Michael Soosairaj

Michael Soosairaj

Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-12-25) 25 December 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth	Eraviputhenthurai, Tamil Nadu
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Winger / Midfielder
Youth career
2011–2016	Arrows Football Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Chennai City	29	(5)
2018–2019	Jamshedpur	14	(4)
2019–2020	ATK	20	(3)
2020–2022	ATK Mohun Bagan	6	(0)
2022–2024	Odisha	2	(0)
2024–	Gokulam Kerala	0	(0)
International career
2019	India	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:48, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

Michael Soosairaj (born 25 December 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for I-League club Gokulam Kerala.

Career

Early career and Chennai City

Born in Eraviputhenthurai, Tamil Nadu, Soosairaj first moved to Chennai when he attended Madras Christian College. ^[1] At the age of 10, he started training with his local football club/academy St. Catherine, one of the oldest football clubs in the state. He represented the college in Inter-University tournaments before joining Arrows Football Club of the CFA Senior Division. ^[1] After spending time with Arrows, Soosairaj joined another CFA Senior Division side, Chennai City. ^[1] He also played for Tamil Nadu in the Santosh Trophy. ^[2]

In December 2016, Chennai City FC were announced as a direct-entry side into the I-League, India's top-tier football league. ^{[3] [4] [5]} He made his professional debut for the club on 4 December 2017 in Chennai City's second match of the 2017–18 season against Gokulam Kerala. Pandiyan started and played the whole match as Chennai City drew 1–1. ^[6] On 17 January 2017, Soosairaj made his professional debut in the I-League for Chennai City against DSK Shivajians. He came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Malsawmfela despite Chennai City losing 2–0. ^[7]

On 8 April 2018, Soosairaj scored his first professional goal in the league against Minerva Punjab. His 41st-minute goal was the first in a 2–0 victory. ^[8] He then scored his second goal of the season a few weeks later on 22 April against Churchill Brothers. This time, Soosairaj scored Chennai City's only goal in the 54th minute as they lost 5–1. ^[9] The next season, Soosairaj scored his first brace, scoring twice against Churchill Brothers on 17 February 2018. His two goals contributed to a 3–1 victory for Chennai City. ^[10] He then scored his third goal of the season a couple weeks later on 2 March against Minerva Punjab. His 5th-minute goal was the first in a 2–1 victory for Chennai City. ^[11]

After the 2017–18 season, Soosairaj was named the league's best midfielder by the All India Football Federation. ^[12]

Jamshedpur

On 9 March 2018, it was announced that Soosairaj had signed for Jamshedpur of the Indian Super League. ^[13] He scored 4 goals in 14 matches during the 2018–19 season. He was brilliant throughout the season playing as a left or right winger . He earned a lot of admiration for his performance. He was one of the standout Indian players of the season, and his performances led to him gaining his first international call-up.

ATK

Before the start of the 2019–20 season, Indian Super League side ATK activated the release clause of Michael Soosairaj as ₹90 lakh (equivalent to ₹1.1 croreor€140,000 in 2023) ^[14] Soosairaj scored against Mumbai City FC this season, assisting ATK in a 2–0 win. ^[15]

ATK Mohun Bagan

After the merger of ATK and Mohun Bagan, Soosairaj joined ATK Mohun Bagan, and was included in twenty-two men squad by manager Antonio Lopez Habas for the team's 2021 AFC Cup inter-zonal semifinal match against Uzbek side Nasaf. ^[16]

Odisha

On 28 May 2022, the Juggernauts secured the signature of Soosairaj, on a two-year deal. ^{[17] [18]}

Personal life

His elder brother Michael Regin is also a professional footballer. ^[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 October 2023 ^[20]

Club	Season	League			Cup		AFC		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chennai City	2016–17	I-League	11	2	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		13	2
	2017–18		18	3	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		19	3
	Total		29	5	3	0	0	0	32	5
Jamshedpur	2018–19	Indian Super League	14	4	0	0	—		14	4
ATK	2019–20		20	3	0	0	—		20	3
ATK Mohun Bagan	2020–21		1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2021–22		5	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	6	0
	Total		6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
Odisha	2022–23	Indian Super League	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		5	0
	2023–24		1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	2	0
	Total		2	0	4	0	1	0	7	0
Career total			71	12	7	0	2	0	80	12

1. Appearance(s) in Super Cup
2. Appearance(s) in AFC Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Durand Cup

International

As of matches played till 5 June 2019 ^[21]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
India	2019	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

India

• King's Cup third place: 2019

Individual

• I-League Best Midfielder: 2017–18 ^[22]

References

1. Prasad, Vishnu (21 March 2018). "Michael learns to rock". New Indian Express. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
2. "TN squad for Santosh Trophy named". The Hindu. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
3. "Chennai City FC, Minerva Punjab FC Get Direct Entry Into I-League". News18. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
4. "Chennai City FC signs three players for ISL 2017-'18". Business Standard. 24 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
5. Sudharshan, M (3 March 2023). "Chennai City FC owners transfer sporting license". khelnow.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
6. "Gokulam Kerala 1-1 Chennai City". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
7. "Shivajians 2-0 Chennai City". Soccerway.
8. "Minerva Punjab 0-2 Chennai City". Soccerway.
9. "Churchill Brothers 5-1 Chennai City". Soccerway.
10. "Chennai City 3-1 Churchill Brothers". Soccerway.
11. "Chennai City 2-1 Minerva Punjab". Soccerway.
12. "Minerva Punjab presented with winners' trophy; NEROCA's Gift Raikhan named season's best coach". FirstPost. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
13. "Michael Soosairaj signs for Jamshedpur". Jamshedpur FC (Twitter).
14. "ATK activates Rs. 90 Lakh release clause for Jamshedpur FC's Michael Soosairaj" . Retrieved 11 January 2020.
15. Marar, Nandakumar. "ISL: Michael Soosairaj shines again". Sportstar.
16. Kauko included in ATK Mohun Bagan squad The Hindu. Retrieved 18 September 2021
17. "Juggernauts secure Soosai Raj's signature". odishafc.com. 28 May 2022.
18. "Odisha FC set to sign Michael Soosairaj on two-year deal". khelnow.com. 28 May 2022.
19. "Football blossoms in the land of Michael Soosairaj". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
20. Michael Soosairaj at Soccerway
21. "Michael Soosairaj". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
22. "I-League 2017–18: Minerva Punjab presented with winners' trophy; NEROCA's Gift Raikhan named season's best coach". firstpost.com. Chandigarh: The FirstPost News. Press Trust of India. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.