| Bijoy Varghese | |
| Fullname: | Bijoy Varghese |
| Birth Date: | 14 March 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala, India |
| Height: | 1.84 m |
| Position: | Centre back |
| Currentclub: | Kerala Blasters |
| Clubnumber: | 21 |
| Youthyears1: | 2017–2018 |
| Youthclubs1: | Kovalam FC |
| Youthyears2: | 2018–2020 |
| Youthclubs2: | SAI Thiruvananthapuram |
| Years1: | 2020–2023 |
| Clubs1: | Kerala Blasters B |
| Caps1: | 15 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2021– |
| Clubs2: | Kerala Blasters |
| Caps2: | 6 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs3: | → Inter Kashi (loan) |
| Caps3: | 10 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 17:43, 15 December 2023 (UTC) |
Bijoy Varghese (born 14 March 2000) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
Bijoy was born in Pulluvila, a coastal village located in the Thirivananthapuram district, Kerala. Bijoy started playing football during his school days and was a member of his school football team.[1] He initially played as a striker and later switched into central defensive position. At his 15, Bijoy joined Kovalam Football Club and played for their youth team. In 2018, he became part of the Kerala team who reached in the finals of the International School Championship, where he won the best defender of the tournament award. After his performance for the Kerala team, Bijoy was selected into the Indian team for Asian school Championship. He was later selected into the SAI football team that participated in the youth league held at Shillong. Bijoy was included in the final squad of Kerala team for the 2019–20 Santosh Trophy. However the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.[2]
In 2021, he was signed by the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters to his first ever professional contract and were put into their reserve side. After an impressive performance in the 2020–21 season of Kerala Premier League, Bijoy was promoted to the club's senior side in that year itself to participate in the 2021–22 ISL season.[3] He made his debut for the Blasters against Delhi FC in the 2021 Durand Cup match on 21 September 2021.[4] which they lost 1–0 at full-time.[5] Bijoy made his Indian Super League debut on 19 November 2021 against ATK Mohun Bagan FC, which they lost 4–2.[6]
On 21 April 2022, the Blasters announced that they have extended the contract of Bijoy until 2025.[7] He was given a New Jersey number 21, which the club had retired after Sandesh Jhingan's departure in 2020.[8] [9] He made his first appearance in the 2022–23 Indian Super League season against Hyderabad FC on 26 February 2023 as a substitute for Hormipam Ruivah in the 85th minute but the Blasters lost the match 0–1 at full-time.[10] Bijoy made his first appearance of the season in the 2023 Indian Super Cup match against reigning I-League champions RoundGlass Punjab FC, where he made it to the first team,[11] and the Blasters won the match 3–1 at full-time.[12]
After making just two appearance in the previous season, Bijoy played his first match of the 2023–24 season in the 2023 Durand Cup group stage match against Gokulam Kerala FC on 13 August 2023, which they lost 3–4.[13]
On 1 September, Kerala Blasters announced that Bijoy has been loaned out to Inter Kashi on a season long deal.[14] He made his debut for the club on 28 October against Gokulam Kerala which ended in 1–1 draw.[15]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | AFC | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Kerala Blasters | 2021–22 | Indian Super League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Inter Kashi (loan) | 2023–24 | I-League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |||
Kerala Blasters