Gurtej Singh

Gurtej Singh "Nanna" (born 2 May 1990) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a center back for East Bengal in the I-League.

For the Indian Olympic athlete, see Gurtej Singh (athlete).

Gurtej Singh
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-05-02) 2 May 1990[1]
Place of birth Punjab, India[2]
Playing position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 East Bengal
Number 13
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 JCT
2011–2012 Pailan Arrows
2012–2013 Churchill Brothers 3 (0)
2013–2015 Bengaluru FC 5 (0)
2016–2017 Fateh Hyderabad 16 (0)
2017–2019 Pune City 29 (1)
2019– Hyderabad 13 (0)
2020- East Bengal 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:02, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Personal life

Born and brought up in Ropar (now known as Rupnagar) in Punjab, Gurtej took interest in football in the sixth grade, thanks to his father. A fan of Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (JCT), Gurtej's father took him to the stadiums. Singh would attend matches of JCT and enjoyed watching Baichung Bhutia and I.M. Vijayan play.[3]

Representing his school, Gurtej played at the Challenge Cup tournament in Sector 42 of Chandigarh, aged 15. At the tournament were kids from Football Academy, Mahilpur, a renowned centre of learning which has produced several well-known players. At the end of one the matches in the competition, Gurtej was approached by coach Hassan Ali for trials in what was to be the start of his professional football career.[3]

Career

Early career

Born in Punjab, Singh started his professional career with JCT FC of the I-League where he scored one goal for the club on 15 May 2011 in a league match against Chirag United in which he found the net in the 59th minute to give JCT their equalizer and a final 2–2 draw.[4] After spending the season with JCT's first team, after the club disbanded at the end of the 2010–11 season, Singh signed with the Pailan Arrows.[5]

Churchill Brothers

After spending one season with Pailan Arrows, Singh signed for former I-League champions, Churchill Brothers.[6] He then made his debut for the club on 17 November 2012 in a league match against East Bengal at the Fatorda Stadium in which he came on in the 81st minute for Tomba Singh as Churchill Brothers lost the match 0–3.[7]

Singh then made his international club debut on 1 May 2013 in the AFC Cup against Semen Padang in which he came on in the 49th minute for Steven Dias as Churchill Brothers lost the match 1–3.[8]

Bengaluru FC

On 8 July 2013 it was confirmed that Singh had signed for new direct-entry I-League side Bengaluru FC.[9] In 2015, he was released by Bengaluru FC.[10]

Fateh Hyderabad AFC

After Bengaluru FC, he joined Fateh Hyderabad Associated Football Club which plays in I-League 2nd Division tournament based at Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Singh was the captain at Fateh Hyderabad.

FC Pune City

On 23 July 2017, Singh was picked up by FC Pune City for 2017-18 ISL season.

Singh made his debut for Pune City in their opening fixture against Delhi Dynamos, which Pune lost 2-3.[11]

Singh was a first team regular at FC Pune City. Playing in the centre-back position, Singh was vital in the defensive unit of Pune, making 109 clearances in the 18 matches played.[3] His first goal for Pune City came on January 24, 2018 during their home fixture against Jamshedpur FC.[12] Singh's equaliser from a corner in the 62nd minute helped Pune win the match 2-1.

Pune made it to the semi-finals, their best performance since the inception of the tournament, where they were knocked out by Bengaluru FC.[13]

Career statistics
As of 12 April 2020[14]
Club Season League Federation Cup Durand Cup AFC Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Churchill Brothers 2012–13 I-League 3000001040
Bengaluru FC 2013–14 I-League 400000——40
2014–15 I-League 2000004060
Fateh Hyderabad 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division 1600000——60
Pune City 2017–18 Indian Super League 1811000——190
2018–19 Indian Super League 1102000——130
Total 291300000321
Hyderabad 2019–20 Indian Super League 1300000——130
Career total 671300050751

Honours

Club
Churchill Brothers
Bengaluru FC

References
  1. Gurtej Singh at Soccerway
  2. "Gurtej Singh". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  3. "From not expecting a selection to being a semi-finalist: Gurtej Singh's FC Pune City spell | Goal.com". Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  4. "JCT FC VS. PRAYAG UNITED 2 - 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  5. Deb, Debapriya. "Pailan Arrows: Team Analysis and Season Preview 2011/12". The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  6. "Sponsors boost for Churchill". Times of India. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  7. "CHURCHILL BROTHERS VS. EAST BENGAL 0 - 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  8. "SEMEN VS. CHURCHILL BROTHERS 3 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  9. "JSW signs three youngsters for next season". Business-Standard. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. Arnab Ray (7 January 2016). "Bengaluru FC Season Preview: Ashley Westwood's men look battle ready". Outside of the boot.
  11. "FC Pune City vs. Delhi Dynamos (ISL 2017-18)".
  12. "FC Pune City vs. Jamshedpur FC (ISL 2017-18)".
  13. "Bangaluru FC knock out FC Pune City in the semi-finals of ISL 2017-18".
  14. Gurtej Singh at Soccerway
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