Denechandra Meitei

Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei (born 28 March 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.[1]

Denechandra Meitei
Personal information
Full name Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei
Date of birth (1994-03-28) 28 March 1994
Place of birth Manipur, India
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Left back
Club information
Current team
 Kerala Blasters
Number 19
Youth career
2008–2009 Mohun Bagan
2009 Sambhalpur Academy
2011–2013 Pune
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Pune 1 (0)
2017–2018 Churchill Brothers 15 (0)
2018–2019 NEROCA 4 (0)
2019–2020 TRAU 12 (0)
2020– Kerala Blasters 7 (0)
National team
India U23
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 January 2022

Club career

Early career

Born in Manipur, Meitei started playing football from the age of 10 years.[2] He initially trained at a local stadium to improve his technical ability.[2] He eventually managed to make it into his district team and then the Manipur football team in the youth nationals.[2] Then in 2008 he was signed by Mohun Bagan A.C. to join their academy.[2] After a one-year stay at the academy, Meitei joined the Sambhalpur Academy in Orissa.[2] However, due to problems with both academies in terms of how they taught academics, Meitei dropped out of both.[2] He then went back to Manipur to play for a local club.[2]

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.[2] Meitei trialed for the spot in the academy and passed.[2] While with the Pune F.C. Academy Meitei had won the I-League U19 twice.[2]

Pune Football Club

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.[3]

Kerala Blasters

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

Meitei was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the 2021 Durand Cup,[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

International career

Meitei has represented India at the under-23 level in which he played for them in a tournament held at Bangladesh.[2]

Career statistics
As of matches played till 30 March 2022[10]
Club Season League Federation Cup Durand Cup AFC Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Pune 2013–14 I-League100000——10
Churchill Brothers 2017–18 I-League1000000——100
TRAU 2018–19 I-League1200000——120
Kerala Blasters 2020–21 Indian Super League600000——60
2021–22 Indian Super League 1 0 0 0 1 0 — — 2 0
Kerala Blasters total 7 0 0 0 1 0 — — 8 0
Career total 300001000310

Honours

Kerala Blasters FC

References
  1. "First Team - Kerala Blasters FC". Kerala Blasters FC. 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  2. "14. Y. Denechandra Meitei". Pune Football Club. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  3. "PUNE VS. MOHUN BAGAN 2 - 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  4. "Denechandra Meitei joins Kerala Blasters". ANI News. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  5. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. Sportstar, Team. "Durand Cup 2021: Kerala Blasters FC announces squad". Sportstar. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  8. "Durand Cup: Bengaluru FC beat eight-men Kerala Blasters 2-0". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  9. "ISL 2021-22 Highlights, Kerala Blasters vs Bengaluru FC: KBFC 0-1 BFC". News18. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. 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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