No one paid attention to the news when an 18 year old midfielder from Mizoram signed a new contract with the Northeast United FC during the start of Hero Indian Super League season 2019-20. Literally nobody have thought that the same lad who’s still in his teens would become one of the important member of the club in the upcoming season. Well he had performed exceedingly well for the the north-eastern based Hero Indian Super League outfit North East United FC although the team performed at the below par level throughout the entire season. The extent of his performance was so vast that it knocked the door of Indian National Football Team and urged the manager Igor Stimac to get his name on board for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers matches of Indian National Football Team. Had it not been the corona pandemic, he would have been fighting for the ball against the quality Asian Sides like Qatar, Afghanistan etc. For those above reason , he is our Indian player of the season for the club North East United FC, Apuia Lalengmawia.
Starting his career at the AIFF Elite Academy, Apuia was one of the few players who got selected to represent India at the FIFA U17 World Cup 2017. The tournament was undoubtedly the breakthrough point for the young footballer as he got the glimpse of the sensation, he went through the pressure, the nervy moments one faces while representing his own country in front of a gigantic crowd. Apuia was a part of developmental plans of All India Football Federation and he played for Indian Arrows in the Hero I League season 2018-19.
Lalengmawia was one of the most under-rated players in the Indian Arrows team. But when he joined North East United FC team in the 2019-20, everything suddenly changes. He was one of the most impactful player in the field for the team in every matches he played. His ball control, short passes and long passess, ball distribution quality really impressed everyone. He was no longer the under-rated player from the Indian Arrows. He had become now Apuia Lalengmawia, the next big thing in Indian football.
Coming from a butcher family, life hasn’t been so easy for him over the course of his career. But he never let his family background come in between himself and his heart longing desire, i.e. to play football. He worked hard and focused on disciplined lifestyle. Even now, if you eventually meet Apuia, you will probably find the same humble boy from the streets of Mizoram. He is probably staying with the Northeast United FC for yet another season of Indian football and inspite of achieving all those big achievements, the journey has just begun for Apuia Lalengmawia.