Syed Nayeemuddin (born 1944), known as Nayeem, 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 Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player. He played for and captained the India national team.Houghton poised to become India coach
. Rediff news, 27 May 2006. He later managed

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

Brothers Union Brothers Union () is a professional association football, football club based in Gopibagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (football), Bangladesh Premier League, the top flight of Football in Bangladesh, ...

Dhaka Mohammedan Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka. Founded in 1936, it is one of the oldest and the most successful football club in the country, with a support base in all parts of the country. Th ...

, and Bangladesh national team. Nayeemuddin is the only sportsperson to win both the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

(received the award by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1997) and Dronacharya Award, recognising his contribution to the sport.

Playing career

Nayeemuddin began his club football career in 1962 with Hyderabad City Police (now known as "Andhra Pradesh Police"), which was then a renowned side in Indian club football. In an interview to '' Scroll.in'', Balai Dey (one of the few footballers who represented both India and Pakistan in international football) said that he was most impressed by players like

Chuni Goswami Subimal "Chuni" Goswami (15 January 1938 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian professional footballer and first-class cricketer. As footballer, he played as a striker or winger, captained both the Mohun Bagan club and the India national te ...

and Syed Nayeemuddin during his playing days with Kolkata clubs. In 1968, he joined

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, ...

and played under "diamond coach" Amal Dutta, and won the 1969

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 ...

with a 3–1 victory against East Bengal in the final. Nayeemuddin later joined Mohun Bagan and was part of the team that went to newly independent

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 ...

in May 1972, where they defeated

in their first match, but lost to Shadhin Bangla football team later. He made his senior international debut for Syed Abdul Rahim managed

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 ...

in 1964. In that year, he was part of the Indian team that finished as runners-up at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, losing to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He captained the India national team that won a bronze medal at the 1970 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 was also a member of the team that won Pesta Sukan Cup in 1971 in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. With India, he also appeared in 1968

Merdeka Cup Merdeka Tournament () is an international friendly Soccer, football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day (Malaysia), Independence Day. It is mainly played at Stadium Merdeka, Independence Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. "Me ...

under coaching of

Sailen Manna Sailendra Nath Manna (; 1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian football player who represented the India national team between 1948 and 1956. Predominantly played as a left-back, Manna is consider ...

, and in 1969 Merdeka Cup managed by Jarnail Singh. Nayeemuddin represented

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Santosh Trophy The National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, or simply Santosh Trophy, is an inter-state national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), th ...

in 1970–71, in which they were eliminated from semi-final after defeat to

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 ...

. As one of the best Indian defenders during his playing days, Nayeemuddin was one of country's solid defensive trio in the 1960s, along with Jarnail Singh and

Arun Ghosh Arun Ghosh (born 7 June 1941) is a former Indian football player who represented India internationally. He also played club football for both the Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal Club. He later managed the India national team. Playin ...

Managerial career

After managing Mohammedan Sporting from 1982 to 1985, Nayeemuddin was appointed head coach of India U17 team and guided the team in 1985 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers. They failed to qualify the

main round Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

but managed to win 13–0 against

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, which is still the biggest win of India. In 1987, Nayeemuddin became assistant coach of Amal Dutta managed India, and guided the team clinching gold medal at the Calcutta South Asian Games. The next year, he became head coach and Dutta became technical director. In 1990, he was appointed as head coach of

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 ...

. In his first season, he led the club to their second ''Triple-crown'' of Indian football (IFA Shield, Durand Cup, and Rovers Cup). He helped East Bengal winning six trophies in two seasons in his first stint with the club. He was again appointed as the head coach in 1994 when he again led the team to seven trophies in two seasons. He had one more stint as the head coach in 2000 and holds the record of winning eighteen trophies as the head coach of the club, only second to

P. K. Banerjee Pradip Kumar Banerjee (23 June 1936 – 20 March 2020) was an Indian professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), striker for the India national football team. He also captained the nationa ...

. In East Bengal, he nurtured Indian talents including Babu Mani, Bikash Panji, Krishanu Dey, and transformed

Bhaichung 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 ...

from a midfielder to striker. From 1992 to 1994, he managed

. The club defended their Rovers Cup title and won Federation Cup in 1992. Under his coaching, Mohun Bagan defeated

Croatian First Football League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establishe ...

club Varteks in 1994

DCM Trophy The Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy, known simply as D.C.M. Trophy, was an invitational football tournament in India. It was held annually in New Delhi and was organised by the Delhi Cloth Mills tournament committee. It was India's first football tourn ...

. At that time, his team participated in 1993–94 Asian Club Championship, won against Maldivian side Club Valencia and Sri Lankan club Ratnam in preliminary stages, but lost 4–0 to Thai Farmers' Bank in the first leg of second round, and refused to play the 2nd leg in

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 ...

. Nayeemuddin was appointed coach of India national team in 1997. He won the

South Asian Football Federation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia. Incorporated in 1997, it is a regional subsidiary of Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, A ...

Cup by beating the

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 ...

5–1 and reached the semi-finals of the

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 ...

for the first time. His time in charge of the national team was blighted with no practice matches between September 1997 and November 1998 before the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games () and the XIII Asiad,, or simply Bangkok 1998 (), were an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and di ...

. He managed the team in

held at

, where they reached second round. His tenure with India ended after the games in December 1998. Nayeemuddin in 1999, guided Mohun Bagan at the

1999–2000 Asian Club Championship The 1999–2000 Asian Club Championship was the 19th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the AFC region (Asia). It determined that year's club champion of association football in Asia. Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabi ...

. His second role with India began when he succeeded

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He sang " Jai Ho" in the film '' Slumdog Millionaire'', for which he won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Televisi ...

as India coach in 2005, but left in 2006 after poor performances against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

when qualifying for the 2007 Asian Cup. He helped Bangladeshi club

win their first ever Premier Division League title during the 2003–04 season and after coaching in India for a couple of years, he returned to Brothers Union, where he remained from 2007 to 2016. He has previously managed Bengal Mumbai in the Mumbai Football League. In July 2007, he was appointed as head coach of

ahead of the

2007 Nehru Cup The 2007 Nehru Cup International Football Tournament, also known as the ONGC Nehru Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by ONGC, was the 13th edition of the Nehru Cup a tournament organized by the All India Football Federation since 1982. It ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and

. He stayed at the post until 2008. Nayeemuddin last managed

, a Bangladeshi club, from May to October 2017. In April 2022 on the occasion of ''Dawat-e-Iftar'' (), Nayeemuddin was awarded the '' Shaan-e-Mohammedan'' () by Mohammedan Sporting, which is the lifetime achievement award presented by the club annually since 2015, to respect and laud footballing personalities for their indispensable contribution to the club during their career.

Honours

Player

India *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

runner-up:

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

Bronze Medal:

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

* Merdeka Tournament runner-up: 1964; third-place: 1966, 1970 *Pesta Sukan Cup (Singapore): 1971 Hyderabad City Police *

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 ...

runner-up: 1963 *

Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. Incorporated in 1890, it was the third oldest tournament in India after Trades Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by s ...

: 1962, 1963–64. *

: 1965; runner-up 1964. East Bengal *

: 1966, 1970 *

: 1967 *

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 ...

: 1966, 1970 *

: 1967, 1970 Mohun Bagan *

: 1969 *

: 1968, 1970 *

: 1969 Mohammedan Sporting *

: 1971 * Sait Nagjee Trophy: 1971 * Independence Day Cup: 1971, 1972 *

runner-up: 1971 * Bordoloi Trophy runner-up: 1971

Manager

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Mahindra United * Indian Federation Cup: 2005 East Bengal *

: 1991, 1995, 2000 *

: 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2000 *

: 1990, 1991, 1995 *

: 1990, 1994 Brothers Union * Premier Division League (Dhaka): 2003–04 *

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Individual

: 1970 * Mohun Bagan Ratna: 2016 * Shaan-e-Mohammedan: 2022 * Dronacharya Award: 1990

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Syed Nayeemuddin profile and biography
at ''The Mohun Bagan AC'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nayeemuddin, Syed Living people Footballers from Hyderabad, India Indian Muslims Indian men's footballers India men's international footballers Indian football managers India national football team managers Bangladesh national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Bangladesh Indian expatriate sportspeople in Bangladesh Bangladesh Premier League (football) managers Indian expatriate football managers 1964 AFC Asian Cup players Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games Footballers at the 1970 Asian Games 1944 births Asian Games bronze medalists for India Men's association football defenders Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Calcutta Football League players Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Dronacharya Award East Bengal Club managers Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) managers Brothers Union managers