Former Tamil Nadu footballer Shanmugam passes away

R. Shanmugam, who played for Tamil Nadu in the 1970s and later became a coach, is survived by two sons and a daughter.

R. Shanmugam played for the Integral Coach Factory from 1969-77 in the top tier of the Chennai Football Association league. - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Former Tamil Nadu footballer and coach R. Shanmugam passed away aged 77 early on Saturday morning here. He’s survived by three children - two sons and a daughter. He hadn't been keeping well of late.

Shanmugam, who was born in Burma in 1943, represented the Burmese junior and senior National teams in 1966-67. He played for Mohun Bagan in 1968, Indian Railways in the 1969 Nowgong senior Nationals, Tamil Nadu in the 1970 Jalandhar & '71 Chennai senior Nationals. He's played for the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) from 1969-77 in the top-tier of the Chennai Football Association (CFA) league.

He attended the FIFA Coca Cola coaching course in 1978 & '91, and the Olympic solidarity course in 1996.

He obtained diplomas in football coaching from the National Institute of Sports in 1975-76 and the Brazilian Football Academy in 1995. He has coached ICF, Tamil Nadu and Indian Railways for the Santosh trophy, and the National team for the International Jawaharlal Nehru trophy.

Shanmugam has also served as the president of the Football Coaches Association in Chennai. His sons have also played football and are employed with ICF Chennai.