Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (born 3 February 1992) is an 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 plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

and the

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

Sandhu was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the India national team for the first time in a friendly match against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

on 3 September 2016. He captained the team to a 4–1 victory. He has achieved several distinctions: the inaugural Indian to play a competitive match for the first team of a top-division European club; fifth Indian to play professionally in Europe succeeding Mohammed Salim,

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 ...

, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal; and the first Indian to play in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

Early life

He was born in a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

family in Mohali, Punjab. He started playing football at the age of 9.

Club career

Early career

Gurpreet took up the game of football at the age of eight and joined the St Stephen's Academy in 2000. After good performances at the St Stephen's Academy, Gurpreet was selected for his state youth team, the Punjab U16s. He made his youth state level debut in 2006 in

Haldwani Haldwani (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Haldvānī'') is the largest city of Kumaon division, Kumaon. It is also the second List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Haldwani is said to be ...

. He stayed at St. Stephen's Academy until 2009 when he joined

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 ...

side

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 ...

as a youth player and spend the rest of 2009 playing for the Kolkata-based teams' youth team.

East Bengal

In 2010, Gurpreet officially signed a professional contract with

and made five appearances for East Bengal before the end of the 2009–10 season. For the 2010–11 season, Gurpreet was loaned out to Pailan Arrows, seeking regular game time but ended the season with no caps for Indian Arrows, as they were called then. He started the 2011–12 season as the second choice goalkeeper for

during the 2011 Federation Cup, but after the Federation Cup, Gurpreet took over as the first choice 'keeper for East Bengal's

campaign. He started in first game of the 2011–12 I-League campaign in their 0–1 loss to Churchill Brothers. He made his debut in continental competitions in Asia on 6 March 2012 in the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

against Al-Oruba which East Bengal lost 0–1 and played his last continental match of the season against

Kazma SC Kazma Sporting Club () is a Kuwaiti professional association football, football club. Founded in 1964, the club competes in the Kuwaiti Premier League. Club history Naming The club is named after the area of Kathma, which is located 40 kilomete ...

on 9 October 2012 which ended 1–2 with East Bengal losing the game. He played his first match of the 2012–13 I-League season against

United Sikkim United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Incorporated in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikki ...

on 10 November 2012 as a substitute goalkeeper in the 68th minute of the game which ended 0–1 to East Bengal and played his last match of the season on 4 May 2013 in a 2–2 draw against

Dempo SC Dempo Sports Club is an Indian professional football club based in Panaji, Goa. The club currently competes in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian football league system, and the Goa Professional League. Dempo is owned and sponsored by ...

. Gurpreet played his first match of the

2013–14 I-League The 2013–14 I-League (known as the '' Airtel I-League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the I-League, the top-tier Indian professional league for football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 21 Sept ...

season against Rangdajied United on 17 December which ended 1–2 to East Bengal. Gurpreet played his last league match for East Bengal on 28 April 2014 against United SC, which ended 0–3 with East Bengal taking the win. Gurpreet played his first

match 2013 against Selangor F.C. on 27 February 2013, which ended 1–0 to East Bengal. Gurpreet played his last continental cup match for East Bengal on 1 October in a 4–2 loss against

Kuwait SC Kuwait Sports Club () is a Kuwaiti professional football club based in Kuwait City. Their football team has won Kuwait Premier League 19 times and has won over 50 trophies overall. The club plays in the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium located i ...

Stabæk

Sandhu signed for Norwegian club Stabæk on 15 August 2014. On 18 January 2015, he made his senior debut for the club in a friendly match against second-tier side Follo in a 4–1 win. After featuring in a number of

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

games, including Stabæk's entire 2016 cup run, he made his league debut in late May 2016 in an away match 5–0 victory over

IK Start Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start) is a Norwegian Association football, football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was ...

, in the process the inaugural Indian to play in a European top division league. On 30 June 2016, Sandhu became the inaugural Indian to feature in a

match, starting the first leg of Stabæk's Europa League First qualifying round tie against Connah's Quay Nomads at Belle Vue in

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

, Wales. Sandhu played 30 minutes before being replaced by Sayouba Mandé. Sandhu played his first

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

match on 4 May 2016 against 2nd division club

Bærum SK Bærum Sportsklubb is a Norwegian association football club founded on 26 March 1910. The men's team is currently playing in the 3. divisjon, after being relegated from the 2. divisjon in 2023. The club comes from Sandvika, the administrative ...

, which ended 0–3 for Stabæk. Sandhu played his last league match for Stabæk against

Lillestrøm SK Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club based in the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club was founde ...

on 3 June 2017 which ended 2–4 with Lillestrøm claiming the three points. Sandhu left Stabæk in August 2017 to return to India.

Bengaluru

In August 2017, Gurpreet joined

from Stabæk for undisclosed transfer amount. He made his debut for Bengaluru against

April 25 Events Pre-1600 * 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion. * 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against th ...

in an AFC Cup knockout stage match and his league debut was against Mumbai City, keeping a clean sheet. Sandhu played a pivotal role in Bengaluru's run in the 2017–18 Indian Super League season as they marched to the finals against

Chennaiyin FC Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

, which they came out losing 3–2. Gurpreet kept seven clean sheets the season. On 13 March 2018, Sandhu extended his contract until May 2023. Sandhu played his first match of the 2018–19 Indian Super League season against the defending champions Chennaiyin FC on 30 September 2018, which Bengaluru won 1–0. Sandhu kept seven clean sheets in the campaign, as a result, they qualified for ISL finals for second consecutive time to play against

FC Goa Futebol Clube de Goa is an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Fatorda, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of Football in India, Indian football. The club was established on 2 ...

. The match finished 1–0 for Bengaluru, and thereby collecting his first Indian Super League trophy. Sandhu played his first match of the 2019–20 Indian Super League season on 21 October 2019 in a 0–0 draw against

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

. In the same season, Bengaluru went through

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

for the third consecutive time, before getting knocked down by ATK in the semi-finals on a 3–2 aggregate score. Sandhu was awarded with the Golden Glove that season for keeping 11 clean sheets, which was the longest stretch of clean sheets by any goalkeeper that season. Sandhu played his first match of the 2020–21 Indian Super League season against FC Goa on 22 November 2020 which ended in a 2–2 draw. Gurpreet became the vice-captain of Bengaluru in 2021–22 season after Dimas left the team at the end of 2020–21 season, Gurpreet led the side in an

game against Maziya where they won 6–2, then again in ISL when skipper Sunil Chhetri was on the bench he again captained the team for a few games.

International career

Gurpreet made his debut for the India U19s against the Iraq U19s in the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification on 5 November 2009. He was then called up to the 23 men senior Indian squad for the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the secon ...

. He made his debut against

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

in a 1–1 draw. He was called up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier squad against

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

but was unused in both legs. Gurpreet made his second appearance for the senior team against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in a 2018 World Cup qualifier at Bangalore, starting in a 0–3 defeat. He made his next appearance against

in a 2–1 loss on 8 October. He also kept a clean-sheet against

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

on 12 November 2015, a game that ended 1–0. He kept his second clean sheet against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in a 2–0 win in the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015. In 2016, he captained the India national team against Puerto Rico and played an essential role against India's 1–0 victory against

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

in a 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification game in 2017. 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers AFC He featured for India in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, where he made his 35th appearance for the team against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

on 5 September 2019, where he conceded 2 goals as India lost the match 1–2. In the second group stage match 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, Gurpreet was given the captain armband as the skipper Sunil Chettri was out due to an injury against Asian Champions,

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. Gurpreet saved 11 shots on target from Qatar attack and became a hero for the team, as India successfully drew the match 0–0 against Qatar.

Personal life

Gurpreet is also a fan of former

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

goalkeeper

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...

and Indian International goalkeeper Subrata Pal. He is a graduate of DAV College in Chandigarh. Sandhu is sponsored by German sportswear brand PUMA.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

India *

SAFF Championship The SAFF Championship (erstwhile SAARC Gold Cup and SAFF Gold Cup), is the primary association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the South Asian Football Fede ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* Tri-Nation Series:

East Bengal * Federation Cup:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

* Indian Super Cup:

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

: 2011, 2012–13, 2013–14 *

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 ...

: 2012 Bengaluru *

: 2018–19 * Hero Super Cup:

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 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

: 2019 *

Golden glove: 2018–19, 2019–20 * Tri-Nation Series Golden Glove:

References

External links

*
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
at Stabæk {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandhu, Gurpreet Singh Living people Punjabi Sikhs Footballers from Punjab, India Sportspeople from Mohali India men's international footballers India men's youth international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Calcutta Football League players I-League players Stabæk Fotball players Eliteserien players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Indian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Indian expatriate men's footballers Bengaluru FC players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Asian Games footballers for India Indian men's footballers East Bengal Club players Indian Arrows players Recipients of the Arjuna Award 1992 births 2023 AFC Asian Cup players