatjit Cotton ...

from 1995 to 2001. He joined JCT as head coach during the managership of Inder Singh. The club at that time became one of the most successful clubs in the country, winning Federation Cup twice in 1995 and 1996, inaugural

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 ...

in 1996–97,

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 to ...

in 1996. He also guided them in continental tournament at the 1996–97 and reached second round. His notable achievements include the SAFF Cup 1999 win with the Indian senior team, the SAFF Cup 2009 with the India U-23 team and the 1996–97 National Football League victory with

. He last managed

side

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 ...

. Sukhwinder Singh is best remembered for India's performance in 2002 World Cup Qualifiers, where they defeated teams like United Arab Emirates,

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

and

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 Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. India secured 11 points from 6 matches, same as Yemen, but finished behind them due to an inferior goal difference. Only UAE qualified for the next round. Even though they did not make it to the second round, India's performance was commendable. India started the campaign with solitary goal (by Jules Alberto) win over the mighty

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. The men in blue defeated Brunei twice, one of which was a lopsided 5–0 win at home. They successfully held Yemen to draws in both the matches. They lost only one game in the entire qualifying phase which was against UAE in an away encounter. If India had managed to beat Yemen in at least one of the ties, they would have surpassed UAE and qualified for the next stages. In July 2000, Sukhwinder Singh managed India during their historic England-tour, where they played three matches against

English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

sides Fulham,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

, and arch-rival

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. He later managed Pailan Arrows.

Honours

Player

India * King's Cup third place:

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

Punjab * Santosh Trophy: 1974–75, 1980–81

Manager

: 1996–97 *

Punjab State Super Football League The Punjab State Super Football League is an Indian top state-level regional league for men's football clubs. The league serves as the top football league in the state of Punjab and is sanctioned by Punjab Football Association. The league is c ...

: 1995; runners-up: 1999 * Federation Cup: 1995, 1996 *

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

: 1996 *

Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football ent ...

: 1997 *

Indian Super Cup AIFF Super Cup, also called the Super Cup or Hero Super Cup (for sponsorship ties), is an annual knockout football competition in Indian football. It is organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Competition is open to the clubs ...

runner-up: 1997 *Gurdarshan Memorial Cup: 1995, 2001 *

Sait Nagjee Football Tournament The Sait Nagjee All India Football Tournament is one of the most prestigious football Tournaments held in Kozhikode, Kerala, India. The tournament was very popular from the beginning & attracted large crowd since 1952. The tournament played until ...

: 1995 *Scissors Cup: 1995 *Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Memorial Trophy runner-up: 1998 India * SAFF Championship:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

India U23 * SAFF Championship: 2009

References

External links

Sukhwinder Singh profile
at JCT (archived on 19 September 2020)
Sukhwinder Singh profile
at the-aiff.com (archived on 3 January 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sukhvinder Indian footballers India international footballers Indian football coaches Indian football managers India national football team managers Pailan Arrows managers Churchill Brothers FC Goa managers I-League managers Footballers from Hoshiarpur 1949 births Living people Association football defenders Indian Arrows FC managers