Veteran Kerala footballer Sushanth Mathew has called it quits. The 37-year-old from Ambalavayal in Wayanad made a name for himself as one of the top defensive midfielders in the country in a career spanning more than two decades.
Sushanth was with the youth team of Kerala's first professional football club FC Kochi for four years. He went on to play for the senior teams of top clubs such as Vasco Goa, Mahindra United, Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, Meghalaya's Rangdajied United, Indian Super League (ISL) franchises Kerala Blasters FC and FC Pune City before joining I-League outfits NEROCA FC and Gokulam Kerala FC.
Sushanth scored arguably the best goal in ISL history in Kerala Blasters' 3-0 win over Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in the first-leg semifinal of the inaugural season in 2014. His stunning left-footer from 30 yards curled in at the last second leaving the Chennaiyin goalkeeper with absolutely no chance. That wonder goal in injury time completed a 3-0 win for Blasters. The Yellow Brigade made it to the final despite a 1-3 loss in the second leg.
Blasters went on to lose the final 0-1 to ATK. However, even after five ISL seasons Sushanth's super strike remains forever etched in the minds of those who saw it.
