Druk Pol F.C.

Druk Pol FC
Full name Druk Pol Football Club
Founded 1986 (as Royal Bhutan Police)[1]
1996 (as Druk Pol)[2]
Ground Changlimithang
Thimphu, Bhutan
Ground Capacity 25,000
Ground Coordinates 27°28′17.1″N 89°38′27.8″E / 27.471417°N 89.641056°E / 27.471417; 89.641056Coordinates: 27°28′17.1″N 89°38′27.8″E / 27.471417°N 89.641056°E / 27.471417; 89.641056
President Kipchu Namgay[2]
Head Coach Tshering Chophel[2]
League Bhutan National League
2014 4th

Druk Pol FC is a football club from Thimphu, Bhutan. Until 1996 it was called Royal Bhutan Police FC.[1] Druk Pol FC plays in the A Division and has won more national championships than any other team in Bhutan.[1] The team plays in the Changlimithang Stadium.

History

Twentieth century

Druk Pol took part in the first recorded season of league football in Bhutan in 1986,[3] playing under the name Royal Bhutan Police.[1] The league was played on a single round-robin basis and Druk Pol finished fourth with four wins and two draws from their nine games.[3]

There are no recorded results for any form of competition in Bhutan between 1987 and 1995, so it is not known whether Druk Pol competed at all during that period.[1] However, records indicate that they won the national championship in 1996,[1] though no results exist to provide any further detail, and their championship win should not be confused with the victory by Bhutan Telecom Company IECH FC, who won the 8th Thimphu Championship in the same year.[4]

Druk Pol won the next three titles, becoming the first team recorded in Bhutan to have won three and four titles in a row, and the only team to date to win five titles in a row, although no further details exist regarding these seasons.[1]

2001 to 2005

2001 marked the formal start of the A-Division.[1] Druk Pol competed in the Thimphu National League, a competition consisting of teams from both Thimphu and Phuentsholing.[5] No details exist relating to this competition, but it is known that it was a qualifying tournament for the A-Division and that Druk Pol, along with Thimphu and Paro qualified. Druk Pol competed in Group A, and qualified for the semi-final stage by beating Paro and drawing with Thimphu.[5] However, in the semi final, they lost 0–1 to Druk Star, with Dorji scroring in the 21st minute.[5] They then lost in the third place match to Thimphu 0–4, with goals from Sonam Jamtsho, Ugyen Dorji, Deo Kumar and Kinlay Dorji.[5] Druk Star won the championship.[5]

Druk Pol returned to form in the following season, winning the A-Division for the first time, but their sixth overall national title.[6] the only know results from this season for Druk Pol are a 5–0 win over RSTA and a 1–5 loss to Thimphu.[6]

A second consecutive title followed in 2003, as Druk Pol went unbeaten throughout the season, winning six and drawing two of their eight games.[7] However, despite there dominance of Bhutanese football in the last decade, this would be the teams last title for nearly ten years.[1]

Details are scant for the 2004 season, though it's known that Transport United won the A-Division.[8] It is not known where in the league Druk Pol finished, but as some form of consolation, the team did win the A-Division knock-out competition, beating Yeedzin in the final.[8]

Druk Pol were again beaten to the title by Transport United the next season, this time by a point.[9] They led the league at the halfway stage having won five of their six games, but losing 0–1 to Transport United,[9] but Transport United overtook them on the final day of the season, beating Yeedzin 2–1 to claim the title.[9] Druk Pol were able to defend their A-Division knock-out competition title though,[9] beating Yeedzin 3–1 on penalties following a draw in normal time[9] and then beating Druk Star 5–3 in the final on September 8 with goals from Ugyen Tsheten, Passang Dorji and a hat-trick from Wangyal Dorji.[9]

2006 to 2010

2006 saw a dip in form for Druk Pol as the could only finish fourth in the A-Division behind Transport United, who won their third consecutive title, and Royal Bhutan Army who finished third.[10] It is not known who finished second, nor whether druk Pol were able to defen their knock-out competition title.[10]

The following season saw a fourth consecutive title for Transport United, with Druk Pol again beaten into second place.[11] Druk Pol's final points total is not known, but it is known that they and Transport United were both on 28 points going into the last game of the season, with Transport United ahead on goal difference.[11] However, a 20–0 victory over RIHS on the final day with Passang Tshering scoring seventeen goals in that game confirmed Druk Pol's position in second place, missing out again on a place in the AFC President's Cup.[11]

Druk Pol's performance slipped in the 2008 season. their final position is not known, although it is known that they did not finish in the top three, and had sat in fifth place at the halfway point of the season, with three wins and a draw from their seven games.[12]

2009 was an improvement on previous season, as Druk Pol finished in third place behind Druk Star, who won their second ever national title, and Yeedzin,[13] They achieved impressive victories against Druk Athletic 10–1 and 8–1 as well as 9–0 and 6–0 wins over Rigzung Club.[13] However, they also drew five of their thirteen games, finishing ten points behind Druk Star.[13] They also reached the semi-finals of the Club Cup Championship, losing 4–5 on penalties to eventual winners Druk Star after a 1–1 draw in normal time.[13]

The following season saw a further improvement in performance by Druk Pol, as they managed to improve on their third-place finish the previous year by finishing in runner's-up place, admittedly nine points behind Yeedzin, who went through the whole competition unbeaten.[14] A 4–2 victory over Transport United on the final day of the season, put them above Transport on goal difference, with both teams recording eight victories and a draw from their twelve games.[14]

2011 to present day

2011 was the final season that the A-Division was the top level of competition in Bhutan. Druk Pol slipped to third place in this year's competition behind winners Yeedzin and Zimdra in second place, though this season's competition was only played one a single round robin basis in anticipation of the new National League commencing, an event that was ultimately delayed to the following year.[15]

2012 was to prove an unlucky year for Druk Pol. Having not won the A-Division for the past eight seasons and finishing second or third on several occasions, they finally won another title.[16] In their ten games they won eight of them and drew one, scoring an average of five goals a game, including a 19–0 victory over Nangpa.[16] However, they missed out on the opportunity to represent Bhutan in the 2013 AFC President's Cup due to the advent of the new National League, winning only six of their ten games in that competition and as a result, though still finishing as runner's up in the inaugural contest, lost out to Yeedzin, who recovered from a third-place finish in the A-Division that season to go undefeated through the national league, dropping only four points in draws with Zimdra and Ugyen Academy.[16]

Druk Pol were exempted from the 2013 A-Division since, being the Royal Bhutan Police team, they were required for the Bhutan elections that took place that year.[17][18] They were meant to play-off against the third place team in the A-Division for the right to progress to the National League, who turned out to be Dzongree, but it appears that this play-off never took place, as both teams featured in the National League.[17] Perhaps it was the lack of match practice, but Druk Pol put in a mediocre performance, finishing fourth out of six teams, winning only two games, whilst drawing five.[17]

They qualified for the 2014 Bhutan National League, finishing third in the A-Division, behind Druk United and Thimpu,[19] finishing in fourth place, again behind ultimate Champions Druk United and Thimphu City in addition to Ugyen Academy.[19]

Current squad

Old logo of Druk Pol FC

As of 2014:[20]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Bhutan GK Leki Dukpa
Bhutan DF Tandin Tshering
Bhutan MF Nima Sangay
Bhutan MF Cheni Yangdel
Bhutan FW Sonam Tenzin

Achievements

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Schöggl, Hans; Abbink, Dinant (28 May 2014). "Bhutan – List of Champions". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bhutan Club Directory". bhutanfootball.com. Bhutan Football Federation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 Burns, Peter; Makdissi, Albert (31 July 2003). "Bhutan 1986". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Bobrowsky, Josef (31 Jul 2003). "Bhutan 1996". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Schöggl, Hans; King, Ian (31 Jul 2003). "Bhutan 2001". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. 1 2 Schöggl, Hans (31 Jul 2003). "Bhutan 2002". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Schöggl, Hans; Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (5 Jun 2004). "Bhutan 2003". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 Schöggl, Hans (4 Jan 2006). "Bhutan 2004". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schöggl, Hans (4 Oct 2006). "Bhutan 2005". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  10. 1 2 Schöggl, Hans (2 Aug 2007). "Bhutan 2006". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 Schöggl, Hans (11 Jul 2008). "Bhutan 2007". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Schöggl, Hans (9 Jul 2009). "Bhutan 2008". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Stokkermans, Karel; Nima, Chokey (27 Aug 2010). "Bhutan 2009". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  14. 1 2 Stokkermans, Karel; Chhetri, Dinesh; Dorji, Mindu (13 Sep 2012). "Bhutan 2010". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Stokkermans, Karel; Jigmi, Sonam (19 Sep 2013). "Bhutan 2011". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 Schöggl, Hans; Stokkermans, Karel; Jigmi, Sonam (28 Feb 2013). "Bhutan 2012". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 Schöggl, Hans; Stokkermans, Karel; Jigmi, Sonam (20 Feb 2014). "Bhutan 2013". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Phuntsho, Tashi (18 May 2013). "Thimphu "A" Division Football League kicks off". www.kuenselonline.com. Kuensel Online. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  19. 1 2 Stokkermans, Karel; Jigmi, Sonam (22 May 2014). "Bhutan 2014". www.rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "2014 Squad List". National Soccer Teams. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
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