I. M. Vijayan
Encyclopedia
Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (Malayalam: അയിനിവളപ്പില് മണി വിജയന്) (born 25 April 1969) is one of the leading India
n football
players of modern times. Playing in the striker position, he formed a successful attacking partnership with Baichung Bhutia
for the Indian national team
in the late nineties and early 2000's. Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999, the first player to win the award multiple times. He was also awarded the Arjuna award
in 2003.
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
. He scored one of the fastest ever international goals in a match against Bhutan in the 1999 SAF Games, when he managed to do the same in 12 seconds. Faster international goals on record include ones by Davide Gualtieri
in 8 seconds and Hakan Şükür
in 11 seconds. Vijayan's talents attracted interest from clubs in Malaysia and Thailand
, although he spent his entire career in India until retirement. By the end of his career he had scored 40 international goals in 79 matches for India. Since retiring Vijayan has set up a football academy to train young players in his home town.
at the age of 17 years. Vijayan delivered brilliant performance for Kerala Police at Quilon Nationals 1987, and was able to impress the national football fraternity very soon with his impeccable skills and highly aggressive style of playing. He continued to play for Kerala Police until the year 1991, when he switched to Mohun Bagan He came back to Kerala Police in 1992 and the next year switched back to Mohun Bagan. The very next year in 1994 he joined JCT Mills Fagwara, and stayed with them for 3 years till 1997, when he left JCT to join FC Kochin
. After spending a one year tenure with the club, he again moved to Mohun Bagan in 1998 and came back to FC Kochin in 1999.
Vijayan left FC Cochin in 2001 and joined East Bengal Club, which he left in 2002 to join JCT Mills Phagwara once again. After finishing a two year stint with the club, he left JCT in 2004 and joined Churchill Brothers S.C. He left the club after one year and moved to East Bengal Club in 2005, which was his last professional football club as an active football player. He left East Bengal in the year 2006.
had ever seen, and helped the team score various vital goals in international tournaments. Vijayan was part of the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored one of the fastest international goals in history during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan
after only 12 seconds. He also finished top scorer in the Afro-Asian Games
event held in India in 2003 with four goals. Vijayan formally retired from international football after the Afro-Asian Games of 2003.
(Music) and P. J. Cherian (Cinimatography). The title of the film which means blackbuck is a reference to Vijayan's popular nickname during his playing days in Kolkata. This film finds the life of Vijayan as the struggle for existence and expression by a poor Dalit
in modern India. This film won the National Award and the John Abraham Award in 1999. It also attracted mass appeal in Kerala, the home state of Vijayan at that time. Even though a short non feature film, it was exhibited in local theaters through ticket selling. That was a new episode in the history of Malayalam Film Industry. And, the songs of this film, with their folk
touch and Dalit vigour, also became hits then.
touch and Dalit vigour, also became hits then. The songs penned by N. P. Chandrasekharan were set in the manner of songs of Vattakkali and Tholukali the traditional dance forms followed by the families of Kolothumpadam, the native place of Vijayan. The music scored by K. Raghavan
, the legend of the music field of Malayalam gave them real folk attire. An audio album including these songs became popular at that time.
Some lines from the songs with translation:
I. Aaraaru paadum Vijayante thottam
Aaraaru kelkkumaa veerutta thottam
Kannam karutha kili pennival paadum
Poomi Malayalam poothyode kelkkum.
(Who'll sing Vijayan's lore
Who'll hear the tale of valour
The damsel with dark cheek'll sing
The world of Malayalam'll hear it with pride)
II. Vijayan panthaadumbo kali valappilu
Irupathettuchaalu kaattoothum
Avanu kaavalu Padamadakki
Vilipporathundu Padaveeran
(As Vijayan plays the wind will turn
The destroyer of aggressors is his guardian.
At his beck and call is the God of war.)
" (Peace) which won the national award for best film, playing a young man who kills his friend and then is tormented by remorse.His second movie is along with Kalabhavan Mani
in Akashathile paravakal, in which he played a negative role. He is currently building a reputation for his character roles in Malayalam movies
. He has also acted in some Tamil films, Thimiru
being one.
He was also a member of the now defunct National Congress (Indira)
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
players of modern times. Playing in the striker position, he formed a successful attacking partnership with Baichung Bhutia
Baichung Bhutia
Baichung Bhutia is an ex Indian footballer. He is currently contracted by the club he owns, United Sikkim. He is considered to be the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He plays for United Sikkim FC. He is often nicknamed the Sikkimese Sniper because of his shooting skills...
for the Indian national team
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
in the late nineties and early 2000's. Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999, the first player to win the award multiple times. He was also awarded the Arjuna award
Arjuna award
The Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 by the government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The award carries a cash prize of 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll....
in 2003.
Vijayan started out as a seller of soda bottles in the Trichur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
Municipal Stadium, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
earning 10 paise (0.02 Cents) a bottle. Eventually he was chosen to play for the Kerala Police
Kerala Police
The Kerala State Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Kerala, India. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The Police training college was set up by Travancore Maharaja in Thiruvananthapuram in mid 20th centuary. In 2004,a larger Kerala...
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
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
. He scored one of the fastest ever international goals in a match against Bhutan in the 1999 SAF Games, when he managed to do the same in 12 seconds. Faster international goals on record include ones by Davide Gualtieri
Davide Gualtieri
Davide Gualtieri is a retired Sammarinese footballer.He is most well-remembered for scoring the fastest ever goal in FIFA World Cup qualification history. He achieved the record in a qualifier that took place on 17 November 1993...
in 8 seconds and Hakan Şükür
Hakan Sükür
Hakan Şükür is a retired Turkish footballer who played as a striker. He spent the majority of his professional career with Galatasaray, being a three-time Gol Kralı , representing the club in three different spells and winning a total of 14 major titles.Şükür represented Turkey a...
in 11 seconds. Vijayan's talents attracted interest from clubs in Malaysia and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, although he spent his entire career in India until retirement. By the end of his career he had scored 40 international goals in 79 matches for India. Since retiring Vijayan has set up 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, and had to sell soda bottles in the Thrissur Municipal Stadium for helping his family. He had a passion for the game of football, and somehow caught the eye of the then DGP of Kerala, M.K. Joseph who got him selected for the Kerala Police football clubKerala Police
The Kerala State Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Kerala, India. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The Police training college was set up by Travancore Maharaja in Thiruvananthapuram in mid 20th centuary. In 2004,a larger Kerala...
at the age of 17 years. Vijayan delivered brilliant performance for Kerala Police at Quilon Nationals 1987, and was able to impress the national football fraternity very soon with his impeccable skills and highly aggressive style of playing. He continued to play for Kerala Police until the year 1991, when he switched to Mohun Bagan He came back to Kerala Police in 1992 and the next year switched back to Mohun Bagan. The very next year in 1994 he joined JCT Mills Fagwara, and stayed with them for 3 years till 1997, when he left JCT to join FC Kochin
FC Kochin
F. C. Kochin is a football club based in Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the first professional football club in India. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was the only Kerala football club in the National Football League although with their recent success, Viva Kerala is as well. F. C...
. After spending a one year tenure with the club, he again moved to Mohun Bagan in 1998 and came back to FC Kochin in 1999.
Vijayan left FC Cochin in 2001 and joined East Bengal Club, which he left in 2002 to join JCT Mills Phagwara once again. After finishing a two year stint with the club, he left JCT in 2004 and joined Churchill Brothers S.C. He left the club after one year and moved to East Bengal Club in 2005, which was his last professional football club as an active football player. He left East Bengal in the year 2006.
International Career
I.M. Vijayan made his debut in international football in the year 1989 and played in a number of tournaments such as Nehru Cup, pre-Olympics, pre-World Cup, SAAF Cup and SAF Games. Vijayan and Baichung Bhutia formed one of the deadliest forward lines the Indian Football teamIndia national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
had ever seen, and helped the team score various vital goals in international tournaments. Vijayan was part of the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored one of the fastest international goals in history during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan
Bhutan national football team
The Bhutan national football team is the national team of Bhutan and is controlled by the Bhutan Football Federation.- History :While a Bhutanese National football team has existed since the 1970s, it was officially founded in 1983 and joined FIFA in 2000....
after only 12 seconds. He also finished top scorer in the Afro-Asian Games
Afro-Asian Games
The Afro-Asian Games are a series of inter-continental multi-sport competitions, held between athletes from Asia and Africa. These Games are one-of-a-kind, since no other sporting competition brings athletes from these two continents together for one event, excluding the Olympic Games. These Games...
event held in India in 2003 with four goals. Vijayan formally retired from international football after the Afro-Asian Games of 2003.
Kalo Harin
The unmatching rags to riches story of Vijayan translated into celluloid in 1999. The film, Kalo Harin, was directed by Cherian Joseph. Other members of the team: A. N. Raveendra Das, N. P. Chandrasekharan (Script), N. P. Chandrasekharan (Lyrics), K. Raghavan MasterK. Raghavan
K. Raghavan is a Malayalam music composer. Along with Baburaj, Raghavan is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music. K.Raghavan gave a new direction and identity to Malayalam film music.As he searched for the right tune for the lyrics, little did K...
(Music) and P. J. Cherian (Cinimatography). The title of the film which means blackbuck is a reference to Vijayan's popular nickname during his playing days in Kolkata. This film finds the life of Vijayan as the struggle for existence and expression by a poor Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
in modern India. This film won the National Award and the John Abraham Award in 1999. It also attracted mass appeal in Kerala, the home state of Vijayan at that time. Even though a short non feature film, it was exhibited in local theaters through ticket selling. That was a new episode in the history of Malayalam Film Industry. And, the songs of this film, with their folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
touch and Dalit vigour, also became hits then.
Songs on Vijayan
The songs of Kalo Harin, with their folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
touch and Dalit vigour, also became hits then. The songs penned by N. P. Chandrasekharan were set in the manner of songs of Vattakkali and Tholukali the traditional dance forms followed by the families of Kolothumpadam, the native place of Vijayan. The music scored by K. Raghavan
K. Raghavan
K. Raghavan is a Malayalam music composer. Along with Baburaj, Raghavan is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music. K.Raghavan gave a new direction and identity to Malayalam film music.As he searched for the right tune for the lyrics, little did K...
, the legend of the music field of Malayalam gave them real folk attire. An audio album including these songs became popular at that time.
Some lines from the songs with translation:
I. Aaraaru paadum Vijayante thottam
Aaraaru kelkkumaa veerutta thottam
Kannam karutha kili pennival paadum
Poomi Malayalam poothyode kelkkum.
(Who'll sing Vijayan's lore
Who'll hear the tale of valour
The damsel with dark cheek'll sing
The world of Malayalam'll hear it with pride)
II. Vijayan panthaadumbo kali valappilu
Irupathettuchaalu kaattoothum
Avanu kaavalu Padamadakki
Vilipporathundu Padaveeran
(As Vijayan plays the wind will turn
The destroyer of aggressors is his guardian.
At his beck and call is the God of war.)
Acting Career
Vijayan acted as the leading character in internationally acclaimed Indian film "ShanthamShantham
Shantham is an award-winning Malayalam feature film directed by Jayaraj. It stars I M Vijayan, a leading Indian football player of modern times, M G Shashi, Seema Biswas and K P A C Lalitha. The renowned Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Gopi and the Malayalm writer Madambu Kunjukuttan have also...
" (Peace) which won the national award for best film, playing a young man who kills his friend and then is tormented by remorse.His second movie is along with Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
in Akashathile paravakal, in which he played a negative role. He is currently building a reputation for his character roles in Malayalam movies
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
. He has also acted in some Tamil films, Thimiru
Thimiru
Thimiru is a 2006 Indian Tamil action film written and directed by debutant Tarun Gopi. The film stars Vishal Krishna, Reema Sen and Sriya Reddy in lead and former football player I. M. Vijayan, Manoj K. Jayan and Vadivelu in supporting roles, whilst Kiran Rathod appears in an item number. The...
being one.
Other Activities
After retirement from active football, Vijayan concentrated his attention upon his Football School that he had opened in Thrissur. In 2010 Vijayan formally took over a coaching job with Southern Samity, a premier division side in the Calcutta Football League.He was also a member of the now defunct National Congress (Indira)
Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran)
Democratic Indira Congress is a defunct political party in Kerala, India. DIC was founded at a meeting in Thrissur by the K. Karunakuran faction of the Indian National Congress on May 1, 2005. Initially it was called National Congress , but the name was changed DIC for registration purposes in...
.