>Billjones94 at 06:22, 25 September 2021

2021-09-25T06:22:19Z

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{{Short description|Indian footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mahesh Gawli
| image =
| fullname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|1|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Goa]], India
| currentclub =
| clubnumber =
| height = {{height|m=1.77}}
| position = [[Defender (association football)#Center Back|Centre back]]
| years1 = 1998–1999
| years2 = 2000–2003
| years3 = 2003–2004
| years4 = 2005–2007
| years5 = 2007–2015
| clubs1 = [[FC Kochin]]
| clubs2 = [[Churchill Brothers S.C.|Churchill Brothers]]
| clubs3 = [[East Bengal Club|East Bengal]]
| clubs4 = [[Mahindra United]]
| clubs5 = [[Dempo S.C.|Dempo]]
| caps1 =
| caps2 =
| caps3 = 20
| caps4 = 35
| caps5 = 126
| goals1 =
| goals2 =
| goals3 =0
| goals4 =0
| goals5 = 1
| nationalyears1 = 2000–2011
| nationalteam1 = [[India national football team|India]]
| nationalcaps1 = 96
| nationalgoals1 = 1
| manageryears1 = 2019−
| managerclubs1 = [[Indian Arrows]] (Assistant Coach)
}}

'''Mahesh Gawli''' (born 23 January 1980) is a former [[India]]n football [[Defender (association football)#Center Back|Centre back]] who represented [[India national football team]] on 96 occasions between 2000 and 2011.

==Club career==
Gawli was born in [[Goa]] and began playing football at 8. Gawli’s talent was immediately spotted by the coaches at all age groups. He was a member of the Goa U-12 team that lost against [[Japan]] U-12 in 1991–92. He then joined the famed [[Tata Football Academy]].

Gawli started his career at [[FC Kochin]] where he joined in 1998 after graduating from [[Tata Football Academy]] and won the [[Kerala]] League with them before moving on to [[Churchill Brothers]].

He stayed there at Churchill for three consecutive seasons from 2000–2002 and won the [[Goa Professional League]] thrice with them. He also helped them secure the Runners-up medals in the 2001–02 season of [[National Football League (India)]] before moving on to [[Kolkata]] biggies [[East Bengal]].

Gawli first tasted the National League success in 2003–04 season after moving into the East Bengal. He was also a member of the East Bengal team that won the prestigious [[2003 ASEAN Club Championship]] in where he also scored a goal against [[Philippine Army F.C.]]. East Bengal completed a treble that season by winning the [[Kolkata]] League crown as well.

After a successful three-year stint with the East Bengal, it was time for Mahesh to find his place in [[Mahindra United]] team. It was under Mahindra Coach [[David Booth (football manager)|David Booth]] that Gawli displayed his finest brand of football. He helped Mahindra win the [[National Football League (India)|NFL]], [[Indian Federation Cup]], [[Mumbai Football League]] and the [[IFA Shield]] and was part of the team that participated in the [[2007 AFC Cup]] and went on to reach the last eight stage. Gawli won the best defender award in the 10th NFL for his stellar performances in Mahindra United colors.

Then it was like a homecoming for Mahesh as he moved from Mahindra to [[Dempo S.C.]] in 2007 and has become a pillar of strength in Dempo’s defense. Gawli has won two [[I-League]] titles with Dempo and is a regular starter for the club and forms a formidable partnership with another India international [[Samir Naik]]. He helped Dempo reach the semi-finals of [[2008 AFC Cup]] and the pre-quarters in [[2011 AFC Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|title=THT Heroes Special: Mahesh Gawli - Indian Football's Defensive Stalwart|url=http://www.thehardtackle.com/2012/tht-heroes-special-mahesh-gawli-indian-footballs-defensive-stalwart/|access-date=31 December 2013|archive-date=7 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307115322/http://www.thehardtackle.com/2012/tht-heroes-special-mahesh-gawli-indian-footballs-defensive-stalwart|url-status=live}}</ref>

==International career==
He represented India in the [[AFC U-16 Championship]] in 1996 held in [[Thailand]] and was included in the Asian All Star U-16 team. Gawli soon made his international debut in the pre-Olympic qualifier against [[Thailand]] in 1999 and cemented his place in the Indian team.

Mahesh has been representing [[India national football team|India]] since 2001. With India, he won the [[LG Cup (association football)|LG Cup]] and several [[SAFF Cup]]s. He was part of the historical [[Nehru Cup]] 2007 win in which he was the man of the match in the final against [[Syria national football team|Syria]]. He was also an important part of the victorious India team at the [[2008 AFC Challenge Cup]].

He announced his retirement on 26 December 2011, almost 2 weeks after winning the [[2011 SAFF Championship]] with India.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120727232221/http://the-aiff.com/pages/news/index.php?N_Id=2900]</ref>

==International statistics==
{{updated|2011}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dey |first1=Subrata |title=Mahesh Gawli - International Appearances |url=http://rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ind-gawli-intl.html |website=rsssf.com |publisher=RSSSF |access-date=19 February 2019 |archive-date=20 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220063126/http://rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ind-gawli-intl.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan=3 | [[India national football team|India national team]]
|-
!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|1999||1||0
|-
|2000||4||0
|-
|2001||8||0
|-
|2002||2||0
|-
|2003||3||0
|-
|2004||6||0
|-
|2005||8||1
|-
|2006||2||0
|-
|2007||7||0
|-
|2008||8||0
|-
|2009||6||0
|-
|2010||4||0
|-
|2011||9||0
|-
! Total !! 68 !! 1
|}

===International goals===
{| class="wikitable"
! Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1 || 10 December 2005 || [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]] || {{fb|BHU}} || '''2'''-0 || 3-0 || [[South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup 2005|2005 SAFF Cup]]
|}

==Honours==
===Club===

====East Bengal====
*[[National Football League (India)|National Football League]] (1): [[2003-04 Indian National Football League|2003-04]]
*[[ASEAN Club Championship]] (1): [[ASEAN Club Championship 2003|2003]]

====Mahindra United====
*[[National Football League (India)|National Football League]] (1): 2005
*[[Federation Cup (India)|Federation Cup]] (1): 2005
*[[IFA Shield]] (1): 2006

====Dempo S.C.====
*[[I-League]] (3): [[2007-08 I-League]], [[2009-10 I-League]], [[2011-12 I-League]]
*[[Indian Super Cup|Super Cup]] (1): 2008

===International===
====India====
*[[AFC Challenge Cup]] (1): [[2008 AFC Challenge Cup|2008]]
*[[SAFF Cup]] (2): [[2005 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup|2005]], [[2011 SAFF Championship|2011]]
*[[Nehru Cup]] (2): [[2007 Nehru Cup|2007]], [[2009 Nehru Cup|2009]]

===Individual===
*Best defender of the I-league: 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2011-12
*2007 ONGC Nehru Cup Final: Man Of the Match
*Dilip Sardesai Sports Excellence Award: 2008

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{NFT player|pid=3101}}
* {{FIFA player|183134|Mahesh Gawli}}

{{Dempo S.C. squad}}
{{India Squad 2011 AFC Asian Cup}}
{{2011–12 I-League FPAI Team of the Year}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gawli, Mahesh}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Indian footballers]]
[[Category:Footballers from Goa]]
[[Category:India international footballers]]
[[Category:FC Kochin players]]
[[Category:Churchill Brothers FC Goa players]]
[[Category:Dempo SC players]]
[[Category:SC East Bengal players]]
[[Category:2011 AFC Asian Cup players]]
[[Category:I-League players]]
[[Category:Mahindra United FC players]]
[[Category:Association football central defenders]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games competitors for India]]

Mahesh Gawli - Revision history

>Billjones94 at 06:22, 25 September 2021