Mutum Bijen Singh (born 10 February 1979) is a retired Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He played most of his professional career for

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

and

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

Career

Born in

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

, Manipur, Bijen Singh graduated from the

Tata Football Academy Tata Football Academy (Tata FA or TFA) is a Association football, football academy based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, sponsored by Tata Steel, which owns Indian Super League, ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. It is one of the renowned and leading football ...

in 1997 and began his professional career with Kolkata giants

where he went on to play for five seasons, before moving out to

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941, along with his younger brother Vaikuntrao Dempo. Vasantrao was the founding c ...

in 2002. At Dempo, he spent a single season before returning to East Bengal in 2003 where he played a pivotal role in the famous

2003 ASEAN Club Championship The 2003 ASEAN Club Championship or the 2003 ACC was the first edition of the ASEAN Club Championship, an international football competition between domestic champion clubs sides affiliated with the member associations of the ASEAN Football Fede ...

triumph and then the

title. Bijen made his International debut against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers. He made two appearances for the national team, both against Japan.

East Bengal

In 1997, after graduating from the

, Bijen Singh joined East Bengal and went on to play for the next five seasons, and once again returning in 2003 to play two more seasons for the club. In his seven seasons with the Red and Gold brigade, Bijen Singh won a total of 18 trophies for the club, including two National Football League titles, the famous

ASEAN Club Championship The ASEAN Club Championship or ACC, also known as the Shopee Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an international club football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) between domestic champion clubs. The competition is backed by ...

title, three

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

titles,

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

title, five

Calcutta Premier Division The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based association football, football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association, Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the Indian State Leagu ...

titles and few others. Bijen Singh was named as the captain of East Bengal in the 2000–01 season, where the team won their maiden

title. Bijen Singh was pivotal in the club's success in the

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

where he partnered with

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

to take East Bengal to the final of the tournament. He scored the all-important winner against

Persita Tangerang Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kabupaten Tangerang ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Tangerang'), commonly known as Persita is an Indonesian professional football club based in Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia. The club currently competes in the ...

in the Quarter-Finals of the tournament. Bijen was prolific in the 2003–04 season as he scored 6 goals in all competitions which earned him a callup to the national team.

Honours

East Bengal *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: 2000–01, 2003–04 *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

: 1997 *

: 1997, 2000, 2001 *

: 2004 *

: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 *San Miguel International Trophy: 2004 *McDowell Cup: 1997, 2000 *

All Airlines Gold Cup The All Airlines Gold Cup was a domestic football tournament organised by the Indian Football Association. It was launched in 1986 and Mohammedan Sporting won the inaugural edition beating Mohun Bagan 3–2.LG Cup: 2002 Manipur *

Santosh Trophy The National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, or simply Santosh Trophy, is an inter-state national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), th ...

: 2002–03

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Bijen 1979 births Living people Footballers from Imphal Indian men's footballers India men's international footballers India men's youth international footballers East Bengal Club players Dempo SC players Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) players Salgaocar FC players Men's association football defenders I-League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for India