Gurtej Singh "Nanna" (born 18 December 1989) 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 defender for

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 ...

club

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Personal life

Born and brought up in

Ropar Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar) is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining distr ...

(now known as

Rupnagar Rupnagar (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Ropar) is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab compri ...

) in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Gurtej took interest in football in the sixth grade, thanks to his father. A fan of Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (JCT), Gurtej's father took him to the stadiums. Singh would attend matches of JCT and enjoyed watching

Baichung 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 ...

and I.M. Vijayan play. Representing his school, Gurtej played at the Challenge Cup tournament in Sector 42 of

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

, aged 15. At the tournament were kids from Football Academy,

Mahilpur Mahilpur is a city and a Nagar Panchayat in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian States and territories of India, state Punjab (India), Punjab Founded by Bains Clan & named after Chaudhary Mahla Bains who was Jagirdar of area, Pur stands for town or ...

, a renowned centre of learning which has produced several well-known players. At the end of one of the matches in the competition, Gurtej was approached by coach Hassan Ali for trials in what was to be the start of his professional football career. Now Gurtej works in Ace Pipeline.

Career

Early career

Born in

, Singh started his professional career with

JCT FC Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (formerly known as JCT Mills FC; abbreviated as JCT FC, or simply JCT) is an Indian association football, football academy based in Phagwara, Punjab, India, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored ...

of the

where he scored one goal for the club on 15 May 2011 in a league match against Chirag United in which he found the net in the 59th minute to give JCT their equalizer and a final 2–2 draw. After spending the season with JCT's first team, after the club disbanded at the end of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Singh signed with the

Pailan Arrows Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) is an Indian developmental football team that competes in the Indian national football tiers. They competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, wi ...

Churchill Brothers

After spending one season with

, Singh signed for former

champions,

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers Futebol Clube de Goa (simply known as Churchill Brothers) is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, alongside the Goa Professional League (reserves). Founded in 1 ...

. He then made his debut for the club on 17 November 2012 in a league match against

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 ...

at the

Fatorda Stadium Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (also known as Fatorda Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Margao, Goa, India. The venue has been used to host both football and cricket matches. It is Goa's only international stadium and has a seating capac ...

in which he came on in the 81st minute for

Tomba Singh Wangkheirakpam Tomba Singh (born 3 April 1982) is an Indian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the current assistant coach of the I-League club NEROCA. Career Tomba began his footballing career with YWC, Thambalkhong in the ...

as Churchill Brothers lost the match 0–3. Singh then made his international club debut on 1 May 2013 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

Semen Padang PT Semen Padang is the state-owned company that became oldest cement plant in Indonesia, having been founded in 1910. The company owns the football club Semen Padang F.C., that competes in the Liga 1 (Indonesia). History PT Semen Padang (P ...

in which he came on in the 49th minute for

Steven Dias Steven Benedic Dias (born 25 December 1983) is an Indian former professional footballer who is currently the head coach of Jamshedpur B. An attacking midfielder who played on the wings, he was known for his long range shooting, crosses and pas ...

as Churchill Brothers lost the match 1–3.

Bengaluru FC

On 8 July 2013 it was confirmed that Singh had signed for new direct-entry

side

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು.ಎಫ್.ಸಿ) is an Indian professional football club based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club w ...

. In 2015, he was released by Bengaluru FC.

Fateh Hyderabad AFC

After Bengaluru FC, he joined Fateh Hyderabad Associated Football Club which plays in

I-League 2nd Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

tournament based at

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, Telangana, India. Singh was the captain at Fateh Hyderabad.

FC Pune City

On 23 July 2017, Singh was picked up by

FC Pune City Football Club Pune City was an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Pune, Maharashtra, which last participated in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football league system, under licence from All Ind ...

for 2017-18 ISL season. Singh made his debut for Pune City in their opening fixture against

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

, which Pune lost 2-3. Singh was a first team regular at FC Pune City. Playing in the centre-back position, Singh was vital in the defensive unit of Pune, making 109 clearances in the 18 matches played. His first goal for Pune City came on 24 January 2018 during their home fixture against

Jamshedpur FC Jamshedpur Football Club (, ) is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football league system, Indian football. Founde ...

. Singh's equaliser from a corner in the 62nd minute helped Pune win the match 2-1. Pune made it to the semi-finals, their best performance since the inception of the tournament, where they were knocked out by

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Churchill Brothers *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Bengaluru *

: 2013–14 * Federation Cup: 2014–15

References

1989 births Living people Indian men's footballers JCT FC players Indian Arrows players Churchill Brothers FC Goa players Bengaluru FC players East Bengal Club players Men's association football central defenders Footballers from Punjab, India I-League players Fateh Hyderabad AFC players FC Pune City players Hyderabad FC players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Delhi FC players {{India-footy-defender-stub