NorthEast United FC
| File:Northeast United FC 2017.png | |||
| Full name | NorthEast United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Highlanders | ||
| Founded | 13 April 2014 | ||
| Ground | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati | ||
| Capacity | 23,850 | ||
| Owner | John Abraham | ||
| League | Indian Super League | ||
| 2023–24 | Indian Super League, 7th of 12 Playoffs: DNQ | ||
| Website | https://www.neufc.com/ | ||
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NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football franchise based in Guwahati, Assam. It competes in the Indian Super League.[1] The club claims to represent the 8 states of India known as North East India: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram. The team is owned and operated by Bollywood actor John Abraham.[1]
History
Formation
In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.[2] On 13 April 2014, it was announced that Bollywood actor John Abraham and Shillong Lajong Football Club had won the bidding for the franchise.[1]
On 16 July 2014, the club signed Joan Capdevila, a European Championship and World Cup winning defender with Spain, as its marquee player. He said: "India is a huge country and it should be a privilege for me to be a small part in popularising this global game here and working with the young talented footballers of North East India".[3]
Inaugural season
On 19 August the club hired its first manager, New Zealander Ricki Herbert, who had represented and managed his nation at World Cups.[4]
On 13 October 2014, the team won their first ISL match at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Spaniard Koke scoring the only goal of the game to defeat the Kerala Blasters.[5] The team did not make the end-of-season play-offs, finishing in last place among the eight teams.
2015 season
For their second season, NorthEast United signed former Portugal international Simão Sabrosa as their new marquee signing.[6] On 1 July 2015 the team announced their manager for the 2015 season, former Venezuela national coach, César Farías. The team lost all three of their opening matches with Simão absent through injury, but then earned a 2–0 home win over Chennaiyin FC in which the marquee player won and dispatched an added-time penalty kick to open the scoring.[7]
2016 season
On 13 May 2016, NorthEast United announced Sérgio Farias as the clubs new manager.[8] However, Sérgio Farias joined his former club Suphanburi FC for a second stint forcing NorthEast United to look for a new coach. On July 9, 2016, NorthEast United officially announced Sérgio Farias' exit.[9] On July 23, 2016, NorthEast United announced Nelo Vingada as the club's new manager.[10]
2017-18 season
League statistics
| Season | Teams | Position | Pld. | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. | Top Goal Scorer | Goals | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 | 8th | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 15 |  Koke
|
4 |  Ricki Herbert
|
| 2015 | 8 | 5th | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 20 |  Nicolás Vélez
|
5 |  César Farías
|
| 2016 | 8 | 5th | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 18 |  Emiliano Alfaro
|
5 |  Nelo Vingada
|
| 2017-18 | 10 | 9th | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 7 |  Marcinho
|
2 | TBD |
Crest
The crest of NorthEast United FC is featured with 8 stars at the top representing each state of North-east India. The crest is designed with red, black and white applications, with the club name written in bold letters between the main crest and the stars.
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Crest (2014−2015)
(2017−Present) -
Crest 2016
-
Crest 2017–Present
Stadium
NorthEast United FC play their home matches at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati. To meet FIFA regulations, it was renovated and its capacity was increased from 12,000 to 35,000. Later, the capacity was again reduced to 23,850 after the installation of bucket seats for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Ownership
NEUFC is owned by John Abraham, who is an Indian Bollywood actor, producer and former model.[11] It is the only ISL club that is not owned by any company or corporation.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Principal Shirt Sponsor | Sponsor #2 | Sponsor #3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Adidas | HTC | Haier | Garnier Men |
| 2015 | Performax | Air Asia | ||
| 2016 | Yamaha | |||
| 2017-18 | McDowell's No.1 | none |
Kit evolution
          2014 |
     2015 |
2016–present |
Current squad
- As of 6 January 2018[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
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Club Officials
Current technical staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | |
| Assistant coach |  Eelco Schattorie[13]
|
| Goalkeeping coach |  Joseph Sidy
|
| Team Manager | Manish Kochar
|
| Technical advisor |  Avram Grant
|
| Media Manager | Rahul Sengupta
|
| Club Analyst | Appu Jose
|
| Team Doctor | Amruta Deshpande
|
| Head Physiotherapist | Arvind Yadav
|
| Assistant Physiotherapist | Pratik Kamble
|
| Sports Therapist | Kamal Chandra Das
|
Records
Top goalscorers
- As of 6 January 2017
| # | Name | Years | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolás Vélez |
2015, 2016 | 8 (25) |
| 2 | Emiliano Alfaro |
2016 | 5 (13) |
| 3 | Koke |
2014 | 4 (12) |
| 4 | Simão |
2015 | 3 (10) |
| 4 |  Diomansy Kamara |
2015 | 3 (12) |
| 4 | Seityasen Singh |
2015, 2016 | 3 (15) |
| 7 |  Kondwani Mtonga |
2014 | 2 (13) |
| 7 | Massamba Sambou |
2014 | 2 (6) |
| 7 |  Romaric |
2016 | 2 (12) |
| 7 | Marcinho |
2017, 2018 | 2 (8) |
| 7 | Seminlen Doungel |
2014, 2017, 2018 | 2 (18) |
Most appearances
- As of 12 January 2017
Source:[14]
| # | Name | Years | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rehenesh TP |
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | 35 (0) |
| 2 | Nicolás Vélez |
2015, 2016 | 25 (8) |
| 2 | Reagan Singh |
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | 25 (0) |
| 4 | Robin Gurung |
2014, 2015, 2016 | 24 (0) |
| 5 | Holicharan Narzary |
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | 23 (0) |
| 6 | Aiborlang Khongjee |
2014, 2015 | 21 (0) |
| 7 | Rowllin Borges |
2016, 2017, 2018 | 20 (0) |
| 8 | Seminlen Doungel |
2014, 2017, 2018 | 18 (2) |
| 9 | Nirmal Chettri |
2016, 2017, 2018 | 16 (0) |
References
- ^ a b c Basu, Saumyajit. "Stars embrace football through Indian Super League". Times of India. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ "Indian Super League sees interest from 30 franchise bidders". Business Standard. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ Bali, Rahul (16 July 2014). "Capdevila: 'It's a privilege to popularise football in India'". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Herbert 'looking forward' to Indian Super League". 3news. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Ganguily, Abhishek (13 October 2014). "ISL: NorthEast United ride high on Koke, beat Kerala Blasters 1-0". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- ^ "Former Portugal winger Simao Sabrosa joins Indian Super League". ESPN FC. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Indian Super League: NorthEast United 2-0 Chennaiyin FC: Simao & Velez earn first points for NorthEast". Goal.com. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Sergio Farias to NorthEast United". NorthEast United FC (Twitter). 13 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Sergio Farias exits NorthEast United". NorthEast United FC (Twitter). 9 July 2016.
- ^ "NorthEast United FC announce Nelo Vingada as the club's new manager". NorthEast United FC (Twitter). 15 July 2016.
- ^ "John Abraham enters Bollywood with Jism". Times of India. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "NorthEast United". Indian Super League. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ "Schattorie joins NorthEast as assistant coach". NorthEast United (twitter).
- ^ "India » Indian Super League » All-time appearances » NorthEast United FC » rank 1 - 50". World Football. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
External links
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