Founded: 28th August 2014
Owners: Vita Dani, Abhishek Bachchan, MS Dhoni
Stadium: Marina Arena, Chennai
Titles: 2
About
Chennaiyin FC became one of the first teams to confirm their participation in the Indian Super League from the very first edition. Backed by the vociferous Chennai support the club has gifted very exciting football over the years.
Abhishek Bachchan and Vita Dani are the owners of the club from its inception and later MS Dhoni joined the bandwagon as he also became one of the co-owners of the club. Besides Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin has remained one of the most popular football clubs in Southern India.
They also have done justice to their pride with two ISL titles to their name but they haven’t been consistent in the last couple of seasons.
Despite the pandemic looming large they have managed to cope with all the shortcomings and have been fielding a strong squad in each of the past few seasons.
Chennaiyin FC: Results in Indian Super League
| Year | Result |
| 2014-15 | Semifinals |
| 2015-16 | Champions |
| 2016-17 | 7th |
| 2017-18 | Champions |
| 2018-19 | 10th |
| 2019-20 | Runners-up |
| 2020-21 | 8th |
Chennaiyin managed to reach the playoffs four times and they lifted the ISL title on two occasions so far. They are the most successful South Indian team in the Indian Super League and have been pretty consistent in the ISL. They finished runners up in the 2019-20 season having been beaten by ATK in the final. They failed to qualify for the playoffs last season and finished in 8th place.
Chennaiyin FC: Top Scorers in ISL
| Year | Player | Appearance | Goals |
| 2013-14 | Elano | 11 | 8 |
| 2014-15 | Stiven Mendoza | 16 | 11 |
| 2015-16 | Dudu | 13 | 5 |
| 2017-18 | Jeje Lalpekhlua | 20 | 9 |
| 2018-19 | Thoi Singh | 16 | 4 |
| 2019-20 | Nerijus Valskis | 20 | 15 |
| 2020-21 | Isma | 16 | 4 |
Stiven Mendoza was one of the most prolific scorers the Indian Super League has ever seen. The striker lit up the ISL with his goals scoring antics as he netted 11 times in 16 matches back in the 2014-15 season.
Nerijus Valskis who recently rejoined Chennaiyin was at his best in the 2019-20 season when he scored 15 goals in 20 matches.
Chennaiyin FC: ISL 2021-22 Fixtures
| Date | Day | Fixture | Venue | Time (IST) |
| November 23, 2021 | Tuesday | Hyderabad FC vs CFC | Athletic Stadium, Bambolim | 7:30 PM IST |
| November 29, 2021 | Monday | NorthEast United vs CFC | PJN Stadium, Fatorda | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 3, 2021 | Friday | CFC vs SC East Bengal | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 11, 2021 | Saturday | ATK Mohun Bagan vs CFC | PJN Stadium, Fatorda | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 15, 2021 | Wednesday | Mumbai City FC vs CFC | PJN Stadium, Fatorda | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 18, 2021 | Saturday | CFC vs Odisha FC | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 22, 2021 | Wednesday | CFC vs Kerala Blasters | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 30, 2021 | Thursday | CFC vs Bengaluru FC | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 2, 2022 | Sunday | Jamshedpur FC vs CFC | Athletic Stadium, Bambolim | 9:30 PM IST |
| January 8, 2022 | Saturday | FC Goa vs CFC | Athletic Stadium, Bambolim | 9:30 PM IST |
| January 13, 2022 | Thursday | CFC vs Hyderabad FC | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 22, 2022 | Saturday | CFC vs NorthEast United FC | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 26, 2022 | Wednesday | Bengaluru FC vs CFC | Bambolim Athletic Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 2, 2022 | Wednesday | SC East Bengal vs CFC | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 6, 2022 | Sunday | CFC vs Mumbai City FC | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 10, 2022 | Thursday | CFC vs FC Goa | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 15, 2022 | Tuesday | Kerala Blasters vs CFC | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 21, 2022 | Monday | CFC vs ATK Mohun Bagan | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 26, 2022 | Saturday | Odisha FC vs CFC | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| March 3, 2022 | Thursday | CFC vs Jamshedpur FC | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
Chennaiyin FC: Squad for ISL 2021-22
Goalkeepers: Debjit Majumder, Devansh Dabas, Samik Mitra, Vishal Kaith
Defenders: Aqib Nawab, Balaji Ganesan, Deepak Devrani, Davinder Singh, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Reagan Singh, Mohd Sajid Dhot, Narayan Das, Salam Ranjan Singh, Slavko Damjanovic
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ariel Borysiuk, Edwin Vanspaul, Germanpreet Singh, Johnson Mathews, Ninthoinganba, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Mirlan Murzaev, Subhadip Majhi, Suhail Pasha, Vladimir Koman
Forwards: Jobby Justin, Lukasz Gikiewicz, Mohamed Liyaakath, Nerijus Valskis, Rahim Ali
Chennaiyin FC made some changes to their Indian contingent as they brought in the likes of Narayan Das, Debjit Majumder and Jobby Justin. They also roped in their former forward Nerijus Valskis from Jamshedpur in the winter transfer window.
The likes of Anirudh Thapa has been with the club for a prolonged period and his role has been pivotal for the club.
CFC: Interesting ISL stats
Chennaiyin FC had the record of racking up the fewest points (9) in a single season. They manage to grab just two wins in the 2018-19 season. They also lost the most number of matches (13) in that season, which is also a joint record with NorthEast United.
CFC: Rivalries
Chennaiyin FC have their rivalries with South Indian giants Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC.
Chennaiyin FC renewed their rivalries with Bengaluru FC when they first met in 2017. Chennaiyin ended as the better team as they defeated Bengaluru 2-1 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. They went on to meet further twice with the last being in the ISL final where Chennayin FC had the last laugh as they emerged winner in a fiercely contested battle.
Between Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC , the latter has been the favourite as they have had the upper hand in most of the matches. The rivalry between their supporters have also made the contest more exciting.
Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters Head-to-Head
| Matches Played | Won | Lost | Tied |
| 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
Chennaiyin FC vs Bengaluru FC Head to head
| Matches Played | Won | Lost | Tied |
| 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Road Ahead for CFC
Chennaiyin FC have been pretty consistent in the Indian Super League. They had a season to forget when they finished 8th in the league. But they have improved under the guidance of Bozidar Bandovic.
The team underwent a complete revamp as they welcomed a number of new players to their fold. The renewed vigour of Anirudh Thapa has been helping Chennaiyin FC to shift their gear this season he is finally paying dividends this time. The midfielder joined the club back in 2016 after having a number of underwhelming seasons. But he has been handed the captainship this season and has been on a good run as Chennaiyin are currently one of the favourites for the ISL playoffs.
