I. M. Vijayan

Inivalappil Mani Vijayan is a well-known Indian footballer and a film actor. He was born in Thrissur village of Kerala state in the year 1969. He was a hardworking man, and he used to sell soda at Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium in his earlier days to assist his family financially. Although he was destitute and had no financial assistance, he never gave up the dream of playing football. He was very much interested in football, and he was given a chance to play for the Kerala police club by the  Kerala DGP M. K. Joseph.

He was an aggressive player and attracted many football selectors with his skills and talent. He was selected for the Indian football team and made his first international debut in the year 1989.During his football career, he played for many football clubs like Mohun Bagan, JCT Mills Fagwara, FC Cochin, East Bengal Club and Churchill Brothers SC. Vijayan during his international football career played in some tournaments such as Nehru Cup, Pre-Olympics, pre world cup, SAAF cup, etc. He created history in the Indian football by scoring the fastest goal (12 seconds).

He was awarded football player of the year in 1993, 1997 and 1999. He also received Arjuna Award in the year 2002. After retiring from football, he has started his football academy in his native place Thrissur to train young Indian football players. Vijayan started his film career with an award winning Malayalam movie 'Shantham'(2001) in which he played a leading character. He also acted in negative roles in some Tamil movies and as a character artist in Malayalam movies. He also owns a sports company named 'Boxer Sports Goods Company' in Thrissur. He is married to Rajji, and they have three children