Roy Krishna


Roy Krishna is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a striker and captain for both ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League and the Fiji national team.

Club career

Early career

Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship side Waitakere United from Fijian local outfit Labasa FC in January 2008.
In May 2008, he spent two weeks training with the Wellington Phoenix, but was not offered a contract.
In March 2009, it was reported that PSV Eindhoven was interested in signing him. However he said professional football in New Zealand with the Phoenix was his preferred option because he was not ready to move to Europe as he was still learning English and was not ready for another language.
In his 6 seasons with Waitakere United, Krishna managed 55 goals in 75 appearances and has won the NZFC Golden Boot in the 2012–13 season.

Auckland City

In September 2013, it was announced that he had joined Waitakere's local rivals Auckland City FC for the upcoming ASB Premiership season. On 12 December 2013, he scored the only goal which Auckland City lost 1–2 against Raja Casablanca in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup and also became the first Fijian player to score at the finals of a FIFA tournament.

Wellington Phoenix

On 7 January 2014, Krishna signed with the A-League's Wellington Phoenix until the end of the 2013–14 season as an injury replacement for Paul Ifill, scoring his debut goal on 16 March 2014 against the Melbourne Heart, beating Andrew Redmayne with a powerful drive into the bottom right corner in the 7th minute of a 2–2 draw. His performance in the match earned him the A-League's player of the week honors. Four days later, Krishna came to terms on a new 2-year contract with the Phoenix.
Krishna resigned on 29 February 2016, agreeing to a 2-year deal that would keep him at Wellington until the end of the 2017–18 season. He subsequently signed a 1-year extension on 15 February 2018.
On 18 April 2018, Krishna was named Wellington Phoenix Player of the Year and his fourth-round goal against Brisbane Roar was deemed the team's Goal of the Year for the 2017–18 season.
On 2 December 2018, Krishna became the outright leading goal scorer for the Wellington Phoenix, overtaking previous leader Paul Ifill's 33 goals for the club. Krishna made A-League history on 19 January 2019, becoming the first player to score 3 consecutive braces.
On 13 May 2019, Krishna was awarded the Johnny Warren Medal for his performances in the 2018–19 A-League season. On 27 May 2019, Krishna announced his departure from Wellington Phoenix after a long-term deal was not reached.

ATK Mohun Bagan

On 18 June 2019, Krishna announced he had signed a one-year deal with ATK, who play in the Indian Super League. Krishna got off the mark with a goal against Hyderabad FC in what was only his second match for ATK, and thereafter, it became a familiar sight. Despite a minor injury problem, he finished with 15 goals, the highest in the league alongside Nerijus Valskis and Bartholomew Ogbeche, and six assists from 21 games. The highlight was when he scored a hattrick against Odisha FC to help ATK seal a playoff berth.
He contract was extended by ATK Mohun Bagan FC and will continue to serve as the club captain.

International career

Krishna made his debut for Fiji at the South Pacific Games 2007 and he has played for them in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament.
In 2010, Krishna was also called up to the national futsal team for the 2010 OFC Futsal Championship.
On 16 July 2016, Krishna was named as one of the three over-aged players of the Fiji under-23 team for the 2016 Summer Olympics, alongside Simione Tamanisau and Alvin Singh. On 7 August 2016, he scored the team's only goal in the final tournament's campaign, against Mexico. Krishna's goal was Fiji's first ever goal in the Olympic Games.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.5 September 2007National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
3–0
3–0
2007 South Pacific Games
2.19 November 2008Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji
1–0
2–0
2008 OFC Nations Cup
3.19 November 2008Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji
2–0
2–0
2008 OFC Nations Cup
4.17 August 2011Thomson Park, Tavua, Fiji
1–0
3–0
Friendly
5.18 August 2011National Stadium, Suva, Fiji
1–0
5–1
Friendly
6.18 August 2011National Stadium, Suva, Fiji
2–0
5–1
Friendly
7.18 August 2011National Stadium, Suva, Fiji
3–0
5–1
Friendly
8.3 September 2011Stade Boewa, Boulari, New Caledonia
1–0
4–1
2011 Pacific Games
9.10 November 2015Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu
1–2
1–2
Friendly
10.28 May 2016Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
1–2
1–3
2016 OFC Nations Cup
11.31 May 2016Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
1–0
1–0
2016 OFC Nations Cup
12.4 June 2016Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
2–2
2–3
2016 OFC Nations Cup
13.26 June 2016Prince Charles Park, Nadi, Fiji
1–1
1–1
Friendly
14.7 June 2017Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji
2–2
2–2
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
15.22 March 2018Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines
2–3
2–3
Friendly
16.5 September 2018National Stadium, Suva, Fiji1–11–1Friendly
17.24 March 2019Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji
1–0
1–0
Friendly
18.8 July 2019National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
2–0
2–1
2019 Pacific Games
19.18 July 2019National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
3–0
4–4
2019 Pacific Games
20.18 July 2019National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
4–2
4–4
2019 Pacific Games
21.20 July 2019National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
1–1
1–1
2019 Pacific Games

Non-FIFA goals

Olympics

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 August 2016Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil
1–0
1–5
2016 Summer Olympics1

Personal life

Krishna is a New Zealand citizen, having gained his citizenship in December 2018 after ten years in the country and he is also an Indo-Fijians with Indian origin his ancestors is from Kolkata, India.
In July 2018, Krishna married Indo-Fijian model and media business owner Naziah Ali.

Career statistics

Club

1 Includes OFC Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup matches.

International

Honours

;Waitakere United
;Auckland City FC
;ATK
;Individual