Name: Mariappa Kempaiah
Nickname: "Kempiah Da"
Country:
IndiaClub: East Bengal Club (1956-1957), Mohun Bagan F.C. (1957-1964)
Position: *DMF, CMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 24-28 years (04/03/1932)
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Attack: 63
Defence: 80
Balance: 76
Stamina: 87
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 79
Response: 83
Agility: 80
Dribble Accuracy: 70
Dribble Speed: 73
Short Pass Accuracy: 71
Short Pass Speed: 70
Long Pass Accuracy: 74
Long Pass Speed: 70
Shot Accuracy: 60
Shot Power: 75
Shot Technique: 65
Free Kick Accuracy: 57
Curling: 58
Header: 64
Jump: 77
Technique: 71
Aggression: 63
Mentality: 82
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 74
Injury Tolerance: A
Condition: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard/Lasting
CARDS:
P02 - Anchor Man
S08 - Slide Tackle
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Center - Sliding
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded
INFO:
Kempaiah was a right half, equally efficient in the center of the midfield. He played in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly for Mohun Bagan from 1957 to 1964, while he was part of East Bengal Club in his early career. An international player, he was instrumental at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, especially in the first one.
Regarded as one of India's greatest ever midfielders, Kempaiah was a work horse in the pitch. He had a short physique but was described as the fittest Indian player during the national team's golden era thanks to his nutritive diet. He was an expert at stopping the opponents as well as regaining possession of the ball. These characteristics were helpful to the offensive minded India team. He was a tremendous, fearless fighter who never got scared. Even the best Indian or Asian strikers struggled to beat him. If they dribbled him, he would immediately tackled them exemplarily, snatching the ball perfectly. Gifted with outstanding stamina, he was never tired as he kept tackling, blocking, clearing with excellence. Another proof of his endurance and commitment is given by the fact that he used to run a dozen to thirty laps during training even when coach Rahim gave the team a day off. India's coach in the biennium 1963-64 was so impressed by Kempaiah that he compared his fitness to that of any English professional player.