Nirmal Chettri (born 21 October 1990 in Melli, Sikkim) is an Indian

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 mainly as a defender and last played for

Southern Samity Southern Samity is an Indian professional multi-sports club from Kolkata. Founded in 1945, the club is also based in Siliguri, North Bengal. Apart from sports, they are also involved in numerous cultural activities. Its football section compete ...

in the

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 ...

Club career

Early career

Chettri began his footballing career in 2000 with Namchi Sports Hostel after being discovered in the

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

governments ''Search for More Bhaichung's'' campaign (In reference to then India striker and Sikkimese-born Baichung Bhutia). In 2002 Chettri played for Namchi in the

Subroto Cup The Subroto Cup International Football Tournament is a prestigious international inter-school football tournament that is held in New Delhi, India. The tournament held annually since 1960, is named after the Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subrot ...

where he led the team to the final, only to lose to Mizoram 1–2. He then represented Namchi in the Interreligious Peace Sports Festival in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in 2004. In that same year he represented Namchi in the Chief Minister Gold Cup. Within those three years Chettri won 3 National Talent Scholarships from the

AIFF AIFF may refer to: * Audio Interchange File Format * All India Football Federation, the national governing body of Association football in India Film festivals * Addis International Film Festival, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia * Alexandria Internation ...

. In 2005 Chettri joined Sports Academy of Sikkim and competed in the Mini SAARC. Chettri also played for

in the 2006–07 Santosh Trophy. After good performances with Sikkim Chettri was scouted and signed for

Air India FC Air India Football Club is a football section of the same-named Indian institutional multi-sports club. Founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, the club is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Sponsored by Air India, the club previously played in the Mu ...

of the

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 ...

in 2007. He stayed at Air India till 2008.

East Bengal

In 2008 Chettri signed for

East Bengal F.C. East Bengal Football Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system. The cl ...

of the

. He made his Asian debut 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 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

against

Al-Ittihad Aleppo Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo Sports Club () also known as Al-Ittihad Ahli, is a professional multi-sports club based in the Syrian city of Aleppo, mostly known for its football team which competes in the Syrian Premier League, the top league of Syr ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

on 10 March. During a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

under 23s at

Barasat Barasat () is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of Barasat Sadar subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (K ...

, their manager

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional association football, footballer. A prolific Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarde ...

praised Chettri saying that "East Bengal's number three (Nirmal Chettri) was brilliant". Chettri replied to this by saying, "I am delighted with his (Gerd Muller) compliment as he was such a great player. It is always good to get such praise from great players but I will not get carried away and will work hard as I have a long way to go." He has established himself as a regular in East Bengal's first team sense.

Mohun Bagan

On 19 May 2012 Chettri signed with arch-rivals

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, ...

of the

. He made a dream debut in the green & maroon jersey scoring McDowell Mohun Bagan's opening goal in their 6–0 thrashing of West Bengal Police in the

Calcutta Premier Division The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based association football, football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association, Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the Indian State Leagu ...

. Chettri made his professional debut for Mohun Bagan on 20 September 2012 against Churchill Brothers during the club's opening match in the 2012 Indian Federation Cup where the club drew the match 0–0. On 12 May 2013 in the last match of the 2012-13 I-League, he was assisted by Denson Devadas on the 5th minute to score the 1st goal in the 3–0 victory over United Sikkim F.C. at the

Paljor Stadium Paljor Stadium (also spelled Palzor Stadium) is a association football, football stadium located in Gangtok, Sikkim, India. It can host 30,000 spectators. Besides earlier hosting the I-League and the I-League 2, the stadium also hosts matches ...

Mohammedan

On 26 November 2013 it was announced that Nirmal has signed for Mohammedan on loan from IMG RELIANCE.

Kerala Blasters

Kerala blasters have picked Nirmal for the upcoming ISL football league.

Dempo (loan)

After the 2014 season, Chettri signed with

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941, along with his younger brother Vaikuntrao Dempo. Vasantrao was the founding c ...

in the

on loan for the whole season.

FC Goa

Ahead of the 2018–19 season, Chettri was signed by

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 ...

International career

Youth

Chettri has earned caps for the India youth team at U17 and U23 level. Chettri also trained with the Under-14 team in

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

in 2003 and 2004. Chettri represented the U17 team during the team's exposure trip to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 2005. Chettri was then selected for the India U23 team that was selected to take part in the

2009 SAFF Championship The 2009 SAFF Championship, South Asian Football Federation Championship was hosted by Bangladesh from 4 to 13 December 2009. Bangladesh was awarded to host the tournament after the withdrawal of original hosts India. After India's reluctance to ...

which the India senior team choose not to play in SAFF Cup due to practice arrangements 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 came on in the 115th minute in the final against

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

on 13 December 2009 in which India U23 won on penalties 3–1.http://www.kolkatafootball.com/saff_cup_football_2009.html SAFF Cup 2009 Nirmal missed his penalty and Maldives missed their penalties 3 times. Chettri played for India U23 as well during the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers. He played in India U23's first match of qualification against Myanmar U23 on 23 February 2011. India U23 won 2–1.

Senior

Chettri made his senior international debut for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during the

2011 SAFF Championship The 2011 South Asian Football Federation Championship, sponsored by Karbonn Mobiles and officially named Karbonn SAFF Championship 2011, was the 9th tournament of the SAFF Championship, which held in New Delhi, India. Venue It was originally ...

against

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

on 5 December 2011, India won the match 5–0. Chettri then proceeded to play in India's next 4 games in the tournament which ended with the Final against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

on 11 December 2011 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. The game ended 4–0 in India's favour, thus giving Chettri his first major honour with the senior national team. Chettri was then selected in the India squad for the

2012 AFC Challenge Cup The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progr ...

. During the tournament Chettri only played in one match and that was the last match against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

on 13 March 2012. India lost the match 0–4 but that did not matter as India was knock-out at the Group stage before the match. Nirmal has been a regular under new India coach Wim Koevermans also and played an important role in India's Nehru Cup 2012 triumph.

International

:''Statistics accurate as of 9 April 2015''

Honours

East Bengal *

Federation Cup (India) The Federation Cup was an annual knockout football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic Indian football until 2017. Established in 1977, it was organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The Federation Cu ...

: 2009, 2010; runner-up: 2011 *

: 2010, 2011 * Indian Super Cup: 2011 Mohammedan Sporting *

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 ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Kerala Blasters *

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 ...

runner-up: 2014 FC Goa *

runner-up: 2018–19 * Indian Super Cup: 2019 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 ...

; runner-up:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), named after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to 2006. After ...

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 ...

India U23 *

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 ...

Personal life

Chhetri is of Nepali origin.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chettri, Nirmal Indian men's footballers 1988 births Living people Indian Gorkhas Calcutta Football League players I-League players India men's international footballers People from Namchi district Footballers from Sikkim Kerala Blasters FC players Air India FC players East Bengal Club players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) players Dempo SC players NorthEast United FC players DSK Shivajians FC players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Men's association football central defenders Kerala Blasters FC draft picks