Rahim Ali
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-04-21) 21 April 2000 (age 22)
Place of birth Ichapur, West Bengal, India
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Chennaiyin
Number 11
Youth career
2012–2016 Mohun Bagan
2016 AIFF Elite Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Indian Arrows 30 (1)
2019– Chennaiyin 55 (7)
International career‡
2017 India U17 3 (1)
2017 India U20 3 (1)
2019– India U23 6 (1)
2021– India 6 (0)
Honours
Representing  India
SAFF Championship
Winner 2021 Maldives
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:43, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:22, 23 March 2022(UTC)

Rahim Ali (Bengali: রহিম আলি; born 21 April 2000) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin and the India national team.

Career[edit]

Earlier career[edit]

Born in Barrackpore, West Bengal, Ali was part of the AIFF Elite Academy batch that was preparing for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be hosted in India.[1] After the tournament, Ali was selected to play for the Indian Arrows, an All India Football Federation-owned team that would consist of India under-20 players to give them playing time.[2] He made his professional debut for the side in the Arrow's first match of the season against Chennai City. He came on as a 73rd-minute substitute for Rahul Praveen as Indian Arrows won 3–0.[3]

Chennaiyin[edit]

On 31 May 2019, Ali signed with Chennaiyin and appeared in the 2019–20 Indian Super League.[4][5][6] They lost to Odisha on 6 January 2020 and won a game against Hyderabad by 3–1.[7][8]

International[edit]

Ali represented the India under-17 side which participated in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which was hosted in India.[1]

Ali made his senior international debut for India against Nepal in an international friendly on 2 September 2021 in their 1–1 draw.[9] He later participated in 2021 SAFF Championship in Maldives,[10] in which they emerged champions. In March 2022, Ali was included in national squad by coach Igor Štimac ahead of India's two friendly matches against Bahrain and Belarus as preparations of 2023 AFC Asian Cup final round qualification.[11]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of 16 February 2023[12]
Club Season League Super Cup Durand Cup AFC Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Indian Arrows 2017–18 I League 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2018–19 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 1
Indian Arrows Total 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 31 1
Chennayin 2019–20 Indian Super League 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2020–21 16 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 2
2021–22 18 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 2
2022–23 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 5 2
Chennaiyin Total 41 5 0 0 4 1 0 0 45 6
Career total 71 6 1 0 4 1 0 0 76 7


International[edit]

As of 16 October 2021[13]
National team Year Apps Goals
India U23 2019− 4 1
India 2021− 5 0
Total 9 1

Honours[edit]

Club

Chennaiyin

International

India

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Selvaraj, Jonathan (3 October 2017). "How 14,000 became 21: The story of India's history boys". ESPN.in. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Matos Names 25-member Indian Arrows Squad for Hero I-league 2017-18". The All India Football Federation. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Indian Arrows 3-0 Chennai City". Soccerway.
  4. ^ "ISL 2019-20 HIGHLIGHTS, Jamshedpur FC vs Chennaiyin FC: Isaac Cancels Out Valskis Opener". Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  5. ^ "ISL 2019-20 HIGHLIGHTS, Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Chennaiyin Beat Blasters in Dramatic Game at Home". Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  6. ^ "ISL 2019-20: Coro strike earns Goa 4-3 win over Chennayin FC". Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Indian youngsters on target as Odisha beat Chennaiyin". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  8. ^ "ISL: Chennaiyin FC 3-1 Hyderabad FC - Talking points". www.sportstar.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  9. ^ Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. "Player profile: Rahim Ali". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  10. ^ Mukherjee, Soham (9 September 2021). "SAFF Championship 2021: Everything you need to know". Goal. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  11. ^ "7 new faces as Stimac names final list of 25 for friendlies in Bahrain". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  12. ^ Rahim Ali at Soccerway
  13. ^ Rahim Ali at Soccerway
  14. ^ "ATK 3-1 Chennaiyin FC, ISL 2020 Final: Indian Super League Has Become More Professional – Antonio Habas". www.outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  15. ^ "ISL final: Valskis wins Golden Boot, Gurpreet takes Golden Glove". www.sportstar.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  16. ^ Bureau, Outlook Web (1 January 2022). "India Vs Nepal, SAFF Championship Final: Sunil Chhetri Equals Lionel Messi Feat As Blue Tigers Win 8th Title". Outlook. Retrieved 21 March 2022.

External links[edit]