He played as a striker,[2] where he formed a successful attacking partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia for the India national football team in the late nineties and early 2000s.

Vijayan's talents attracted interest from the clubs in Malaysia and Thailand, although he spent his entire career in India until retirement.

He began his life in a gravely poor environment and had to sell soda bottles in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium to help his family.

He started out as a soda seller in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium, Kerala, earning 10 paise (0.02 cents) per bottle.

[7][8] In August 2000, during the off-season, Vijayan joined the Bangladeshi Dhaka Premier Division League club Muktijoddha Sangsad and appeared in five league matches,[9][10] while the lack of an international transfer certificate behind the signing caused a fine of 50,000 rupees by the All India Football Federation in March 2001.

Vijayan made his debut in international football in the year 1992 and played in a number of tournaments such as Nehru Cup, Pre-Olympics, FIFA World Qualifiers, SAFF Championship and SAF Games.

[14] Vijayan was part of the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored one of the fastest international goals in history of sport during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan after only 12 seconds.

In 2021, the movie 'Mmmmm' (sound of pain), starring Vijayan in the lead role was shortlisted as one of India's official entries for the Oscars.

[50] In 2010, Vijayan formally took over a coaching job with Southern Samity, a premier division side in the Calcutta Football League.

[51] In March 2017, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, appointed Vijayan as the national observer for football.

[52] In October 2018, Vijayan announced that he is starting a film production company called 'Bigdaddy Entertainment' jointly with his friends, which will be mainly revolving around football.