Derrick Pereira, is a India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n association football manager and former player, who has managed Indian I-League

I-League

The I-League is an Indian football league for association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation of two teams each year with the I-League 2nd Division...

 side Pune FC

Pune FC

Pune Football Club is an Indian football club based in Pune. The club was established in 2007, and gained promotion to the I-League in the 2009-10 season. Pune F.C. one of the most professional football club in India is also known as one of the first football club to not follow the Institutional...

 since 2009. He is currently the club's longest serving manager.

Pereira began his long lived playing career, moving to two different Indian clubs in the space of three years, the last of which being Salgaocar SC in 1985. He briefly managed top flight club Mahindra United

Mahindra United

Mahindra United Football Club was a professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Their home ground was the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai...

.

At Pune

Pune

Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...

, Pereira became the first non-British manager to manage Pune FC

Pune FC

Pune Football Club is an Indian football club based in Pune. The club was established in 2007, and gained promotion to the I-League in the 2009-10 season. Pune F.C. one of the most professional football club in India is also known as one of the first football club to not follow the Institutional...

.

Playing career

Pereira's story began in the late 1970s when he started playing for local Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

 clubs. His first move to a top club was with Salgaocar SC in 1980 where he stayed on till 1983. Later he moved on to Tata Football Academy

Tata Football Academy

Tata Football Academy is a football club in Jamshedpur, India, sponsored by Tata Steel.Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata envisaged not only Asia's first fully integrated Steel Plant but also the model township of Jamshedpur. He advised his son, Sir Dorab Tata, to earmark "areas for Football, hockey and...

 and then back to Salgaocar SC in 1985. He stayed on at Salgaocar till the end of his career in 1999.

Amongst the highlights of his career were leading Goa to victory in the 1980 Junior National Championship. Another highlight was leading Salgaocar to a win in the 1990 Rovers Cup

Rovers Cup

The Rovers Cup is a football tournament held in India. It was started by British football enthusiasts at Bombay in 1891. It is the 2nd oldest football tournament in India, after Durand Cup. 1st Worcester Regiment was the winner in the inaugural year...

 which the team won after downing Dempo SC in the final. He was also part of the senior India

India national football team

The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...

 side from 1984-91. He was also the part of national team which features in 1984 AFC Asian Cup

1984 AFC Asian Cup

The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the eighth edition of the Asian Nations Cup, the football championship of Asia . It was hosted by Singapore between December 1 and December 16. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five...

.

Coaching career

Pereira's coaching career began when he began coaching Salgaocar u-19. That was a job which he held for two seasons. Next came coaching the first team at Vasco SC which he did for five seasons till 2005. Another prominent assignment was coaching Mahindra United

Mahindra United

Mahindra United Football Club was a professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Their home ground was the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai...

 from 2005 to 09. Then on June 9, 2009 Pereira signed on with Pune FC

Pune FC

Pune Football Club is an Indian football club based in Pune. The club was established in 2007, and gained promotion to the I-League in the 2009-10 season. Pune F.C. one of the most professional football club in India is also known as one of the first football club to not follow the Institutional...

where he has now managed for two season leading them to top five finishes in each season.