Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੰਧੂ; born 3 February 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. He is often considered as one of the best Indian Goalkeepers of all time.
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Sandhu with East Bengal in 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 February 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mohali, Punjab, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Bengaluru | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2009 | St. Stephen's FA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | East Bengal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2014 | East Bengal | 44 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → Pailan Arrows (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Stabæk | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Bengaluru | 136 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | India U19 | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | India U23 | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011– | India | 71 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:00, 7 February 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:00, 23 January 2024 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sandhu was named captain of the India national team for the first time in friendly match against Puerto Rico on 3 September 2016, a match India won 4–1.
He has achieved several distinctions: the inaugural Indian to play a competitive match for the first team of a top-division European club; fifth Indian to play professionally in Europe succeeding Mohammed Salim, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal; and the first Indian to play in the UEFA Europa League. He is making the most of his time in the Australian harbour city training under Sydney United coach and former AC Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac.