I. M. Vijayan

Early life and domestic career

Vijayan was born into a Malayali family on 25 April 1969 in Thrissur City, Kerala. He began his life in a gravely poor environment and had to sell soda bottles in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium to help his family. He started out as a soda seller in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium, Kerala, earning 10 paise (0.02 cents) per bottle. He studied at Church Mission Society High School, Thrissur (CMSHSS, Thrissur).

Vijayan had 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 club at 17 years of age. Vijayan delivered brilliant performances 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 1991. He then joined Mohun Bagan, before coming back to Kerala Police in 1992 and then switching back to Mohun Bagan the very next year for a second spell at the club. In 1994, he joined JCT Mills Phagwara and stayed with them for 3 more years until 1997, when he left JCT to join FC Kochin. After spending a one year tenure with the club, he moved once more to Mohun Bagan in 1998, his third spell with the club, and then returned to FC Kochin in 1999.

In August 2000, during the off-season, Vijayan joined the Bangladeshi Dhaka Premier Division League club Muktijoddha Sangsad and appeared in five league matches, while the lack of an international transfer certificate behind the signing caused a fine of 50,000 rupees by the All India Football Federation in March 2001. He rejoined FC Kochin later and played until 2001. He later signed with East Bengal before leaving in 2002 to join JCT Mills Phagwara once more. 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 joined East Bengal in 2005, which was his last professional football club as an active football player. He left East Bengal in 2006. In the 2020–21 season, Vijayan appeared with Gokulam Kerala's futsal team.

International career

I.M. Vijayan made his debut in international football in the year 1992 and played in a number of tournaments such as Nehru Cup, Pre-Olympics, FIFA World Qualifiers, SAFF Championship and SAF Games. 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 of sport 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.

Contributions

Leadership of Magic City FC: In August 2024, I. M. Vijayan led the launch of Magic City FC, Kerala’s first inclusive football team comprising players with disabilities from the Different Art Centre. The team played its inaugural match against former Santosh Trophy players, ending in a 5–5 draw. Vijayan expressed pride in the team's strength and potential, highlighting its significance in promoting inclusivity in sports.

Retirement from Kerala Police: In April 2025, Vijayan retired from the Kerala Police, concluding a distinguished career that began when he was recruited at age 17. He rose through the ranks to become an Assistant Commandant, balancing his duties with a prolific football career. His retirement marked the end of an era for the Kerala Police football team.

Career statistics

International

Honours

India

• SAFF Championship: 1993, 1997, 1999; third place: 2003
• South Asian Games Gold medal: 1995; Silver medal: 1993; Bronze medal: 1999
• Afro-Asian Games Silver Medal: 2003

Kerala

• Santosh Trophy: 1992–93 runner-up 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1999–2000

Bengal

• Santosh Trophy: 1993–94

Kerala Police

• Federation Cup: 1990, 1991

Mohun Bagan

• Federation Cup: 1992, 1993, 1994

JCT Mills

• Federation Cup: 1995, 1995-96

Individual

• Padma Shri: 2025
• Arjuna Award: 2003
• AIFF Player of the Year: 1992, 1997, 2000
• Nehru Cup Best Player: 1993
• SAARC Gold Cup top scorer: 1993
• Afro-Asian Games top scorer: 1993
• Nominated for Padma Shri: 2020
• Doctorate from Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia.

''Kalo Harin''

A biographical film, titled Kalo Harin and directed by Cherian Joseph, was released in 1998. The title translates as blackbuck and is a reference to Vijayan's popular nickname during his playing days.

Acting career

After retiring from football, Vijayan started his acting career. His debut was through playing the lead role in the film Shantham, directed by Jayaraj. Later on, he went to act more than 20 films, in Malayalam & Tamil. In 2021, the movie 'Mmmmm' (sound of pain), starring Vijayan in the lead role was shortlisted as one of India's official entries for the Oscars.

Awards

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. He received the Padma Shri in 2025.

Family

Vijayan is married to Raji. He has 3 children: Aromal, Archana and Abhirami. He has a son in law, Abdul Aadil, and a granddaughter named Adeeva.

Other activities

In 2004, he started a sports equipment company named "Boxer Sports Goods Company (BSGC)" in Thrissur.

After retirement from active football, Vijayan concentrated his attention upon his football School that he had opened in Thrissur.

He was also a member of the now defunct National Congress (Indira). In 2010, Vijayan formally took over a coaching job with Southern Samity, a premier division side in the Calcutta Football League. In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Vijayan as the national observer for football. In October 2018, Vijayan announced that he is starting a film production company called 'Bigdaddy Entertainment' jointly with his friends, which will be mainly revolving around football.

In January 2017, Vijayan officially unveiled the club crest of newly formed I-League club Gokulam. In February 2021, Vijayan was appointed as the director of Kerala Police Football Academy, a new police football academy, which is going to be set up in Malappuram.

On 2 September 2022, Vijayan was elected as a member of the technical committee of the All India Football Federation.

Notes

References

References

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