Nanjangud Shivananju Manju

Nanjangud Shivananju Manju (born 9 May 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who played as a defender for Bengaluru FC in the I-League. He was capped 25 times for India. He is currently working as a Football Commentator in Star Sports 1 Kannada Channel for the Indian Super League.

Career

Early career In his early career, Manju played for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited S.C., Mahindra United, and Mohun Bagan A.C. all in the National Football League and I-League. Manju was nominated for the ‘Best Indian Player’ Award at the inaugural edition of the FPAI Awards Night in 2009. The major decider in him going was that the team was owned by his national teammate Baichung Bhutia.

Bengaluru FC After not playing at all during the 2012–13 I-League season, Manju signed for new direct-entry I-League club Bengaluru FC for the 2013–14 season. He made his debut for the club on 2 November 2013 against Mumbai F.C. at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which he played the full match as Bengaluru FC drew the match 2–2.

International After doing well in domestic league football, Manju earned a call-up to the India national football team. Before playing for the seniors, Manju was captain of the India U23 team.

He was on the squad that toured Barcelona as a preparatory camp for the Nehru Cup 2009, but unfortunately got himself injured in the first match of the Nehru Cup 2009 vs Lebanon which ruled him out of the Nehru Cup 2009, IFA Shield, Durand Cup as well as Federation Cup.

International goals Scores and results list India's goal tally first.

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 14 December 2005 Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan 1–0 1–0 2005 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup 2. 6 September 2006 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1–7 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours

India SAFF Championship: 2005; runner-up: 2008 Nehru Cup: 2007, 2009