I. M. Vijayan

Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (Malayalam: അയിനിവളപ്പില്‍ മണി വിജയന്‍) (born 25 April 1969) is one of the leading Indian football players of modern times.

Vijayan started out as a seller of soda bottles in the Trichur Municipal Stadium, Kerala earning 10 paise (0.02 Cents) a bottle. Eventually he was chosen to play for the Kerala Police club and rose to become one of the top names in domestic football. A highly aggressive player, he eventually became the highest earner in Indian club football as well as a regular in the India team. Amongst his achievements in the game Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1992, 1997 and 1999. He also represented the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored the 3rd fastest international goal in history during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan after only 12 seconds. First being Davide Gualtieri in 8 seconds and second is Hakan Şükür in 11 seconds. He also finished top scorer in the Afro-Asian Games event held in India in 2003 with four goals. Vijayan's talents attracted interest from clubs in Malaysia and Thailand, although he spent his entire career in India until retirement. Since retiring Vijayan has set a football academy to train young players in his home town.

Early Life & Domestic Career

Vijayan was born in a back ward Pulaya community on 25th of April 1969 at Thrissur, Kerala. He began his life in a gravely poor environment,...
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