Zakeer Mundampara

Hailing from Malapuram, Kerala, a region seeped in footballing culture, Zakeer Mudampara is a 25 year old midfielder who started excelling in football back in high school, then got introduced into the world of professional football through a stint at the State Bank of Travankore youth squad, then a season with the newly promoted I-League club Viva Kerala. His playmaking abilities and the capacity to spot-read the game and improvise strategies was instrumental in the Kerala outfit successfully avoiding relegation at the end of the season. His exploits at the I-League during earned the interest of Goa's Churchill Brothers who signed him on a two year deal. This was followed by year long stints at Kolkata clubs United SC and Mohun Bagan, before he returned to Goa and played the previous season at Salgaocar. Drafted to play for a star-studded Chennaiyin FC side, he quietly holds his own in a midfield dominated by Elano, Manuele Blasi, Harmanjot Khabra and Godwin Franco. Given a chance, his ability to control the area of the pitch he is in charge of can be a competent antidote to quell a worrying flood of invasions from that part.