Mandar Rao Dessai (born 18 March 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin.
Desai made his professional debut for Dempo in the 2013-14 I-League on 22 September 2013 against Shillong Lajong at the Duler Stadium and played the match till 55th minute before he was replaced by Jeje Lalpekhlua as his team lost the match 0–3.[3]
Mandar represented Goa in the 2014 Indian Super League, on loan from Dempo, and was a regular for his team on the left wing.[2]
After the 2014 ISL, Mandar returned to his senior club and started the new season in the 2014–15 Indian Federation Cup, where he played in 5 of his teams' cup-winning campaign, assisting Tolgay Ozbey once in a group game. While he was regular for Dempo during the 2014–15 I-League, he could not prevent his team from getting relegated. He made 14 appearances, with only 5 starts in the league.
Mandar was retained by Goa for the 2015 Indian Super League with Zico impressed by him from the 2014 season. He started and scored in the first game of the season against Roberto Carlos lead northern outfit Delhi Dynamos from a Romeo Fernandes assist as his team won 2–0.[4] He scored again in a round 4 game away at Guwahati against NorthEast United after coming on as a substitute, from a swift counterattack, showing his impressive pace.[5] Mandar then turned in his first assist of the season at home against Kerala Blasters from a corner, assisting Gregory Arnolin with a goal that turned out be the winner.[6] He won Hero of the Match awards for his performances against Delhi Dynamos and Pune City in 2015 Indian Super League. Mandar scored his 3rd goal of the season against Kerala Blasters in a 1–5 win at Kochi on 29 November 2015, where he also assisted Reinaldo for the 3rd goal.[7]
After contractual problems, Mandar returned to play for Dempo, where he had a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season where he helped his team win promotion back to the I-League.[8]
Desai signed a permanent deal with Goa from the 2016 Indian Super League. He later went to Spain for a short training cum trial stint with La Liga side Villarreal CF.[9]
In 2020, Dessai moved to Mumbai City and emerged champions of the 2020–21 season. He was later included in club's 2022 AFC Champions League squad.[10]
Mandar captained Goa-India during the 2014 Lusophony Games where he made 4 appearances and scored once, as he led his team to the gold medal, beating the under-20 team of Mozambique in the final.[11][12]
Mandar made his India U23 debut in the 2014 Asian Games against UAE U23.[13]
Mandar was in a relationship with Danish footballer Cecilie Bjørnstrup Andersen, from 2018 until their separation in 2021. They have a daughter namely Aya and son called Adrian.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dempo | 2013–14 | I-League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | 14 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | I-League 2nd Division | 10 | 3 | — | — | 10 | 3 | |||
| Total | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 3 | |||
| Goa (loan) | 2014 | Indian Super League | 11 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 15 | 2 | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Goa | 2016 | 12 | 1 | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | 20 | 2 | 3[b] | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 20 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 97 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 100 | 5 | |||
| Bengaluru (loan) | 2016–17 | I-League | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Mumbai City | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 17 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 14 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | 10 | 0 | 6[e][b] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 41 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||
| East Bengal | 2023–24 | Indian Super League | 17 | 0 | 7[e][b] | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| Chennaiyin | 2024–25 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 190 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 214 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 2019 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
