The Tamil Nadu football team, also earlier the Madras football team, is an Indian football team representing Tamil Nadu in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy.[1] They have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals twice, in 1972–73 and 2012, and have never won. Tamil Nadu team reached semi-finals of the Santosh Trophy in 2009,[2][3] where they lost to Goa. Prior to 1972, the team competed as Madras.
 | |||
| Full name | Tamil Nadu football team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1941 (as Madras football team) | ||
| Ground | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) | ||
| Capacity | 40,000 | ||
| Owner | Tamil Nadu Football Association | ||
| Head coach | Rajendran Johnson | ||
| League | Santosh Trophy | ||
| 2023–24 | Group stage | ||
Squad
The team selected for 2021Santosh Trophy;[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | MF |  IND | S. Karthik (Indian bank) |
| — | MF | IND | Sathish kumar (Customs) |
| — | MF | IND | Charles (Railways) |
| — | MF | IND | Vikram Vishwas Patil (Indian bank) |
| — | MF | IND | Stejin (AGORC) |
| — | FW | IND | Raegan Albarnas (IT) |
| — | FW | IND | Amiruddin (SAI) |
| — | FW | IND | David (ICF) |
| — | FW | IND | Azeem (Central Excise) |
| — | FW | IND | Jayakumar (Customs) |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Orlando Rayan[5] |
| Head coach | D. Sekaran |
| Assistant coach | Unni (SAI) |
Player history
Some of the former Tamil Nadu state football players are Samson Gunapandian, Simon Sundararaj,[6] J. Krishnaswamy, Raman Vijayan, Syed Sabir Pasha, Kalia Kulothungan,[7] Robin Charles Raja, V. Soundararajan, P.M. Radhakrishnan, P. Nageshwara Rao,[8] M. Thangaraj,[9] Gandhi (RBI), Edwin Ross (Winger), D'Cruz (ICF), Orlando Rayen, A.U. Celestine (Goal Keeper), P.V. Sriramulu, A. Satyanarayanan, Guna Singh, Koshy, Kumar, Thomas, Arumaiyanayagam, Thanikachalam, Chandran Jeypal, Dhanapathy, Gurunathan, Viswanathan, and Rajamanickam (Goal Keeper).[10]
Simon Sundararaj from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu scored the last Indian goal at the Olympics, in Rome in 1960.[11]
Most of these former players were employees of State or Central government institutions. All India Football Federation and Tamil Nadu Football Association were coordinating these players participation at the National level. In the past, to attend preparatory camps to get selected for the India national football team, it was difficult for these players to obtain leave from the institutions in which they were employed.[12] Some Tamil Nadu football players use their football talent and achievements to get jobs in Government institutions like Southern Railways, Indian Bank, and Chennai Customs.[13]
The following is a complete list of Tamil Nadu footballers.
Honours
- Santosh Trophy[16]
- Runners-up (2): 1972–73, 2011–12
- National Games
- Silver medal (1): 2007
- Bronze medal (1): 2002
- Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy
- Winners (1): 1985–86
- Runners-up (1): 1999–2000
- M. Dutta Ray Trophy
- Runners-up (2): 2004, 2007