NorthEast United FC
| Full name | NorthEast United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Highlanders | ||
| Founded | 13 April 2014 | ||
| Ground | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 23,850 | ||
| Owner | John Abraham | ||
| Technical advisor | Avram Grant | ||
| Head coach | Eelco Schattorie | ||
| League | Indian Super League | ||
| 2017–18 |
Regular season: 10th of 10 Finals: Did not qualify | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam. It competes in the Indian Super League.[1] The club claims to represent the 8 states of India known as North East India: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram. The team is owned and operated by Bollywood actor John Abraham.[1]
NorthEast United are the first club in India to have a representation by region instead of a city.[2]
History
Formation
In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.[3] On 13 April 2014, it was announced that Bollywood actor John Abraham and Shillong Lajong Football Club had won the bidding for the franchise.[1]
On 16 July 2014, the club signed Joan Capdevila, a European Championship and World Cup winning defender with Spain, as its marquee player. He said: "India is a huge country and it should be a privilege for me to be a small part in popularizing this global game here and working with the young talented footballers of North East India".[4]
On 19 August the club hired its first manager, New Zealander Ricki Herbert, who had represented and managed his nation at World Cups.[5]
2014 season
On 13 October 2014, the team won their first ISL match at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Spaniard Koke scoring the only goal of the game to defeat the Kerala Blasters.[6] The team did not make the end-of-season play-offs, finishing in last place among the eight teams.
2015 season
For their second season, NorthEast United signed former Portugal international Simão Sabrosa as their new marquee signing.[7] On 1 July 2015 the team announced their manager for the 2015 season, former Venezuela national coach, César Farías. The team lost all three of their opening matches with Simão absent through injury, but then earned a 2–0 home win over Chennaiyin FC in which the marquee player won and dispatched an added-time penalty kick to open the scoring.[8] The club entered the top-four for semi-finals by the end of the season but lost their position to Chennaiyin, who defeated Pune City to gain 3 points and secure the spot.
2016 season
On 13 May 2016, NorthEast United announced Sérgio Farias as the club's new manager.[9] However, Sérgio Farias joined his former club Suphanburi FC for a second stint forcing NorthEast United to look for a new coach. On July 9, 2016, NorthEast United officially announced Sérgio Farias' exit.[10] On July 23, 2016, NorthEast United announced Nelo Vingada as the club's new manager.[11] The club again got a chance to enter the top-four for semi-finals if they defeat Kerala Blasters but lost and hence, losing their semi-final chance. The club scored 14 goals and conceded 14 goals in that season. More than half of the goals (8) were scored by the South American duo Nicholas Velez and Emiliano Alfaro with 3 and 5 goals respectively.
2017–18 season
On 17 July 2017, in hope for a great season NorthEast United signed the young Portuguese manager Joao Carlos Pires de Deus.[12] After playing its preseason games in Antalya, Turkey. The team began its season against the ISL debutants Jamshedpur FC. The game ended in a draw with neither side managing to find the back of the net despite NorthEast playing against a 10 men Jamshedpur in the last 20 minutes.[13] Next they played Chennaiyin FC in Chennai, where they failed to keep the record of never losing in Chennai after losing 3–0.[14] NorthEast witnessed their first win of the season where they defeated Delhi Dynamos 0–2 in the opponent's ground. The first goal of the match came from Marcinho in the 17th minute, when a cross by Halicharan Narzary from the left flank found him unmarked inside the box. The second goal came from the striker Danilo in the 22nd minute, when he pressured the Delhi custodian Albino Gomes and made him make error inside his own box, leaving an open goal for Danilo to score his first and last goal of the season and, 500th goal of the league.[15] It was followed by a 4 match losing streak right after which the Portuguese manager was sacked.[16] The team management brought in the ex-Chelsea boss Avram Grant as a technical advisor who acted as a caretaker manager in the absence of Joao.[17] He was later promoted to Head Coach on 12 January 2018, after the team released an official statement about Joao's sacking.[18] The team won 2 out of the first 3 games under Grant, where they defeated FC Goa 2–1[19] and Chennaiyin FC 3–1[20] at home. Seiminlen Doungel scored the first ever hat-trick for NorthEast United in that match. The team failed to win a single match after that, ending the season in a long 8 match losing streak in which they drew 1 match and lost all other matches. They finished the season at the last position managing to win only 3 matches and scoring 12, which was the lowest for the season. Overall The Team Didn't Performed well Enough. It was the Worst performance in the Season since the club came into existence
On 19 February 2018, AIFF announced the Indian Super Cup as a replacement for the Federation Cup. It will be played between 16 teams, the top 6 teams of ISL and I-League and the remaining 4 will be picked through a qualifier played between the bottom 4 from both league. NorthEast United participated in the Cup Qualifiers for the 4 remaining spots. NorthEast played their qualifier match against Gokulam Kerala on 15 March 2018 which they lost 2–0 and got eliminated.
League statistics
| Season | Teams | Position | Pld. | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. | League Top Scorer | Goals | Manager | Super Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 | 8th | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 15 |  |
4 |  |
No Cup |
| 2015 | 8 | 5th | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 20 |  |
5 |  | |
| 2016 | 8 | 5th | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 18 |  |
5 |  | |
| 2017–18 | 10 | 10th | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 27 | -15 | 11 |   |
4 | (until 3 January)  (from 4 January 2018) |
DNQ (inaugural) |
| 2018–19 | 10 | 5th | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |  |
1 |  |
TBD |
Crest
Crest (2014−2015)
The crest of NorthEast United FC is featured with 8 stars at the top representing each state of North-east India. The crest is designed with red, black and white applications, with the club name written in bold letters between the main crest and the stars. The club changed the crest with an entirely gold crest for its third season of ISL. It was changed back to the original color after the end of the season. The original crest, and a red and white is currently in use by the club.
Stadium
| সৰুসজাই ষ্টেডিয়াম (Sarusajai Stadium) | |
| Location | Sarusajai, Guwahati, Assam |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 26°06′56″N 91°45′37″E / 26.11556°N 91.76028°E |
| Owner | Government of Assam |
| Capacity | 23,850 |
| Opened | 2007 |
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, home ground of NorthEast United
NorthEast United FC play their home matches at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati. In 2014, to meet FIFA regulations, the stadium was renovated and its capacity was increased from 12,000 to 35,000. Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium hosted the opening ceremony of ISL 2016. NorthEast had the highest attendance on 20 October 2016, when a record attendance of 32,844 turned up to witness the match between NorthEast United and Chennaiyin FC. The capacity was again reduced to 23,850 after the installation of bucket seats for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The stadium saw the lowest attendance in the history of ISL when only 1,121 fans turned up to witness the match played between NorthEast United FC and Kerala Blasters FC on 17 February 2018.[21]
Ownership
NorthEast United is owned by John Abraham, who is an Indian Bollywood actor, producer and former model.[22] It is the only ISL club that is not owned by any company or corporation. John Abraham is said to have spent money from his own pocket in order for the financing of the club.
Supporters
The official supporters group or fan club of the club is the Highlander Brigade.[23][24] The fan club can be traced back to its roots where it was merely a WhatsApp group formed out of a handful of followers of a Facebook page "NorthEast United FC Fans". They not only support NorthEast United but also support the Indian team.
Before the fourth season of the Indian Super League, keeping an eye on the occasion, a major chunk of the group members decided to meet and attempt to do something big. And under the tutelage of key members helming certain responsibilities, the Brigade grew and spread out rapidly.
With over 200 members stretched out across the 8 states of the Northeast India, The Highlander Brigade is strong and capable enough to indulge in "Travelling Fans" and hosting football-related events in the city. To ensure that the football culture remains proactive in the city, the brigade plans to indulge in more fan activities in the coming future.
Even after a lackluster fourth season for the club, the Highlander Brigade could be seen cheering them on with the red-white-black flags and banners thumping down the beats in a raging winter cold under the lights surrounded by an almost empty stadium. And therefore these beloved group of people were received fondly by the club and the players.
Highlander Brigade remains an excited bunch of people in a football crazy region and along with the other fan clubs of the country, they form a pivotal part of the umbrella of football culture as fans in India.
Moreover, Facebook pages namely "NorthEast United Fc Followers" and "North East United Fc Fans" too share the club's happiness and sadness through their posts among people.
Derbies
NorthEast United play the Eastern Derby against neighbouring club ATK. NorthEast United have won three matches, drawn one match and lost five matches till date against ATK. The two clubs represents two football crazy regions of India and also have a huge fan and supporter base.[25]
Kit Manufacturers and Shirt Sponsors
| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2014–2015 | Adidas | HTC |
| 2015–2017 | Performax | |
| 2017–present | McDowell's No.1 | |
Kit Evolution
          2014 |
     2015, 2018–present |
2016–2018 |
Current squad
First-Team squad
Reserves and AcademyNorthEast United run youth teams which competes in U18 Youth League and U15 Youth League. Both teams play in Guwahati-Shillong zone of their respective leagues.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Current technical staff
Records
Top goalscorers
Top assists
Most appearances
Notable former players***All these players have represented their respective countries at highest level*** Managerial
Asian clubs ranking
References
External links
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