Narayan Das (footballer)

Narayan Das (নারায়ণ দাস; born 25 September 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Indian Super League club Goa.

Early career
Born in Tribeni, West Bengal, Das graduated from the Tata Football Academy in 2012 and signed with Pailan Arrows, the All India Football Federation's development team in the I-League on 24 October 2012. He made his professional debut for the club four days later on 28 October 2012 against Salgaocar. He came on as a halftime substitute for Pritam Kotal and earned a yellow card in the 72nd minute as Pailan Arrows drew the match 0–0. Das scored the first goal of his career on 18 November 2012 against Prayag United. His 84th-minute goal managed to equalize the score at 1–1 but four minutes later Lalkamal Bhowmick found the winner for Prayag United and saw Pailan Arrows fall 2–1. The next match saw Das on the scoresheet again, this time against Sporting Goa. His 54th-minute strike was the only goal in a 1–0 victory for Pailan Arrows.

Dempo
After the 2012–13 season, Pailan Arrows disbanded and on 26 October 2013 it was announced that Das, along with Arrows teammates Alwyn George, Holicharan Narzary, and Pronay Halder, would sign with three-time I-League champions, Dempo. Dempo were also coached at the time by former Pailan Arrows head coach Arthur Papas. Das made his debut for the club on 1 November 2013 in the eighth round of the I-League against Mohun Bagan. Das started the match and played the whole ninety minutes as the match ended in a 0–0 draw.

After suffering from a knee injury during the 2014 Indian Super League with Goa, Das missed the entire 2014–15 I-League season as Dempo were relegated from the first division league.

Goa (loans)
On 23 July 2014, Das was part of the 2014 ISL Inaugural Domestic Draft in which he was selected by Goa, who were allowed to exclusively sign Dempo players. He made his debut for the team on 15 October 2014 against Chennaiyin. He started and played the full match as Goa lost 2–1. He continued to play as a regular for Goa as a left-back and formed a good partnership on the left side of the pitch with left winger Mandar Rao Desai. At the end of the season Das, along with teammates Rao Desai and Romeo Fernandes, were praised by Goa marquee player Robert Pires. The former France and Arsenal midfielder said that he was "really impressed with players like Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai, Narayan Das who have a great future". However, before the season ended, Das suffered a knee injury during Goa's semi-final match against Atlético de Kolkata. Goa head coach, Zico, blamed the artificial turf at the Salt Lake Stadium for Das's injury.

Despite missing the entire 2014–15 season due to injury, Das was retained by Goa for the 2015 season.

East Bengal
On 19 June 2015 it was revealed that Das, along with Dempo teammates Pronay Halder and Prabir Das, requested to be released by the Goan club in order to sign for other I-League clubs, after Dempo were relegated to the I-League 2nd Division. A few days later it was reported that the club had agreed to allow the players a release from their hefty contracts but that Dempo would also demand a transfer fee for the players. After the 2015 ISL season, it was announced that Das had signed with East Bengal on 13 January 2016. During the 2015–16 season with the club, coming back from injury, Das found himself as second choice left back behind club captain Robert Lalthlamuana.

Pune City
On 12 July 2016 it was announced that Das had signed with Pune City of the Indian Super League along with Augustin Fernandes. He made his debut for the club on 3 October 2015 against Mumbai City. He started the match and played the full 90 as Pune City lost 1–0.

Chennaiyin FC
On 29 June 2021, Narayan Das was signed by Chennaiyin FC on a two-year contract.

International
Das was first called up to the India set up at the under-19 level during the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. He made his debut for the side on 1 November 2011 against Turkmenistan national under-19 football team. He started and played the full match as India won 3–1. Das was then called up to the under-23 side for the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualifiers. He made his debut for the side on 23 June 2012 against Lebanon. He started the match as India won 5–2.

On 19 November 2013 Das made his debut for the India senior side against Nepal. He started the match as India won 2–0. He scored his first goal for India on 3 September 2016 in a friendly against Puerto Rico. His 17th-minute goal was the equalizer for India who went on to win the match 4–1.

International goals

 * India score listed first, score column indicates score after each Das goal.

Honours
India
 * SAFF Championship: 2015
 * Tri-Nation Series: 2017
 * Intercontinental Cup: 2018

India U23
 * South Asian Games Silver medal: 2016