Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei

Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei (born 28 March 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Indian Super League club Punjab.

Denechandra Meitei
Personal information
Full name Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei
Date of birth (1994-03-28) 28 March 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Manipur, India
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
2008–2009 Mohun Bagan
2009 Sambhalpur Academy
2011–2013 Pune
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Pune 1 (0)
2016–2017 Ozone 1 (0)
2017 Sagolband United
2017–2018 Churchill Brothers 15 (0)
2018–2019 NEROCA 4 (0)
2019–2020 TRAU 12 (0)
2020–2023 Kerala Blasters 9 (0)
2022–2023Odisha (loan) 14 (0)
2023- Punjab 0 (0)
International career
India U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:34, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

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Early career

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Born in Manipur, Meitei started playing football from the age of 10 years.[1] He initially trained at a local stadium to improve his technical ability.[1] He eventually managed to make it into his district team and then the Manipur football team in the youth nationals.[1] Then in 2008 he was signed by Mohun Bagan A.C. to join their academy.[1] After a one-year stay at the academy, Meitei joined the Sambhalpur Academy in Orissa.[1] However, due to problems with both academies in terms of how they taught academics, Meitei dropped out of both.[1] He then went back to Manipur to play for a local club.[1]

Then, after going back to Manipur, James Singh of Mumbai F.C. recommended Meitei to trial at Pune F.C. for a spot in the Pune F.C. Academy.[1] Meitei trialed for the spot in the academy and passed.[1] While with the Pune F.C. Academy Meitei had won the I-League U19 twice.[1]

Pune Football Club

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On 10 October 2013, Meitei made his professional debut for Pune F.C. in the I-League against Mohun Bagan A.C. at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which he came on in the 89th minute for Pierre Douhou as Pune won the match 2–0.[2]

Kerala Blasters

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On 5 August 2020, it was announced that Meitei would join Kerala Blasters from TRAU FC.[3] He made his first appearance for the club on 29 November 2021, against Chennaiyin FC.[4] On 6 May 2021, Metei signed a new three-year contract with Kerala Blasters, keeping him at the club until 2024.[5]

Meitei was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the 2021 Durand Cup,[6] and played his first match against arch-rivals Bengaluru FC on 15 September, where he received a red card and the match ended in a 2–0 defeat for the Blasters.[7] He played his first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season as a substitute for Nishu Kumar against Bengaluru itself in the 88th minute of the, which they lost 0–1.[8]

Odisha FC (loan)

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On 6 July 2022, Odisha FC announced the signing of Meitei on a season long loan deal from the Blasters.[9]

International career

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Meitei has represented India at the under-23 level in which he played for them in a tournament held at Bangladesh.[1]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 29 April 2023[10]
Club Season League Cup AFC Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Pune 2013–14 I-League 1 0 0 0 1 0
Ozone 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
Churchill Brothers 2017–18 I-League 15 0 2[a] 0 17 0
NEROCA 2018–19 4 0 0 0 4 0
TRAU 2019–20 12 0 0 0 12 0
Kerala Blasters 2020–21 Indian Super League 6 0 0 0 6 0
2021–22 3 0 1[b] 0 4 0
Kerala Blasters total 9 0 1 0 0 0 10 0
Odisha (loan) 2022–23 Indian Super League 14 0 4[b][a] 0 1[c] 0 19 0
Punjab 2023–24 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 56 0 7 0 1 0 64 0
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Super Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in play-offs for AFC Cup

Honours

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Club

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Kerala Blasters FC

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "14. Y. Denechandra Meitei". Pune Football Club. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Pune vs Mohun Bagan 2 - 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Denechandra Meitei joins Kerala Blasters". ANI News. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  4. ^ "ISL 2020-21 highlights, Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Albino penalty save helps KBFC earn point vs CFC". Sportstar. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Denechandra Meitei extends contract with KBFC till 2024". Kerala Blasters FC. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Durand Cup 2021: Kerala Blasters FC announces squad". Sportstar. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Durand Cup: Bengaluru FC beat eight-men Kerala Blasters 2-0". The New Indian Express. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  8. ^ "ISL 2021-22 Highlights, Kerala Blasters vs Bengaluru FC: KBFC 0-1 BFC". News18. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. ^ Modak, Sourav (6 July 2022). "ISL: Odisha FC sign Denechandra Meitei on loan from Kerala Blasters | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  10. ^ Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei at Soccerway
  11. ^ "ISL final: Hyderabad give Kerala the blues". The Indian Express. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
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