Rahul Bheke

Rahul Shankar Bheke (born 6 December 1990) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC[1] and for the India national team.[2]

Rahul Bheke
Personal information
Full name Rahul Shankar Bheke
Date of birth (1990-12-06) 6 December 1990
Place of birth Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right back/Center back
Club information
Current team
 Bengaluru
Number 2
Youth career
Mahindra United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Air India 23 (0)
2013 Mumbai Tigers 0 (0)
2014–2015 Mumbai 20 (1)
2015–2017 East Bengal 25 (0)
2015 → Kerala Blasters (loan) 12 (0)
2016 → Pune City (loan) 10 (0)
2017– Bengaluru 67 (5)
National team‡
2019– India 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:14, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:10, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Early career and Air India

Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Bheke started to play football for his school teams before joining the under-19 squad of Mahindra United.[3] Bheke then joined his first professional club, Air India, and played for them from 2011 to 2013.[4] After Air India were expelled from the I-League, Bheke joined Mumbai Tigers. He played for them in small cup competitions before leaving the club.[5]

Mumbai

In January 2014, Bheke returned to the I-League after he signed for Mumbai.[6] He made his debut for the club on 15 January against Mohun Bagan in the Federation Cup. He came on as a substitute for Pappachen Pradeep as Mumbai lost 1–0.[6] He went on to make eight appearances for the club that season and was signed a contract extension which will keep him till next season.[7]

Bheke scored his first professional goal on 7 April 2015 against Bengaluru at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. His 67th-minute goal put Mumbai in the lead but Robin Singh managed to equalize two minutes before stoppage time to end the game 1–1.[8]

East Bengal

After two seasons with Mumbai, Bheke signed for fellow I-League side, East Bengal.[9] Bheke played his first debut match on 23 January 2016 against arch-rival Mohun Bagan which finished in a 1–1 draw.[10] He played his last match of the season on 10 April in a 3–1 defeat against Bengaluru FC.[11] Bheke left the club on loan for Kerala Blasters in the 2015 Indian Super League. After two loan stints, Bheke returned to East Bengal for the 2016-17 I-League season.[12] Bheke played his first match of the season on 7 January 2017 in a 1–1 draw against Aizawl FC.[13] Bheke played his last match with East Bengal against his former club Mumbai FC, which they came out winning on a big margin of 0–4.[14]

Kerala Blasters (loan)

After a good performance for Mumbai during the 2014–15 I-League season, Bheke was one of the available players during the 2015 Indian Super League domestic draft.[15] Unfortunately, Bheke was not chosen in the draft.[16] However, in September 2015, it was revealed that Bheke had joined the Kerala Blasters for their pre-season camp and eventually he signed with the club on loan from East Bengal.[17][18] Bheke made his debut for the club during their opening fixture against NorthEast United on 6 October 2015. He started and played 90 minutes as Kerala Blasters won 3–1.[19] He played his last match on 18 October in a 0–1 defeat against Delhi Dynamos (present Odisha FC).[20]

Pune City (loan)

Bheke was loaned to former Indian Super League side FC Pune City from East Bengal after his loan term with Kerala Blasters. [21] He played his first match for the club against ATK on 6 November 2016 which they rose to win 2–1.[22] Bheke lost his first match with Pune on 25 November against his former club Kerala Blasters, which they lost 2–1.[23] He played his last match against ATK in the return leg at road which ended in a 0–0 draw.[24]

Bengaluru

Bheke was picked by Bengaluru in Round 4 in 2017–18 ISL Players Draft.[25] Bengaluru was one of the two new entries to Indian Super League.[26] Bheke played his first match with Bengaluru in his continental debut in the 2017 AFC Cup against April 25 SC on 23 August 2017, which ended 3–0 to Bengaluru.[27] Bheke played his first league match of the 2017-18 Indian Super League season on 19 November 2017 in their first ever match in ISL against Mumbai City FC, which ended 2–0 to Bengaluru.[28] Bengaluru had a perfect debut campaign, as they qualified for the finals of the 2017-18 Indian Super League season with Bheke on team after defeating his former club FC Pune City on an aggregate score of 3–1.[29] Bheke started in the final against Chennaiyin FC[30] but was defeated on a score of 2–3.[31] Bheke played his first match of the 2018 AFC Cup on 13 February 2018 against T.C. Sports Club, which turned out in a 2–3 victory for Bengaluru.[32] On 22 February 2018, Bengaluru extended his contract for three years which will keep him at the club till 2021.[33][34] Bheke played his first match 2018-19 Indian Super League season on 30 September against the defending champions Chennaiyin, which ended 1-0 to Bengaluru.[35] Bengaluru had a standout campaign, as they qualified for the finals yet again in that season against FC Goa.[36] The match went on deadlock for both sides but the victory was sealed for Bengaluru when Bheke scored the deciding goal in the 117th minute to win the first Indian Super League trophy for Bengaluru.[37] Bheke was named man of the match on the final eve for his solitary goal in the 117 minute.[38][39] Bheke played his first match of the 2019-20 Indian Super League season against NorthEast United FC on 21 October 2019, which ended in a 0–0 draw.[40] He scored his first goal of the season on 22 January 2020 in a 3–0 victory over Odisha FC.[41] Bengaluru qualified for the knockout stage for the third consecutive time the season with Bheke on side but was defeated by ATK on an aggregate score of 3–2.[42] Bheke started in his first match of the 2020 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs against Maziya S&RC on the second leg of the qualifying round, which Bengaluru won 3–2 but lost on penalties after the after aggregate score of 4–4 led to the shoot-out.[43] Bheke played his first match of the 2020-21 Indian Super League season against FC Goa on 22 November 2020 in a 2–2 draw.[44] He scored his first goal of the season against NorthEast United on 12 January 2021, which ended in a 1–1 draw due to the equalizer scored by Bheke.[45]

International career

Bheke got his call-up for the senior national team under the head coach Igor Štimac after his excellent performance in the 2018-19 Indian Super League season along with five other rookies.[46] Bheke made his international debut against Curaçao in 2019 King's Cup on 5 June 2019 which turned out to be a 3–1 lose to India.[47]

Career statistics

Club
As of matches played till 29 January 2021[48]
Club Season League Federation Cup/Super Cup Durand Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Air India 2012–13 I-League2300000––230
Mumbai 2013–14 603000––90
2014–15 1414000––181
East Bengal 2015–16 1002000––120
2016–17 1504000––190
Kerala Blasters (loan) 2015 Indian Super League120––––––120
Pune City (loan) 2016 100––––––100
Bengaluru 2017–18 19031––4[lower-alpha 1]1262
2018–19 20310––8[lower-alpha 2]3296
2019–20 16100001[lower-alpha 3]0171
2020–21 12 1 – – 0 0 – – 12 1
Career total 15761810013418711
  1. Appearance(s) in the AFC Cup.
  2. Appearance(s) in the AFC Cup.
  3. Appearance(s) in 2020 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs

International
As of 19 November 2019[49]
Appearances and Goals by year
YearAppsGoals
201990

Honours

Club
East Bengal
Bengaluru FC

References
  1. "The First Team". Bengaluru FC Official Website. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  2. "Senior Men". All India Football Federation. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  3. Shukla, Kaushal (1 December 2015). "From rejection to record-breaking, the story of Rahul Bheke, the most featured Indian player in ISL 2". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  4. "Rahul Bheke". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. "Air India beat Mumbai Tigers in tie-breaker to lift the 1st Kalina MLA Cup". Afternoon DC. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  6. "Rahul Bheke pens contract extension at Mumbai FC". Goal.com. 11 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. "Rahul Bheke pens contract extension at Mumbai FC". IndiaFooty.com. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  8. "Bengaluru v Mumbai Starting XIs, 07/04/15, I-League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  9. Qadiri, Faizan (25 June 2015). "East Bengal sign Rahul Bheke and Bikash Jairu as Biswajit Bhattacharya begins new era". SportsKeed. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  10. "Mohun Bagan v East Bengal Live Commentary & Result, 23/01/16, I-League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  11. "Bengaluru v East Bengal Starting XIs, 10/04/16, I-League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  12. "East Bengal FC - Squad 2016/2017". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. "East Bengal v Aizawl Starting XIs, 07/01/17, I-League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. "I-League 2017: Mumbai FC 0-4 East Bengal: Yellow Brigade end dismal season with Red and Gold thrashing". www.goal.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  15. "Hero ISL 2015 Player Auction and Draft List" (PDF). Indian Super League. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  16. Shukla, Kaushal (1 December 2015). "From rejection to record-breaking, the story of Rahul Bheke, the most featured Indian player in ISL 2". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  17. "Kerala Blasters Make Late Signing, Loan Rahul Bheke From East Bengal | The Fan Garage (TFG)". thefangarage.com. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  18. Mitra, Atanu. "East Bengal's Rahul Bheke joins Kerala Blasters' pre-season training". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  19. "Kerala Blasters v NorthEast United Starting XIs, 06/10/15, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  20. "Delhi beat Kerala 1-0 | Live Score Updates Kerala Blasters vs Delhi Dynamos, Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 Match 15". 18 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  21. "FC Pune City: FC Pune City sign up Rahul Bheke | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  22. "Pune City v ATK Starting XIs, 06/11/16, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  23. "Kerala Blasters v Pune City Starting XIs, 25/11/16, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  24. "ATK v Pune City Starting XIs, 02/12/16, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  25. "ISL Player Draft 2017" (PDF). Indian Super League. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  26. "Bengaluru FC: ISL expanded to 10 teams, Bengaluru FC one of them | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  27. "Bengaluru v April 25 Starting XIs, 23/08/17, AFC Cup | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  28. "ISL 2017: Bengaluru FC 2-0 Mumbai City FC - Blues down Islanders in comfortable debut win". www.goal.com. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  29. "ISL: Sunil Chhetri hat-trick takes debutants Bengaluru FC to final". India Today. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  30. "Bengaluru vs. Chennaiyin - 17 March 2018 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  31. "Alves' headers and Augusto's strike give Chennaiyin their second title". Indian Super League. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  32. "TC Sports Club v Bengaluru Match Report, 13/02/18, AFC Cup | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  33. "Bengaluru FC extends 'standout performer' Rahul Bheke's contract by three years - Sports News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  34. "BFC extends Rahul Bheke's contract by three years". 22 February 2018.
  35. "Bengaluru v Chennaiyin Match Report, 30/09/18, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  36. "Bengaluru break NorthEast hearts to secure their spot in the final". Indian Super League. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  37. "Bheke's late header earns Bengaluru the Hero ISL 2018-19 crown". Indian Super League. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  38. Staff, Scroll. "ISL final, BFC v Goa as it happened: Rahul Bheke's extra time goal hands Bengaluru FC first title". Scroll.in. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  39. "ISL 2018-19 Final: Rahul Bheke - The goal will be a memorable moment for me | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  40. "Bengaluru v NorthEast United Match Report, 21/10/19, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  41. "Bengaluru v Odisha Match Report, 22/01/20, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  42. "ISL 2019-20 ATK vs Bengaluru FC: The real Kolkata finally stand up to script sensational turnaround, book spot in final". Firstpost. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  43. "Play-off - 2nd Leg: JSW Bengaluru FC 3-2 Maziya S&R (Agg 4-4, Maziya win 4-3 on penalties) | Football | News | AFC Cup 2020". the-AFC. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  44. "Goa v Bengaluru Match Report, 22/11/20, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  45. "NorthEast United v Bengaluru Live Commentary & Result, 12/01/21, Indian Super League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  46. Sportstar, Team. "Debutants revel in King's Cup outing". Sportstar. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  47. "Curaçao v India Match Report, 05/06/19, King's Cup | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  48. Rahul Bheke at Soccerway
  49. "Rahul Bheke". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
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