Mahindra United

Mahindra United
Nickname(s) Jeepmen[1]
Founded 1962
Dissolved 2010 (I-League 2009–10)
Ground Cooperage Ground
Mumbai, India
Ground Capacity 12,000
League I-League
2009–2010 4th

Mahindra United Football Club (abbreviated as MUFC) was a professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Their home ground was the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai. Mahindra United played in the 1st Division of the I-League, the AFC-affiliated top-tier football league in India before closing down at the end of 2009–10 season.

The club was popularly referred as India's MU after English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United. The club was one of the popular football clubs in the country and was known for its consistent good performance in the last four decades of its existence. The club had won many a major tournaments in India.

History

The Club was founded in 1969. as the Mahindra & Mahindra Allied Sports Club under the patronage of the Mahindra Group. The Club secured admission into Bombay's Harwood League in 1964. In the summer of 2006, the Club was renamed Mahindra United. The shirt colour was also changed from orange to red.

The team played its NFL home matches at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai, but due to the bad state of the stadium, as of February 7, 2006, they had to play almost all of their NFL games away from Mumbai.

The club finished the inaugural season of the NFL Premier Division at the bottom of the table, but were not relegated as there was no second tier in the league at the time.

Mahindra were crowned champions of the NFL Premier Division for the first time in the club's history in the 2005–06 season with two games to spare. They followed it up by beating their arch-rivals, Air India for the first time in the season. They are also two-time winners of the Federation Cup, having won the title in 2003 and 2005. The win in 2005 ensured that Mahindra became the first club in the history of Indian football to win the Federation Cup and National Football League double in the same season.[2] They did however lose the NFL Super Cup to East Bengal by a margin of 1–2.

Mahindra United players blocking a freekick in I-League

The coach of the team was Derrick Pereira. Players like Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Manjit Singh and Surojit Bose have been associated with the team. The club also tried forming under-15 and under-19 teams in order to nurture the young talent in the country.[2]

Disbanding the club

The club was disbanded after the I-league 2010 season.[3]

Achievements

Mahindra United had won almost all the major competitions in India. It was the only team from Mumbai to win the Durand Cup, the second oldest football competition in the world, twice. It was also the first team from Maharashtra to win the Harwood League and the Nadkarni Cup three times in a row. The club has been three times winner of the Durand Cup, two times winner of IFA shield and Federation Cup. There are several other championships like Mammen Mappillai Cup, Rovers Cup, CM Cup and Super Cup where Mahindra United has registered victory.[2]

Last registered squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
4 India MF Krishnan Nair Ajayan
16 India DF Sunil Kumar
22 India GK Amit Nandy
27 India MF Noel Fernandes

Honours

2006
1998, 2001/02,2008
2003, 2005
2006, 2008

Performance in AFC competitions

2004: Group Stage
2007: Quarter-Finals

Ex-staff

General Manager  : Henry Menezes

Manager/Coach  : David Booth

Assistant Coach  : Arshad Hussain

Physio  : Dr Sandeep Kurale

Medical Head.  : Dr N N Shingornikar

Mahindra United Under – 19 years

In an attempt to nurture young talent and promote football in Mumbai, Mahindra United fielded an Under-19 years team from 2003. The team performed extremely well in the NFL league for U-19 years and reached the semi-finals, beating teams like Churchill Bros and Salgaocar. This promotion of the U-19 years team has helped the players to develop and display their talent at the top level and has got them instant recognition and offers from some leading clubs in Mumbai.

Mahindra United participated in I-league (Under-19) held since 2008.

Mahindra United Under – 15 & 17years

Spurred by the success of its U-19 years team, Mahindra United fielded an Under-15 years team from 2006. The team played the Manchester United Premier Cup Asian Qualifiers held at Kolkata where top NFL Clubs participated.

Former Managers

References

  1. ↑ "Jeepmen on track after U-turn". The Indian Express.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mahindra United – Mahindra United Indian Football Club – Mahindra United Club Football India". Iloveindia.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  3. ↑ "Mahindra United to disband team". Hindustan Times. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
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