| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2000-07-04)4 July 2000 (age 25) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Moirang,Manipur, India | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Mohun Bagan | |||||||||||||
| Number | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| AIFF Elite Academy | ||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2017 | Indian Arrows | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Kerala Blasters | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | ATK | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Mohun Bagan | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Goa | 53 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2024– | Mohun Bagan | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | India U17 | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2019– | India U23 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 October 2021 | ||||||||||||||
Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem (Meitei:Moirangthem Dheeraj Singh, born 4 July 2000), is an Indian professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forIndian Super League clubMohun Bagan. He gained fame for his performance at the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[2]
Born inManipur, Dheeraj was part of theAIFF Elite Academy batch that was preparing for the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be hosted in India.[3] After the tournament, Singh was selected to play for theIndian Arrows, anAll India Football Federation-owned team that would consist ofIndia under-20 players to give them playing time.[4] He made his professional debut for the side in the Arrow's first match of the season againstChennai City. He started and kept the clean sheet as Indian Arrows won 3–0.[5] On 31 December 2017 he ended his contract with the AIFF to attend trials in Europe, beginning withMotherwell in theScottish Premiership.[6]
Dheeraj representedKerala Blasters in the2018–19 Indian Super League.[7] He was the first choice goalkeeper for the club. Dheeraj played his first match for the club on 29 September 2018 in the opening fixture of the 2018-19 Indian Super League season against ATK which ended 0-2 to the Blasters.[8] He played 13 league matches and one Super Cup match with the club.[9] He pulled off some miraculous saves earning praises from different managers. His stunning performance in the season forBlasters earned him place in theIndia U23 National Team.[10]
After an impressive season for Kerala Blasters, Dheeraj signed for Indian Super League sideATK for the 2019-20 season.[11] He played just one match for ATK throughout the campaign as he was charted on the lineup on 22 February 2020 for the match against Bengaluru FC which ended in 2-2 draw.[12] He has also signed a football sponsorship deal withPUMA.
In 2020 before the start of the2020–21 ISL season, it was announced that Dheeraj has signed for the football division ofMohun Bagan A.C. after KGSPL, the company that owned his former clubATK, took an 80% stake in the football division of Mohun Bagan and renamed it asATK Mohun Bagan alongside dissolving its own club.[13][14] But he made no appearance in that stint and left the club in January 2021.
On 15 January 2021, it was announced that Dheeraj has signed a three-year deal withGoa.[15] He made his debut for Goa on 29 January againstEast Bengal in a 1-1 draw where he saved a penalty fromAnthony Pilkington.[16] He made nine appearances and kept his first clean-sheet in the last league game againstHyderabad FC in a goalless draw.[17] He played in both legs of the semi-final againstMumbai City FC the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw and the second ended in a goalless draw. Singh was substituted before the shootout forNaveen Kumar as Goa lost 6-5 on penalties.[18] He managed to keep two cleansheets in nine appearances in his first season at Goa.
He was named inAFC Champions League team of matchday for his good performances, againstAl-Rayyan on 14 April 2021, where he kept a cleansheet in a 0–0 draw. He again kept a cleansheet in a match againstAl Wahda on 17 April in a 0–0 draw.[19] Dheeraj won theman of the match award in a match againstPersepolis on 20 April where although his side lost 2–1 but he saved a penalty fromHossein Kanaani.[20] He emerged as the best goalkeeper in the group league round of theAFC Champions League even though his side failed to advance to the knockouts in its maiden appearance. He made a whopping 26 saves in five matches to top the goalkeeping chart of the West Zone group league stage. "Dheeraj Singh certainly made a name for himself on his continental debut, pulling off a tournament-leading 26 saves in just five games, among them a number of memorable efforts that earned high praise from impressed observers," theAFC said on its website.[21] On 26 November 2021, he was named in theAFC Champions League team of the season, the first Indian player to achieve so.[22]
He made two appearances in Goa's2021 Durand Cup winning campaign.[23] In2021–22 ISL season, he made fifteen appearances but his sole clean sheet came in a 5–0 victory overChennaiyin FC with Goa finishing ninth in the league.[24]
After not playing a single game at2022 Durand Cup, he started the season in the first match of2022–23 ISL in a 2-1 win overEast Bengal. He suffered a head injury in the next game againstChennaiyin FC and had to be taken off on the verge of an hour in a 2-0 win and stayed on bench in the next game.[25] He made nineteen appearances and kept four cleansheets as Goa finished seventh in the league failing to qualify for playoffs. He stayed on bench for2023 Indian Super Cup where Goa got knocked out in group stage.
He returns toMohun Bagan for a second stint with club in the summer before the 2024-25 season.[26]
Dheeraj represented theIndia U17 side that participated in the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup which was hosted in India.[27] He was the first choice goalkeeper and played all three group matches that India had. Even though he couldn't keep a clean sheet in any of the World Cup games, he was highly praised by fans and various managers for his technique and skills.[28]
Even though he could earn a place in the India National U-23 team.[29] Dheeraj was again the first choice goalkeeper forIndia U23 for the2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers. He earned his spot in the team after a brilliant season with theKerala Blasters in the2018-19 ISL Season. He made his debut against Qatar U23 in an international friendly preparatory match for the2019 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers.[30]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | AFC | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Indian Arrows | 2017–18 | I-League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| Kerala Blasters | 2018–19 | Indian Super League | 13 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | – | 14 | 0 | |
| ATK | 2019–20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| ATK Mohun Bagan | 2020–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goa | 2020–21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | 15 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | – | 16 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 63 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 87 | 0 | ||
India
Individual
