I. M. Vijayan

Former Footballer, Actor, Assistant Commandant in Kerala Police

Indian Thrissur, Kerala, India

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Quick Info

ProfessionFormer Footballer, Actor, Assistant Commandant in Kerala Police
NationalityIndian
Date of Birth25/04/1969
Age57 years
BirthplaceThrissur, Kerala, India

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Bio/Wiki

Full nameInivalappil Mani Vijayan
NicknameKalo Harin (Blackbuck)

Physical Stats & More

Height180 cm
Weight70 kg
Eye ColorBlack
Hair ColorBlack

Personal Life

ReligionHinduism
CasteDalit
Food HabitNon-vegetarian
Tattoo(s)He got numerous tattoos inked on his body, including a tattoo of Maradona's name and his jersey number on one of his legs.

Relationships & More

Marital StatusMarried
Marriage Date18/08/1994
Affairs/GirlfriendsRaji Vijayan (1992-1994)

Family

WifeRaji Vijayan
Children
  • Aromal Vijayan (performance analyst at Gokulam Kerala FC)
  • Abhirami (Ally) Vijayan, Archana Vijayan
Parents
FatherAyinivalappil Mani (deceased)
MotherKochammu Vijayan (deceased)
SiblingsBiju Vijayan (he died in 2018 at the age of 52 after he met with an accident after a scooter-car collision)

Career

Football
  • Debut: Club Football - 1987 International Debut: 1989 Retirement: 31/10/2003, 01/07/2006 Jersey Number: #10 Position: Forward Coach/Mentor: A.M. Sreedharan, Sukhwinder Singh, Syed Nayeemuddin, Rustom Akramov, Stephen Constantine Records: In 1999, he scored a goal in just 12 seconds during India's match against Bhutan in the SAF Games., He is the first person to win the (All India Football Federation) AIFF Player of the Year Award three times. (1993, 1997, 1999) Awards, Honours: In 1993, he became the inaugural winner of the AIFF Player of the Year Award and won it again in 1997 and 1999., In 2003, he received the Arjuna Award., He was named the best player in the Nehru Cup tournament (1993)., In June 2021, the Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk, Russia awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions to football.
  • Debut: Club Football - 1987 International Debut: 1989 Retirement: 31/10/2003, 01/07/2006 Jersey Number: #10 Position: Forward Coach/Mentor: A.M. Sreedharan, Sukhwinder Singh, Syed Nayeemuddin, Rustom Akramov, Stephen Constantine Records: In 1999, he scored a goal in just 12 seconds during India's match against Bhutan in the SAF Games., He is the first person to win the (All India Football Federation) AIFF Player of the Year Award three times. (1993, 1997, 1999) Awards, Honours: In 1993, he became the inaugural winner of the AIFF Player of the Year Award and won it again in 1997 and 1999., In 2003, he received the Arjuna Award., He was named the best player in the Nehru Cup tournament (1993)., In June 2021, the Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk, Russia awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions to football., In 2025, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to football.
Acting
Debut
Film (Malayalam)Akasthile Paravakal (2001)
Film (Tamil)Thimiru (2006) as Chinna Karuppu

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. I. M. Vijayan is a former Indian footballer-turned-actor and a member of the AIFF's technical committee.
2. During his childhood, he faced severe poverty.
3. Vijayan used to sell soda for 10 paise per bottle at football matches to support his family.
4. He repeated the fifth standard five times due to never missing his morning football practices.
5. At the age of twelve, he lost his father and started assisting his mother who collected scraps for a living.
6. At 17, he impressed the Kerala Police football club coach A. M. Sreedharan and joined the team.
7. Vijayan debuted for the Indian national football team in 1989, scoring 32 goals in 77 international matches and captaining the team.
8. In 1991, he fulfilled his dream of building a house and securing financial stability by joining Mohun Bagan.
9. Vijayan has appeared in Malayalam and Tamil films and owns the Sevens football club, Usha FC Thrissur, named after his mother.
10. Initially a Brazil supporter, he later switched to supporting Argentina after being enchanted by Maradona.
11. His leg bears tattoos of Maradona's name and jersey number.
12. Vijayan served as the head coach of Southern Samity and strongly backed the Sevens football format.
13. He attended all FIFA World Cup tournaments from 2002 to 2022 and declined an INC ticket to contest Lok Sabha elections.
14. In 2020, the AIFF recommended him for the Padma Shri Award.
15. Vijayan starred in the Malayalam film 'Mmmmm,' which won the Best Film (feature) award at the 2021 Paris Film Festival.
16. Besides football, he has made appearances in various South Indian films.
17. He set up a football academy in his hometown to train young players after retirement.
18. He captained the Indian national football team from 2000 to 2004.
Information on this page is collected from public sources and may not be 100% accurate. Report an error
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