RoundGlass Punjab FC

RoundGlass Punjab FC is an Indian professional football club from Mohali in Punjab that competes in the Punjab State Super Football League and I-League.[2] Founded as Minerva Academy FC,[3] in 2005, the club name was rebranded to Minerva Punjab after being accepted into I-League, and in 2019 the club was again rebranded as Punjab FC. In April 2020, owner of Minerva Academy Ranjit Bajaj sold the football club to RoundGlass Sports Pvt Ltd, and hereafter it is recherished as RoundGlass Punjab. The club has won I-League title once, in 2017–18, their second season in the league.

RoundGlass Punjab
Full nameRoundGlass Punjab Football Club
Nickname(s)The Warriors[1]
Short nameRG Punjab
Founded2005 (2005) (as Minerva Academy)
GroundTau Devi Lal Stadium
Capacity30,000
OwnerRoundGlass Sports Pvt Ltd
Head coachStaikos Vergetis
LeaguePunjab State Super Football League
I-League
2021–22I-League, 5th of 13
WebsiteClub website

History

The team was established in 2005 as Minerva Academy,[4][5] and has both the football and cricket sections.[6] Initially, the team took part in its first major tournament at the national level, the I-League 2nd Division,[7] and were the runners up for the season.[8] They lost to five-time I-League champions Dempo SC in the final.[9] They were promoted to I-League after an impressive stint at the 2nd Division.[10] They finished their first-ever 2016–17 I-League season at the second last position. They also participated in the 2016 Durand Cup.[11] They came last in the group stage and hence couldn't qualify for the semi-finals.

Kareem Omolaja and Sehijpal Singh in training with Minerva Punjab in 2016.

Next season, surprising everyone, they won the I-League title, which was their first league win ever in top division. They became first ones from North India to win the league since 1996. This title made the team qualify for their first-ever Asian stint. The club qualified for Group stage of the 2019 AFC Cup, along with Indian Super League side Chennaiyin, starting from Preliminary Round 2. However, they lost to Iranian side Saipa in the preliminary round of 2019 AFC Champions League and therefore couldn't make it to the play-offs.[12] But, in their AFC Cup stint, they impressed with unbeaten run of five games until the last group fixture, which they lost against Abahani Limited Dhaka.[13] Minerva were also placed in the round of 16 bracket of 2018 Indian Super Cup in which they lost to Jamshedpur 4–5 on penalties.

In 2018–19 I-League, the club managed to win four of their twenty fixtures and finished ninth in the league table. They were placed in 2019 Indian Super Cup qualifying round, but refused to play protesting against uncertainty of I-League clubs' future in Indian football. Thereafter, they were also not invited to play 2019 Durand Cup, which was disappointing for the Punjabi side.

On 30 October 2019, announcement was made that after a partnership agreement with RoundGlass Sports Private Ltd. the club has been renamed as Punjab Football Club.[14][15]

Ahead of the 2020–21 I-League season, RoundGlass Sports completed acquisition of Punjab FC and rebranded the club to RoundGlass Punjab Football Club.[16] On 15 June 2020, they appointed Curtis Fleming as their head coach.[17][18][19] On 15 July, they appointed Nikolaos Topoliatis as new technical director.[20] As the season progressed, Punjab made it to the championship stage and finished their season with a 2–3 loss to Churchill Brothers.[21] They achieved 2nd position with 22 points in 15 league matches.[22]

In August 2022, Staikos Vergetis was appointed as new head coach of RoundGlass Punjab.[23]

Stadium
Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana

RoundGlass Punjab currently plays their home matches at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana,[24] Punjab. Stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators.[25] The club previously used Tau Devi Lal Stadium for their home matches, but only for one season.[26]

When Minerva entered AFC Cup, they used various stadiums which could fit the competitions standards. During the group stage, club played two matches at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati,[27] and another at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Supporters

A recognised fan club named "The Warriors", has been in support since 2018. The Guru Nanak Stadium has seen an average attendance of 12,000.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2015—2017 T10 Sports —
2017—2019 Astro Apollo Tyres[28]
2019—2020 Spartan[29]
2020—2021 T10 Sports[30] RoundGlass[31]
2021—2022 SIX5SIX[32][33]
2022—present T10 Sports[34]

Players

First-team squad
As of 1 November 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IND Ravi Kumar
2 DF  IND Tekcham Abhishek Singh
4 DF  IND Tarif Akhand
5 DF  IND Valpuia (on loan from Mumbai City)
6 MF  IND Ajay Chhetri (on loan from Bengaluru)
7 FW  IND Krishananda Singh
8 MF  IND Freddy Lallawmawma
9 FW  IND Ronaldo Oliveira
10 MF  IND Maheson Singh
11 FW  ESP Juan Mera
12 FW  IND Khaiminthang Lhungdim
14 DF  IND Shankar Sampingiraj
16 GK    NEP Kiran Chemjong
19 FW  IND Daniel Lalhlimpuia
20 MF  ARG Juan Carlos Nellar
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW  IND Pranjal Bhumij (on loan from Mumbai City)
23 MF  IND Ashis Pradhan
26 DF  IND Deepak Devrani
27 MF  IND Samuel Lalmuanpuia
29 FW  IND Ashangbam Aphaoba Singh
30 MF  IND Brandon Vanlalremdika
31 GK  IND Jaskaranvir Singh
39 DF  IND Mohammed Salah
41 GK  IND Abujam Penand Singh
42 MF  IND Manglenthang Kipgen
50 DF  IND Naocha Singh (on loan from Mumbai City)
55 DF  SRB Aleksandar Ignjatović (1st captain)
74 DF  IND Suresh Meitei
77 FW  BHU Chencho Gyeltshen
99 FW  SVN Luka Majcen (2nd captain)

Personnel

Current technical staff
Position Name
Head coach Staikos Vergetis
Assistant coach Dimitrios Kakkos
Goalkeeping coach Vinay Singh
Strength & Conditioning coach Nikolaos Tsagkatakis
Team Manager Kamaldeep Singh
Technical Director Nikolaos Topoliatis
Team Doctor Sidak Dhillon

Team records

Season-by-season
Season Division Teams Position Attendance Super Cup Durand Cup AFC Champions League AFC Cup
As Minerva Punjab
2015–16 I-League 2nd Division 6 2 (promoted, Dempo pulled out) — DNP Group stage DNP DNP
2016–17 I-League 10 9 — DNP DNP DNP DNP
2017–18 10 1 — Round of 16 DNP DNP DNP
2018–19 11 9 — Qualifying round DNP Preliminary round 2 Group stage
As RoundGlass Punjab
2019–20 11 3 — DNP DNP DNP DNP
2020–21 11 2 — DNP DNP DNP DNP
2021–22 13 5 — DNP DNP DNP DNP
Key
  • Attendance = Average league attendance

Overall records
As of 9 February 2023
Season Division Continental Top scorer
Division P W D L GF GA P W D L GF GA Player Goals
As Minerva Punjab
2015–16 I-League 2nd Division 18 11 4 3 30 14 Not qualified Kareem Nurain 4
2016–17 I-League 18 2 7 9 17 33 Not qualified Kareem Nurain
Loveday Enyinnaya		 3
2017–18 18 11 2 5 24 16 Not qualified Chencho Gyeltshen 7
2018–19 20 4 6 10 10 19 7 0 5 2 6 11 Philip Njoku
William Opoku
Lancine Touré		 2
As RoundGlass Punjab
2019–20 16 5 8 3 23 11 Not qualified Aser Pierrick Dipanda 12
2020–21 15 6 4 5 18 15 Not qualified Chencho Gyeltshen 7
2021–22 18 8 4 6 33 29 Not qualified Kurtis Guthrie 13
2022–23 16 10 4 2 26 15 Not qualified Luka Majcen 10

Continental statistics
As of 27 June 2019
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
AFC Champions League 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4
AFC Cup 6 0 5 1 6 7 −1
Total 7 0 5 2 6 11 –5

Managerial record
As of 9 February 2023
NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%
Surinder Singh  India 1 July 2015 31 May 2017 28 7 10 11 31 44 025.00
Khogen Singh  India 1 September 2017 31 May 2018[35] 18 11 2 5 24 16 061.11
Paul Munster  Northern Ireland 8 August 2018[36][37] 12 February 2019 16 3 5 8 8 15 018.75
Sachin Badadhe  India 12 February 2019[38] 30 June 2019 3 1 0 2 2 4 033.33
Yan Law  India 1 July 2019[39] 31 May 2020 16 5 8 3 23 21 031.25
Curtis Fleming  Ireland 1 August 2020[40] 23 April 2021[41][42] 15 6 4 5 18 15 040.00
Ashley Westwood  England 21 July 2021[43] 23 March 2022[44] 6 3 2 1 14 8 050.00
Ed Engelkes  Netherlands 23 March 2022[45] 31 May 2022 12 5 2 5 19 21 041.67
Staikos Vergetis  Greece 8 August 2022[46] Present 16 10 4 2 26 15 062.50

Notable players

The following RoundGlass Punjab players have been capped at full international level. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.[47]

Honours

League

Cup

Other department(s)

Youth
Further information: RoundGlass Punjab FC Reserves and Academy
Youth players of Minerva Punjab in training, in 2020.
Minerva Punjab players (in black) at the 59th Edition of Subroto Cup, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stadium, in New Delhi, October 2018.

Club's youth section was incorporated as Minerva Punjab FC (Youth) to participate in various age-group competitions of the Hero Youth League, in which they clinched multiple titles.

Honours

as Minerva Punjab FC

Club's U13 players in celebration after clinching the 2017–18 Youth I-league

See also

References
  1. "I-League 2017: Minerva Punjab 0–0 Churchill Brothers – The Warriors notch first home point in dour draw". Goal.com. 1 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021.
  2. Roy, Avik (26 January 2019). "I-League Transfer news: Cornelius Stewart signs for Minerva Punjab, Collin Abranches moves to Gokulam Kerala". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  3. Bharat, Khelchandra (6 July 2016). "Durand Cup 2016: Minerva Academy FC Gets Direct Entry Along With 7 Other Clubs". indianfootballnetwork.com. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. Nisanth V Easwar (10 September 2020). "I-League: How newly-promoted teams have performed". goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  5. Schöggl, Hans. "India - List of Foundation Dates". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  6. Minerva Punjab football club profile and seasons Archived 14 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  7. Shukla, Abhishek. "I-LEAGUE 2ND DIVISION: MINERVA BEAT GANGTOK HIMALAYAN TO KEEPS PRESSURE ON DEMPO". indianfooty.com. India Footy. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  8. "Minerva AFC Continue Their Domination In Second Division League". I-League. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  9. Results, Fixtures &Table: 2nd Division I-League Archived 18 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine i-league.org. Retrieved 23 March 2021
  10. Anselm Noronha (11 December 2016). "I-League Update: Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC to play in the coming season". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  11. "Durand Cup 2016: Minerva Academy FC Gets Direct Entry Along With 7 Other Clubs". Indian Football Network. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  12. "AFC Champions League 2019 qualifier: SAIPA FC thrash Minerva Punjab 4-0". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  13. Mukherjee, Soham; Easwar, Nisanth V (1 April 2020). "How have Indian clubs fared in AFC Champions League and AFC Cup?". goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. "Minerva Punjab renamed as Punjab Football Club". Sportstar. The Hindu. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  15. "I-League Club Minerva Punjab FC Renamed as Punjab Football Club". News18. PTI. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  16. "RoundGlass Punjab FC unveil squad, new logo, kits for I-League 2020-21". khelnow.com. Khel Now News. 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  17. "RoundGlass Punjab FC unveil kit, logo and squad". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  18. "I-League: RoundGlass Sports completes acquisition of Punjab FC". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  19. "Former Middlesbrough manager Curtis Fleming joins Punjab FC". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  20. "Punjab FC rope in former Olympiacos youth coach Nikolaos Topoliatis as new technical director". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  21. Churchill Brothers 3–2 Punjab FC Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021
  22. "I-League: Churchill Brothers Beat Punjab FC 3-2, But Lose Title Race". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  23. "Staikos Vergetis appointed new Head Coach for RoundGlass Punjab FC". halfwayfootball.com. 8 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  24. Swapnaneel Parasar (25 November 2017). "I-League 2017/18: Minerva Punjab 1-1 Mohun Bagan: Late equaliser stuns Mariners in season opener". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  25. "I-LEAGUE 2019/20: PUNJAB FC TO PLAY THEIR HOME MATCHES AT LUDHIANA". indiafooty.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  26. Tau Devi Lal Stadium Archive Archived 30 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine indiafooty.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021
  27. Chennaiyin takes on Minerva Punjab in crunch AFC Cup group stage match in Guwahati Archived 18 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine dtnext.in. Retrieved 18 April 2021
  28. "Minerva". corporate.apollotyres.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  29. "Spartan sports will be the official kit sponsor of Minerva Punjab FC for the upcoming season". Minerva Punjab FC. Twitter. 10 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  30. "RoundGlass Punjab Football Club". T10 Sports. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  31. Zaidi, Waseem (21 January 2022). "I-LEAGUE: Introducing shirt sponsors of every I-league club for 2021-22 season". www.khelnow.com. Khel Now. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  32. Bureau, Adgully. "RoundGlass Punjab Football Club partners with Six5Six as official kit sponsor". www.adgully.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  33. RoundGlass Punjab FC [@SIX5SIXSport] (17 September 2021). "We are excited to welcome @RGPunjabFC to the @SIX5SIXSport family for the next 3 years!" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  34. "Introducing our new Training Jersey. A fresh new design celebrating the five rivers of Punjab!". @RGPunjabFC. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  35. "Khogen Singh quits I-League champions Minerva Punjab". Goal.com. 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  36. Crawford, Steven (8 August 2018). "Paul Munster joins Indian champions". News Letter. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  37. "Minerva Punjab FC". Apollo Minerva Punjab FC. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  38. Meet Sachin Badadhe, The Tea Shop Owner Whose Coaching Helped Minerva Punjab FC Win The I-League Archived 7 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine indiatimes.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021
  39. Punjab FC coach from iconic restaurant family Archived 18 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021
  40. "Former Middlesbrough manager Curtis Fleming set to take charge at Punjab FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  41. "RoundGlass Punjab mutually part ways with head coach Curtis Fleming". Khelnow.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  42. RoundGlass Punjab FC part ways with head coach Curtis Fleming Archived 27 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine voiceofindiansports.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021
  43. "We are proud to welcome two-time I-League winner ASHLEY WESTWOOD as our new first-team head coach". @RGPunjabFC. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  44. "I-League: Punjab FC parts ways with Ashley Westwood, rope in Ed Engelkes as new coach". indianexpress.com. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  45. "I-League: Punjab FC parts ways with Ashley Westwood, rope in Ed Engelkes as new coach". indianexpress.com. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  46. "RoundGlass Punjab appoint Staikos Vergetis as head coach". khelnow.com. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  47. "RoundGlass Punjab FC » Players from A–Z". WorldFootball.net. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  48. "RoundGlass Punjab FC signs Bhutanese international Chencho Gyeltshen". 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  49. "RoundGlass Punjab sign Kiran Limbu, Luka Majcen for I-League 2022–23 season | The Warriors have also added experienced defender Aleksandar Ignjatovic to the roster". khelnow.com. Khel Now. 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  50. Roy, Avik (26 January 2019). "I-League Transfer news: Cornelius Stewart signs for Minerva Punjab, Collin Abranches moves to Gokulam Kerala". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  51. "Player profile – Transfer History: Ali Ashfaq". everythingforfootball.in. Everything For Football. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  52. Keith, Felix (23 April 2022). "Meet Kurtis Guthrie, the former non-League hotshot now proving his worth in India". mirror.co.uk. The Mirror. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  53. Atsushi Fujioka & Arunava Chaudhuri. "India - List of National Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  54. Das Sharma, Amitabha (10 March 2020). "Mohun Bagan wins second I-League title with win over Aizawl FC". sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  55. See: 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division Final Round for further information.
  56. "Minerva Punjab FC Beat Punjab Police to Win 2nd Straight Punjab Super League Title". News18. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  57. "RoundGlass Punjab FC Lifts Punjab State Super League 2022 Trophy". hindustantimes.com. Chandigarh: The Hindustan Times. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  58. Khan, Abid (24 October 2018). "J&K Invitational Cup-2018: Real Kashmir FC, Minerva Punjab FC joint winners". Greater Kashmir. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  59. "11th Bodousa Cup: Durand Cup Winners Gokulam Kerala FC Beat Former I-League Champions Minerva Punjab In Nerve-Wrecking Final". outlookindia.com. Outlook India. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  60. Mohali, 18:04 IST, SPORTS DESK/NEWS18 SPORTS (28 March 2022). "RoundGlass Punjab FC Crowned Inaugural JSW Youth Cup Champions". News18. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  61. Shetty, Chittu (29 May 2019). "Hero Junior League final: Minerva Punjab pip Bengaluru FC to lift title for the 4th consecutive year". footballcounter.com. Football Counter. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022.
  62. "Sudeva FC crowned champions of U13 JSW Youth Cup". Bengaluru FC Official Website. 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  63. "Many congratulations to the RoundGlass Punjab Football Academy's U-18 team for winning the KBN Football Cup 2022!!🥇🤩". Twitter.com (@RGPunjabFC). 26 December 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2022.

Further reading
  • Sharma, Nikhil Paramjit; Gupta, Shantanu (4 February 2019). India's Football Dream. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9789353283063. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.