Nanthakumar Kaliappan (born 13 October 1977) or better known as K. Nanthakumar is a former

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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 ...

where he played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He was a member of the Malaysian national team from 2002 until 2010. Nanthakumar is a former head coach of

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

club

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

Playing career

He is renowned for his physical appearance which is always quoted to overshadow many strikers in the Malaysian League. Having a six feet tall physique, Nanthakumar is not only tough in defend but also can even score a goal for

Perak FA Perak Football Club (Perak FC) was a professional football team based in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. Founded in 1921, it was one of the oldest football clubs in the country and last competed in the Malaysia Super League. Formerly overseen by the P ...

. He had represented Malaysia since the

2002 Tiger Cup The 2002 AFF Championship, officially known as the 2002 Tiger Cup, was co-hosted by Indonesia and Singapore from 15 to 29 December 2002 and participated by all national teams of the member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered e ...

. From then onwards, he has been a regular on the national team. He helped Malaysia to finish third in the

2004 Tiger Cup The 2004 AFF Championship (officially known as the 2004 Tiger Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the last time und ...

and even made a semi final appearance during the

2007 ASEAN Football Championship The 2007 AFF Championship (officially designated as the ASEAN Football Championship 2007) was the 6th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of Southeast Asia. The group stage was co-hosted by Singapore and Thailand from 12 t ...

. Furthermore, he was chosen to be on the national team for the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

, where he played in all of Malaysia's matches. He was also part of the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying squad.

Managerial career

On 15 September 2024, Nanthakumar was appointed as the head coach of

club

Managerial statistics

Honours

Club

Liga Perdana 1 Liga Perdana 1 or Liga Perdana Satu () was the nation's top-tier professional football league in Malaysia that operated from 1998 to 2003. The league was formed and established in 1998 to succeed the Liga Perdana (1994–97) after FAM decision ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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 ...

Malaysia FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup () is an annual association football, football competition in Malaysia, established in 1990. It was previously managed by the Football Association of Malaysia, before being transferred to the Football Malaysia LLP, Malaysian ...

: 2004 *

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

: 1998, 2000 *

Piala Sumbangsih The Malaysian Charity Shield (English: Charity Cup), also known as Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah () or Piala Sumbangsih, is a Malaysian football super cup competition. It is the curtain raiser match to the new Malaysian football season, pittin ...

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 ...

Selangor FA Selangor Football Club ( Malay: ''Kelab Bola Sepak Selangor'') is a professional football club based in the city of Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The club currently competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top tier of Malaysian football. ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: 2009 *

MISC-MIFA Petaling Jaya City Football Club, simply known as PJ City FC, is a Malaysian defunct football club based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, owned by QI Group. The club was established to represent the community living in Petaling Jaya city. In 2016, ...

Malaysia FAM Cup The FAM Cup ( Malay: Piala FAM) was a knock-out football tournament for the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League in Malaysia. From 2008 to 2018 it was held as a third-tier league and used the FAM League (Liga FAM) name. The competi ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

K. Nanthakumar's Profile at F.A.M. website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanthakumar, K. 1977 births Living people Malaysian men's footballers Malaysia men's international footballers 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Malaysian sportspeople of Indian descent Malaysian people of Tamil descent Malaysian Hindus Tamil sportspeople Footballers from Perak Perak F.C. players Petaling Jaya City FC players 21st-century Malaysian sportsmen Kelantan F.C. players MPPJ Selangor F.C. players Selangor F.C. players Negeri Sembilan FC players Malaysia Super League players Men's association football midfielders