Anas Edathodika
Anas celebrating after India's win against Thailand at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-02-15) 15 February 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Kondotty, Kerala, India
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Gokulam Kerala FC
Number 45
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2011 Mumbai 103 (5)
2011–2015 Pune 106 (0)
2015–2017 Delhi Dynamos 35 (1)
2017 → Mohun Bagan (loan) 17 (0)
2017–2018 Jamshedpur 18 (0)
2018–2019 Kerala Blasters 18 (0)
2019–2020 ATK 19 (0)
2021–2022 Jamshedpur 34 (0)
2023– Gokulam Kerala FC 2 (0)
International career‡
2017–2019 India 21 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:11, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:10, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Anas Edathodika (born 15 February 1987) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for I-League club Gokulam Kerala FC.[1]

Club career

Early career

Born in Kondotty, Malappuram, Kerala, He studied in the EMEA College of Arts and Science, Kondotty. Anas began to take up football as a serious activity when he was in tenth grade, joining the Malappuram U14s.[2] While playing football, Anas also worked as a driver who would drive people around town for Rs. 180 a day.[3] He then joined the football team of N.S.S College, Manjeri, where he groomed his skills under Dr. P.M. Sudhir Kumar. Eventually, he was spotted by former India international Feroz Sherif while playing in an inter-collegiate game.[3] Sherif advised Anas to attend the trials for I-League 2nd Division side Mumbai which Edathodika did.[3] He passed the trials and was signed by the club on a one-year deal.[3]

After one season with Mumbai, Anas managed to lead the club to promotion to the I-League.[3] After helping the club gain promotion he was re-signed by the club on a three-year deal.[3] While at Mumbai, Anas credited his former head coach Dave Booth for making him the defender he is today.[4]

Pune

After playing for four seasons with Mumbai Anas signed for rivals Pune F.C. of the I-League on a two-year deal on 23 July 2011.[5] On his signing, Pune's Head of Operations, Chirag Tanna, said "We have been tracking Anas's progress since the last two years and we are glad that he has signed a two-year contract".[5] One of his first matches for the club came up in a friendly against English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers at the Balewadi Sports Complex on 7 October 2011.[6] However, the match did not last long for Anas as he was sent off after 15 minutes for his second yellow card for a rough tackle on Mauro Formica.[6][7]

Before the 2012–13 season it was revealed that Anas had been hit with malaria which made him miss part of Pune's pre-season.[8] However, it was reported that on 2 August 2012 that he had returned to Pune's pre-season training.[8] After that set-back Anas had his best season yet in his footballing career in which he started in all 26 matches for Pune in the I-League, helping the Pune defence concede only twenty-six goals that season.[9] Due to this feat Anas managed to win the Pune Football Club Player of The Year award for 2012–13.[10] In winning the award, he became the first Indian to win the club's biggest award and also the first defender to win it.[10]

As another reward for his impressive two seasons at the club, Anas was offered a two-year contract extension by the club which he accepted.[9]

2013–14 season

Going onto the 2013–14 season Anas was named as the club captain.[11] He led the side in the club's first league match of the season against Mohammedan at the Salt Lake Stadium on 21 September 2013.[12] Anas played the full match for Pune as the club won the match 3–1.[12] After the match, he said on wearing the captain's armband for the first time that he was very honoured and that he thanked the new head coach, Mike Snoei, on giving him the opportunity to lead the side, "Honestly much honoured… great. I had never worn the captain's armband ever. This was a first in my playing career at any level as far as my memory stretches and I am thankful to one and all for this opportunity. Initially, the coach said he was taking a risk by fielding me in the playing eleven, but when he announced that I was leading the side I got the confidence I needed. I thank coach for helping me believe."[11]

Delhi Dynamos

In 2015, he was picked up by Delhi Dynamos. Later in 2016, the club sent Anas to A-League club Central Coast Mariners for a week long trial cum training camp.[13]

Jamshedpur

On 23 July 2017, Anas was selected in the first round of the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft by Jamshedpur for the 2017–18 Indian Super League season, thus making him the first player in Jamshedpur history.[14] He made his debut for the club during the first-ever match on 18 November 2017 against NorthEast United. He started and played the whole match as Jamshedpur drew 0–0.[15]

Kerala Blasters

In 2018, he was signed by Kerala Blasters, his home club. He partnered with his national teammate Sandesh Jhingan at centre-back.

ATK

In 2019, he signed for ATK. He was given the number 30 jersey.

International career

Anas made his senior international debut for India on 22 March 2017 in a 3-2 friendly win against Cambodia.[16][17] He represented India at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Career statistics

Club

As of 4 March 2022[18]
Club Season League Cup AFC Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Pune 2011–12 I-League 23 0 0 0 — 23 0
2012–13 26 0 5[a][b] 0 — 31 0
2013–14 17 0 3[a] 0 5[c][d] 0 25 0
2014–15 10 0 0 0 — 10 0
Pune total 76 0 8 0 5 0 89 0
Delhi Dynamos 2015 Indian Super League 14 1 0 0 — 14 1
2016 11 0 0 0 — 9 0
Delhi Dynamos total 25 1 0 0 0 0 25 1
Mohun Bagan (loan) 2016–17 I-League 17 0 4[a] 0 5[d] 0 26 0
Jamshedpur 2017–18 Indian Super League 8 0 2[e] 0 — 10 0
Kerala Blasters 2018–19 8 0 1[e] 0 — 9 0
ATK 2019–20 9 0 0 0 — 9 0
Jamshedpur 2021–22 4 0 0 0 — 4 0
Career total 147 1 15 0 10 0 172 1
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Federation Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in AFC Cup
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Super Cup

International

As of matches played till 19 November 2019[19]
National team Year Apps Goals
India 2017 9 0
2018 7 0
2019 5 0
Total 21 0

Honours

India

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Veteran defender Anas Edathodika signs for Gokulam Kerala". Khel Now. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Anas Edathodika". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Anas, a lion-hearted defender". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  4. ^ Kishore, Kevin. "Anas enjoys his Pune stint". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Pune FC sign up Edathodika, Baldeep". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Pune 0–3 Blackburn Rovers". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Courageous performance by Pune FC". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Camp Notes, Week 3: Anas recovers; Abhra back; 3 players join Natl. camp". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Edathodika gets 2-year extension with Pune FC". Indian Express. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Anas first Indian player to bag Pune FC Player of the Year". MSN. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Special 58: Wish I was my best when in skipper role, says Anas". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Mohammedan vs. Pune 1 – 3". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Delhi Dynamos duo of Anas and Souvik train with A-League side Central Coast Mariners". xtratime.in. Xtra Time. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  14. ^ "ISL 2017 player draft, as it happened: ATK, Jamshedpur FC and Pune strike big". The Field. 23 July 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  15. ^ "NorthEast United 0-0 Jamshedpur". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  16. ^ "India Break a 12-Year Jinx". All India Football Federation. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Jamshedpur FC set to sign Anas Edathodika on a multi-year deal". Football Express. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  18. ^ Anas Edathodika at Soccerway
  19. ^ "Anas Edathodika". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  20. ^ "There was little competition for the 'Best Striker Award' as Aser Pierrick Dipanda Dicka of Shillong Lajong grabbed the award". Business Standard. 2 May 2017. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Chhetri, Khalid, Dipanda among others win individual I-League awards". thefangarage.com. The Fan Garage. 2 May 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2017.

External links

India squad – 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Categories