Topu Barman (; born 20 December 1994) is a Bangladeshi 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

Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Premier League (), also known as Dutch-Bangla Bank BPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was formed in 2011 by the BCB, after the su ...

club Bashundhara Kings and the Bangladesh national team.

Early career

Topu was scouted in 2006 by

Canary Wharf Group Canary Wharf Group plc is a British property company headquartered in London, England. It is the owner and developer of nearly of property at Canary Wharf and elsewhere in London. Over the last 10 years it has constructed more office space in ...

's talent search programme. After initial trials, he spent two years at the

Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) (, Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education) is the national sports institute of Bangladesh. It is residential and is located at Savar Upazila, Savar, about north-west of the capital, Dhaka, and about ...

(BKSP) under the supervision of local coaches Golam Sarwar Tipu and Rezaul Haq Jamal. In 2008, Topu, along with a few under-16 players, attended a three-week training session at the

David Beckham Academy The David Beckham Academy was a football school founded by England international David Beckham that existed from 2005 to 2009. It operated in two locations: London, United Kingdom and Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy pulled out ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Topu, who was initially selected for training by English coach Anthony Ferguson and England-born Bangladeshi footballer Anwar Uddin, was granted Tk 10,000 scholarship by the Canary Wharf Group after completing its programme.

Club career

In 2009, he joined Wari Club in the Dhaka Senior Division League. In 2011, he joined Mohammedan SC in top-tier, the

, which was also the country's sole professional league at the time. In 2014, Topu won the

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

with Mohammedan, defeating

Sheikh Russel KC Sheikh Russel KC ( Bengali: শেখ রাসেল ক্রীড়া চক্র) is a professional football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1995, the club currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League. They won Feder ...

4–2 on penalties. He won the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League with

Abahani Limited Dhaka Abahani Limited Dhaka (), also referred as Dhaka Abahani or Abahani Limited, is a Bangladeshi professional Association football, football club based in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Pr ...

as undefeated champions. In 2017, he was one of the highest paid local players after joining the newly promoted

Saif SC Saif Sporting Club was an association football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 2016, the club competed in the Bangladesh Premier League (football), Bangladesh Premier League, the top flight of Football in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi foot ...

. In 2019, Topu joined Bashundhara Kings. He made his debut for Kings during a 2019 Federation Cup match against Chittagong Abahani, on 27 December 2019. His first goal for the club came against Police FC in the same competition, on 1 January 2020. The tournament was his first title triumph with Kings. Before the start of the 2020 Federation Cup, Topu was named as the new club captain following the departure of Daniel Colindres. Topu played twice during the tournament as Kings lifted the trophy for the second year running. He helped Kings keep a solid defense as they won the 2021 Bangladesh Premier League with 4 league games remaining. He ended the league season with a first-half brace against his former club and title rival, Abahani Limited Dhaka. He scored an own goal 28 minutes into the match and then made amends with a headed goal into the Abahani net 10 minutes later.

Interest from abroad

After the

2021 SAFF Championship The 2021 SAFF Championship, known as Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021 for sponsorship reasons, was the thirteenth edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organised by South Asian Footba ...

Topu has had offers from

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

who currently play in the

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 ...

, the topflight of Indian football and he also has attracted interest from an unknown club from the Qatari Second Division also known as the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

International career

Topu Barman in action against Maldives in the 2021 SAFF Championship

Topu made his youth international debut during the 2010 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers. He represented Bangladesh U19 during the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers held in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. On 24 October 2014, at the age of 19 years, 11 months, and 5 days, Topu made his debut for Bangladesh national team in a friendly match against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He entered the field as a substitute for defender Yeasin Khan in the 63rd minute of the match which ended as 1-1. On 28 December 2015, he scored his first goal in international football 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 , ...

. Topu was named in the squad for the

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 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and had an impressive tournament even though hosts Bangladesh were not able to reach the knockout stages once more. He scored against both Bhutan and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

during the group-stages. Topu also scored a crucial goal 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 ...

during the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

helping Bangladesh reach the second round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers On 1 October 2021, Topu kicked off the

with a calmly converted penalty against Sri Lanka earning the team a 1–0 victory and a winning start to the tournament. He also played full 90 minutes against

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in the final group match of the competition for both sides where Bangladesh needed a win to reach the finals, the match concluded as 1-1, after a controversial late penalty call from the referee which ended Bangladesh's hopes of reaching the finals once again. On 13 November 2021, during the second matchday of the 2021 Mahinda Rajapaksa Cup, Topu scored an 86th-minute penalty to give Bangladesh a memorable win 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 ...

for the first time in 18 years. However,during the last group match against Sri Lanka with Bangladesh only needing a draw, Topu missed a first half penalty and after conceding late into the game Bangladesh suffered a 2–1 defeat, denying the country a place in an international tournament final again.

Controversy

On 20 September 2023, customs officials at

Shahjalal International Airport Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Dhaka (; ) is the main international airport serving Dhaka City, the capital city of Bangladesh, and it is the largest airport in the country. It is located in Kurmitola, from the city centre, in the ...

in Dhaka discovered that Topu and four of his teammates had illegally imported 64 bottles of alcohol. This transgression took place following their return from Maldives, subsequent to Bashundhara Kings suffering a 1–3 defeat at the hands of Maziya in the 2023–24 AFC Cup. Despite the initial indefinite suspension of the players, Topu, who was found to be carrying approximately 26 bottles, was handed a ban lasting two and a half months, until 31 December 2023. Bashundhara Kings lifted Topu's ban on 5 December 2023, after which he resumed training with the club a week later. Topu's ban was lifted on 5 December 2023 by Bashundhara Kings, and he joined the club's training camp a week later. On 22 December 2023, Topu returned to the field during the 2023–24 Bangladesh Premier League season opening game against

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, ...

Career statistics

International apps

International goals

:''Scores and results list Bangladesh's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Topu is dating Swarnali Krishna, a medical student, since 2015. From religious views, Topu is a follower of

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

religion.

Honours

Mohammedan SC *

: 2013 Abahani Limited Dhaka *

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 ...

* Federation Cup:

Bashundhara Kings *

: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 * Federation Cup: 2020–21 * Independence Cup: 2022–23, 2023–24

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barman, Topu 1994 births Living people Footballers from Dhaka Bangladeshi men's footballers Bangladesh men's international footballers Bangladesh men's youth international footballers Sheikh Russel KC players Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Abahani Limited Dhaka players Bashundhara Kings players Saif Sporting Club players Bangladesh Premier League footballers Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for Bangladesh South Asian Games bronze medalists for Bangladesh South Asian Games medalists in football People from Narayanganj District Bangladeshi Hindus Footballers from Dhaka Division 21st-century Bangladeshi sportsmen