Thaivalappil Mohammed Irshad (born 26 December 1994) 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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

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

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

Career

Born in

Tirur Tirur is a major municipal town in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of . It is one of the major business centers in Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozh ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, Irshad began his career with the

Viva Kerala Viva Kerala Football Club (also known as Chirag United Club Kerala) was an Indian professional association football, football club based in the city of Kochi, Kerala. The club was originally formed in 2004 as ''Viva Kerala''. They participated ...

youth teams until the club shut down. He then joined the Tirur Sports Academy in his home town before joining the youth team at

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 ...

side DSK Shivajians in July 2013. In 2015, Irshad was part of the

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

side that participated in the 2015 National Games of India. Playing as a striker, Irshad finished the tournament as the top scorer with 6 goals.

DSK Shivajians

After his performance during the 2015 National Games of India, Irshad made his professional debut for DSK Shivajians in the

on 26 February 2016 against

Shillong Lajong Shillong Lajong Football Club (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya. The club is currently competing in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian football league system, following promotio ...

. He came on as an 87th-minute substitute for Aser Pierrick Dipanda as DSK Shivajians drew the match 1–1.

Services

After not finding playing time with DSK Shivajians, Irshad joined

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

football side for the

2016–17 Santosh Trophy The 2016–17 Santosh Trophy was the 71st edition of the Santosh Trophy, the main state competition for football in India. Services football team, Services are the reigning champions. Teams such as Gujarat football team, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu foot ...

. He played in the team's first match of the tournament against

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

but couldn't prevent the side from losing 2–0.

Gokulam Kerala

After playing for

, Irshad signed for

side Gokulam Kerala. He made his competitive debut for the club in their opening match against

on 27 November 2017. He started the match as a

center back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

as Gokulam Kerala lost 1–0. During the season, Irshad played multiple positions, including

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 wing-back. On 8 September 2018, it was announced that Irshad had left Gokulam Kerala to sign with Minerva Punjab. However, after suffering an injury in pre-season and being unable to find time on the pitch when he returned, Irshad returned to Gokulam Kerala. On 24 August 2019, Irshad was part of the Gokulam Kerala side that won the

2019 Durand Cup The 2019 Durand Cup was the 129th edition of the Durand Cup, oldest football tournament in Asia, since the tournament's founding in 1888. 16 teams competed in the tournament. The matches were played across three locations in West Bengal, name ...

final against

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

. The side defeated Mohun Bagan 2–1 as Irshad won his first career trophy.

NorthEast United

On 15 September 2021,

NorthEast United NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded on ...

announced that they had completed the signing of Mohammad Irshad on a three-year deal. He played as a midfielder for NorthEast United. He scored his first-ever goal in Indian Super League and for the club against Mumbai City on 25 January 2022, coming on as a 73rd minute substitute for Sehnaj Singh and the match ended 1–1 draw. Irshad scored his second goal for the club against

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

on 4 February, which ended in a 1–2 defeat for NorthEast United.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Gokulam Kerala *

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 ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irshad, Mohammed 1994 births Living people People from Malappuram district Indian men's footballers Chirag United Club Kerala players DSK Shivajians FC players Gokulam Kerala FC players Minerva Academy FC players Punjab FC players East Bengal Club players NorthEast United FC players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Kerala I-League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Maharashtra football team players Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) players