Chencho Gyeltshen
|
Gyeltshen (center) lining up for Bhutan before a match against the Maldives in the 2013 SAFF Championship | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chencho Parop Gyeltshen | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 1996[1][2] | ||
| Place of birth | Shapa, Paro District, Bhutan[3] | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Satun United | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Veteran's FC | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008–2014 | Yeedzin | ||
| 2014 | Druk United | ||
| 2015 | Thimphu | 10 | (17) |
| 2015–2016 | Buriram United | 0 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Surin City (loan) | 11 | (8) |
| 2016 | → Nonthaburi (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2016– | Satun United | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2009 | Bhutan U13 | ||
| 2009–2011 | Bhutan U15 | ||
| 2011–2013 | Bhutan U17 | ||
| 2014–2016 | Bhutan U19 | ||
| 2011– | Bhutan | 21 | (7) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:22, 15 February 2016 (UTC). | |||
Chencho Gyeltshen (born 10 May 1996) is a Bhutanese international footballer who currently plays for Satun United of the Thai Division 2,[4] and the Bhutanese national team as forward. With seven international goals, he is Bhutan's all-time leading scorer.[5]
He is affectionately nicknamed "CG7" and "The Ronaldo of Bhutan", because of his style of play.[6]
Early life and education
Chencho Gyeltshen hails from the Shapa Gewog of the Paro District. He started playing football in primary school, with his brother inspiring him to play. He cites Cristiano Ronaldo as the player who is his inspiration. He attended Kelki Higher Secondary School until class XII. He originally intended to become a martial artist[7] before deciding to stop his studies to become a professional football player.[3] As a youth, he spent time with the club team Veteran's FC.[8]
Club career
Bhutan
Yeedzin F.C.
From 2008[8] to 2014, he played for Yeedzin in the Bhutan National League.[9] In 2013, he won the league championship with the club.[10] With the club, he also finished runner-up in the 2013 King's Cup. The club was defeated by a score of 2–4 by Manang Marshyangdi of Nepal in the final despite Gyeltshen's two goal performance.[11]
Druk United F.C.
In 2014, he played for, and was captain of, Druk United F.C. of the Thimphu League.[12] He played for the team in the 2014 King's Cup and scored two goals against Indian club Mohun Bagan.[13]
Thimphu F.C.
In 2015, Chencho Gyeltshen played for Thimphu F.C. He made his league debut for the club against Thimphu City F.C. on 5 April.[14] He scored seventeen goals in ten matches in the Thimphu League and finished the season as the league's top scorer.[4][15]
Interest abroad
In 2014, he was offered to sign with Nepalese club Machhindra FC after his performance at the 2013 King's Cup and was reported to agree to join with the club but could not do so until the next year due to his studies.[2] In early 2015, Gyeltshen went on a month-long trial with Buriram United of the Thai Premier League. He played in friendlies against several Thai teams and scored the game-winning goal in the match against Thai Premier League club Sisaket F.C. after coming on as a second-half substitute. He scored five minutes after entering the match in the 80th minute. He was originally scheduled to return to Bhutan before the friendlies but was forced to stay a few days longer when his flight was cancelled.[7] While in Thailand, he was offered deals by Indian Super League clubs Delhi Dynamos and Pune City. However, no official offers were ever presented. The player said that if the offers had been made officially and had come a bit earlier he would have chosen to play in the ISL so that he could play alongside the stars that the league had been attracting in recent years.[16] With Buriram, Gyeltshen also won the Coke Cup Under-19 Championship in 2015.[17]
Surin City F.C.
In July 2015 Thai club Surin City, a reserve team of Buriram United, completed the signing of Gyeltshen from Thimphu United with the Bhutan international forward agreeing a 1.5 year contract with a monthly salary of Nu 100,000. The offer was presented to the player by Alexandre Gama, manager of the first team. With the contract, Gyeltshen became the first Bhutanese footballer to play professionally for an international club.[16] On 7 July 2015, it was revealed that the player had actually been signed by Buriram United along with two other players and was loaned immediately to Surin City.[18]
Gyeltshen made his league debut for Surin City on 5 July 2015 in a match against Kalasin. He was given the number 11 shirt.[19] By 24 September 2015, he had scored eight goals in eight league matches for Surin City,[20] including a hat-trick, after 33 rounds[21] of the 34 round season. Surin finished in 10th position in the Northeast Division, missing out on qualification for the playoffs.[22]
Nonthaburi F.C.
On 7 February 2016, it was announced that Gyeltshen would go on loan to Nonthaburi, also of the Thai Division 2.[17]
Satun United
Less than a month after it was announced that he would join Nonthaburi, it was announced that Gyeltshen had terminated his contract with Buriram United and signed a 2-year contract with Satun United F.C.[23]
International career
Gyeltshen has represented Bhutan at the U12, U13, U15, U17, and U19 levels.[24] In 2007, he was selected to play for the U13 team after noticing the team practice while he walked home from school.[7]
Gyeltshen scored on his senior début for Bhutan on 19 March 2011 in a friendly against fellow Himalayan state Nepal.[9] On 12 March 2015, he and the rest of the Bhutan team recorded its first World Cup qualification win in history with a 1–0 victory over Sri Lanka. In the second leg of the series at Bhutan's national Changlimithang Stadium, Gyeltshen scored twice, with his first goal coming in the 5th minute[25] as he lifted the ball over Sri Lanka's onrushing goalie and into the far corner of the net. With the score tied 1–1 in second half stoppage time, Gyeltshen dribbled away from the goal box in the left corner of the penalty area, spun, and struck a shot that eluded two defenders and the goalkeeper as it slipped into the near corner. The victory and reaching the second round of qualification for the first time while being ranked the lowest team in the world was described by the team as "a historic moment to remember."[6]
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 19 March 2011 | Pokhara Rangasala, Pokhara, Nepal |  Nepal | | | Friendly | |||||
| 2. | 7 December 2011 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, India |  Afghanistan | | | 2011 SAFF Championship | |||||
| 3. | 4 September 2013 | Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal |  Maldives | | | 2013 SAFF Championship | |||||
| 4. | 17 March 2015 | Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan |  Sri Lanka | | | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||||
| 5. | |||||||||||
| 6. | 8 October 2015 | Maldives | | | |||||||
| 7. | 29 March 2016 | National Stadium, Malé, Maldives | | | |||||||
| Correct as of 29 March 2016[9] | |||||||||||
International statistics
- As of 15 February 2016[9]
| Bhutan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2011 | 4 | 2 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 13 | 3 |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 21 | 7 |
Honours
Club
- Yeedzin
- Druk United
- League (1) : 2014
Individual
- Thimphu League Golden Boot: 2015
References
- ↑ "Chencho Gyeltshen". EuroSport. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- 1 2 "Yeedzin FC striker to sign for Nepal club". Kuensel Online. 15 Feb 2014.
- 1 2 "Bhutan’s Two Heroes With Three Important Goals In Between Them". The Bhutanese. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- 1 2 Younten Tshedup (6 April 2015). "FC Terton thrash Dzongrig FC 7–1". Kuensel. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ↑ "Record Holders for Selected Countries". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- 1 2 Chappell, Bill. "Bhutan, World's Lowest-Ranked Soccer Team, Advances In World Cup Qualifying". NPR. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 Tshedup, Younten. "From national team to national star". www.kuenselonline.com. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Chencho Gyeltshen – Legend of Clubs". www.soccer-talents.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "NFT Profile". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "Soccerway profile". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Manang Marshyangdi lift the King’s Cup 2013". www.bbs.bt. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ "Bhutan International and Druk United Skipper Chencho Gyeltshen: My Target is to Play Abroad; Nepal League Excited Me!". goalnepal.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ "A Moment with Chencho Gyeltshen" (PDF). www.education.gov.bt. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ "Thimphu Debut". Thimphu FC. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Top Scorer". Facebook Fan Page. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- 1 2 Tshedup, Younten. "Striker Chencho Joins Second Division Thai Club". Kuenselonline.com. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- 1 2 "OFFICIAL: โรนัลโดภูฎานนำทัพ!นนทบุรีเปิดตัว4แข้งบุรีรัมย์". Goal. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ↑ "United sign new players". Buriram United. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ↑ "1st Match". Player's Facebook. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ↑ "8 in 8". Player's Facebook. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ↑ "The goalscoring Soccer Regional League Division 2 East zone after 33 rounds." (in Thai). www.kondivision2.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ↑ "Regional League tables 2015". thai-fussball.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ↑ "Satun United". National Team Facebook. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ↑ "Buriram United signed three new players, quickly sent to Surin City's second leg." (in Thai). Buriram United. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ↑ "Bhutan 2- Sri Lanka 1". FIFA. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "Bhutan: List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 October 2015.