Sushanth Mathew

{{hatnote|In this Indian name, the name Mathew is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sushanth}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Sushanth Mathew

| image = Sushanth Mathew.jpg

| image_size = 145px

| caption = Mathew with East Bengal in 2011

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1981|5|18}}

| birth_place = Wayanad, Kerala, India

| height = 1.74 m

| position = Defender / Midfielder

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| youthyears1 = 1997–2001

| youthclubs1 = FC Kochin

| years1 = 2001–2004

| clubs1 = Vasco

| caps1 =61

| goals1 =5

| years2 = 2004–2010

| clubs2 = Mahindra United

| caps2 =36

| goals2 =8

| years3 = 2010–2012

| clubs3 = East Bengal

| caps3 = 77

| goals3 = 4

| years4 = 2012–2013

| clubs4 = Mohun Bagan

| caps4 = 4

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2013–2014

| clubs5 = Rangdajied United

| caps5 = 4

| goals5 = 1

| years6 = 2014–2015

| clubs6 = Kerala Blasters FC

| caps6 = 4

| goals6 = 1

| years7 = 2015

| clubs7 = FC Pune City

| caps7 = 7

| goals7 = 1

| years8 = 2016

| clubs8 = NEROCA FC

| caps8 = 6

| goals8 = 0

| years9 = 2017−2019

| clubs9 = Gokulam Kerala FC

| caps9 = 8

| goals9 = 0

|totalcaps = 207

|totalgoals = 20

| nationalyears1 =

| nationalteam1 =

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| manageryears1 = 2020–

| managerclubs1 = Technical Director & Coaching for Academies

| ntupdate =

| pcupdate = 19 November 2018

}}

Sushanth Mathew (born 18 May 1981) is a retired Indian professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder, who currently works as a technical director and coach in academies.

Career

Sushanth was born in the Ambalavayal, Wayanad, Kerala.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}} He showed glimpses of his skills for his school team, from where he pursued his footballing career to a local club named the Dyna FC.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}} He graduated from Farook College, Calicut, where he represented the university team.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}}

He was called for the Kerala Santhosh Trophy camp at Kochi.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}} This helped him to join the FC Cochin in the season 1997–98.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}}

He played for three years for FC Kochin, playing alongside his boyhood hero I. M. Vijayan.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}} He was acquired by Vasco S.C. Another three years of consistent performances at the goan club earned him a move to the Mahindra United, for whom he played for six years.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}} He then moved to East Bengal in 2010, remaining two years. He then joined Mohun Bagan for the 2012-13 season, playing four I-League matches.{{Citation needed|date= August 2018}}

=Rangdajied United=

On 13 January 2014 Mathew signed for Rangdajied United F.C. on loan from IMG RELIANCE.{{cite web|first=Vijesh|last=MV|title=Sushanth Mathew joins Rangdajied United|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/i-league/Sushanth-Mathew-joins-Rangdajied-United/articleshow/28721209.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117153545/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-01-13/i-league/46148475_1_mahindra-united-rangdajied-united-santosh-kashyap|url-status=live|work=The Times of India|archive-date=2014-01-17}} He made his debut in the I-League on 11 February 2014 against Churchill Brothers at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in which he started and played until the 89th minute before being replaced by Sandesh Gadkari as Rangdajied lost the match 1-0.{{cite web|last=Noronha|first=Anselm|title=Churchill Brothers SC 1-0 Rangdajied United FC: Wolfe's debut goal hands Churchill a vital win|url=http://www.goal.com/en-india/match/122698/churchill-brothers-sc-vs-rangdajied-united-fc/report?|work=Goal.com|accessdate=11 February 2014}}

=Kerala Blasters=

He became the first Malayali player to be drafted into the Kochi based squad on day one of the draft picks for the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League. Trevor Morgan who mentored him in East Bengal was influential in selecting him.{{cite web |last1=Jitendran |first1=Nikhil |title=Sushanth Mathew: Kerala Blasters are in sync already |url=https://www.goal.com/en-india/news/7083/isl/2014/07/26/4982361/sushanth-mathew-kerala-blasters-are-in-sync-already |publisher=GOAL.com}}

Sushanth played just 56 minutes over four matches for the Blasters in the inaugural season.

However, on 13 December 2014, Sushanth scored a long-range goal for Kerala Blasters in the first leg of semi-final match against Chennaiyin FC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, his "blitz curler" goal made him an instant hero and propelled the team to the finals. It is considered to be one of the best goals in the history of Kerala Blasters as well as Indian Super League.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-27|title=Top seven defining moments in the history of Kerala Blasters|url=https://khelnow.com/football/isl-kerala-blasters-top-seven-defining-moments/|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Khel Now|language=en-US}}

After his retirement, ISL media team had an interview with him, below is an excerpt about the strike:

"I must say I have a lot of fantastic memories from my football career - sharing dressing rooms and playing with world football stars, etc. But ‘that’ goal, I will cherish always. That goal made me a hero to the Kerala fans, I so adore, almost overnight. I still get messages from fans and well-wishers saying that they still have goosebumps whenever they watch that goal. A lot of them keep insisting that it is the best goal in Hero ISL so far. I feel very fortunate to be remembered so fondly."{{cite news |title=Sushanth Mathew: Kerala fans still message me saying 'that goal' gives them goosebumps |url=https://www.indiansuperleague.com/features/sushanth-mathew-kerala-fans-still-message-me-saying-that-goal-gives-them-goosebumps |publisher=ISL Media Team |date=13 Nov 2019}}

=FC Pune City=

In July 2015, Mathew was drafted to play for FC Pune City in the 2015 Indian Super League.{{cite web|last=Noronha |first=Anselm |title=Cavin Lobo to Kerala, Keegan Pereira to Mumbai and the comprehensive Indian Super League Draft |url=http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/136/india/2015/07/10/13460302/cavin-lobo-to-kerala-keegan-pereira-to-mumbai-and-the?ICID=SP_HN_1 |work=Goal.com |date=10 July 2015 |accessdate=10 July 2015}}

After playing just thrice for the Stallions, he suffered a horrific injury following a late tackle by former France international Florent Malouda. The injury kept Mathew out for the season and marked the end of his time in the Hero ISL.