The 2005–06 National Football League, also known as the ONGC National Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the tenth season of the National Football League, the top Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its inception in 1996. It started on 10 January 2006 and concluded on 21 May.

East Bengal's Bhaichung Bhutia was named the best player of the league.

Overview It was contested by 10 teams, Mohammedan SC and Air India were promoted from NFL- 2. Mahindra United won the championship under the coach Derrick Pereira and this was their first title. East Bengal came second while Mohun Bagan came as third. Fransa Pax and Salgaocar were relegated from the National Football League 2006-07. Midway through the season, Fransa Pax withdrew their team from the league after 9 matches.

League standings

Season statistics

Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Ranti MartinsDempo132 Bhaichung BhutiaEast Bengal123 Dudu OmagbemiSporting Goa94 Yusif YakubuMahindra United85 Chidi EdehSporting Goa76 José Ramirez BarretoMahindra United67 Bashiree MohammedAir India4 Roberto Mendes SilvaDempo Parveen KumarJCT Shanmugam VenkateshMahindra United

Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ranti Martins Dempo Mahindra United 3–4 (H) 17 January 2006 Bhaichung Bhutia East Bengal Sporting Clube 4–3 (H) 18 March 2006 Dudu Omagbemi Sporting Clube Mohammedan Sporting 4–1 (H) 8 April 2006 Note: (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Season awards The following awards were given at the conclusion of the season. East Bengal's Bhaichung Bhutia was voted the best player of the season by the coaches and captains of all participating teams of the season. JCT Mills received the fairplay award for receiving the lowest number of cards (8).

Award Recipient Club Best Player Bhaichung Bhutia East Bengal Best Midfielder Shanmugam Venkatesh Mahindra United Best Goalkeeper Sandip Nandy Mahindra United Best Defender Mahesh Gawli Mahindra United Fair PlayJCT Mills

References

External links League home at Rediff.com 10th National Football League at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation