Jo Paul Ancheri (born 2 August 1976) is an Indian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player, currently working with Super League Kerala club Forca Kochi FC. He also had captained the India national football team. He was named the AIFF Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation in 1994 and 2001. He recently worked as a Malayalam commentator and pundit on Star Sports Malayalam with the leading commentator Shaiju Damodaran.

Club career

Born in

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

, Kerala, Ancheri began his professional career in 1992 playing for State Bank of Travancore. He went on to play for many leading football clubs including Mohun Bagan, JCT Mills, FC Kochin, and

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 ...

. He was a versatile player who could play in any position including defender, defensive midfielder,

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, and striker. With JCT Mills Phagwara, he won the 1996–97 National Football League.

International career

Ancheri made his senior international debut for India against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

on 14 September 1994 in a 4–2 win, when he scored a goal. Ancheri was also a member of the Indian team for the Nehru Gold Cup in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, and of the under-23 side, which took part in the pre-Olympic tournament. He later suffered a knee injury for the rest of the season and came back with the colours of FC Kochin in 1997. Ancheri played in a number of tournaments such as

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

World Cup qualifiers, the SAFF Championship, and the South Asian Games, and helped the team win the South Asian Football Federation Cup in 1999. He was part of the Syed Naeemuddin-managed Indian team that participated in the 1998 Asian Games in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

and reached the second round. With India, he appeared in the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers, when India defeated teams like United Arab Emirates, Brunei and Yemen. India secured 11 points from 6 matches, the same as Yemen, but finished behind them due to an inferior goal difference. In that year, Ancheri was part of the Bhaichung Bhutia-led Indian team that won the LG Cup, defeating the host nation

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3–2. He later appeared in the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, when India finished as runners-up behind Uzbekistan.

International goals

Honours

JCT Mills *

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 ...

: 1996–97 * Indian Federation Cup: 1996 * Durand Cup: 1996 FC Kochin * Durand Cup: 1997 * IFA Shield: runner-up 1997 * Kerala State Championship: 1997 Mohun Bagan * Indian Federation Cup: 1998 * IFA Shield: 1998, 1999 East Bengal * IFA Shield: 2001 * Durand Cup: 2001, 2002 India * SAFF Championship:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

; runner-up: 1995; third place: 2003 * South Asian Games Gold medal: 1995; Bronze medal:

* Afro-Asian Games silver medal: 2003 India U-23 * LG Cup: 2002 Maharashtra * Santosh Trophy runner-up: 1999–2000 Individual * AIFF Player of the Year: 1994, 2001

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Biography
at indianhotdeal.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancheri, Jo Paul Living people 1975 births Indian men's footballers India men's international footballers India men's youth international footballers Malayali people Footballers from Thrissur East Bengal Club players Sree Kerala Varma College alumni Footballers at the 1998 Asian Games Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Men's association football utility players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Asian Games competitors for India Association football commentators Indian sports broadcasters South Asian Games medalists in football South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games bronze medalists for India