This article is a part of IFTWC’s Indian Player of the Season (IPS) series, where we talk about the best Indian player from each club.
Maybe we have got used to names like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan etc in ISL, but one thing is to remember is that they are not forever. Big superstars are replaced by young talents and if so maybe Jerry Mawihmingthanga from Odisha FC was surely one of the best Indian talents we saw in ISL 2019-20 season. Jerry was one of those players in OFC who carried his form the entire season. He was absolutely one hell of a beast in that right wing and was always a threat for the opposition team. He was one of the bright faces in the well-decorated debutants team, Odisha FC.
No one really had a very high expectation from the side but everyone in Odisha knew that the young boy from Mizoram has something very special in him and were really excited to see him making those marauding runs from that right-wing. The Mizoram gun has been nothing short of a revelation in the recent season where he shifted to Odisha FC after serving Jamshedpur FC for a long time.
Jerry was the creative heart of the team and he successfully managed to add 5 assists and 2 goals to his name in the recent season in 17 appearances. Jerry has got a lovely turn of pace and also has a very strong right foot which gives his team an extra edge. For all the good qualities the Mizoram beast has got, he surely did terrorized the defenders and gave every defender a run for their money in the recent season. He surely has everything that a quality winger needs to play at the highest level and it won’t be a surprise for any of the Indian football fans if we see him cementing his spot in the national team very soon.
He also paired up with players like Santana and Xisco to make the situation worse for the opposition team in the recent season. This deadly trio was one of the main reason behinds OFC’s heroic performance in the recent season of ISL. After the departure of Chhnagte before the season, everyone and Josep Gombau himself had huge expectations from the young gun and it would be very fair to say that Jerry didn’t let any of them down.
“Jerry has been a very good addition for us. When we saw his profile, we immediately realized that he would be a good replacement for Chhangte, even though he was on the left flank. He was intelligent as well as very fast and we knew right away he would fit rightly in. He is quite a promising player and has a great future in India,” said Josep Gombau in an interview during the season.
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Although Odisha FC finished 6th at the end of the season but the role that Jerry played for the debutants cannot be simply ignored or stressed up anymore. It won’t be wrong to say that Jerry was like an extra foreigner in the team and is surely a superstar in making. Jerry is also one of those players whom Indian football fans were asking for the longest time in the national team and we are sure that he’ll make it there very soon and deservingly.
Every Odisha would be hoping Jerry to stay at Odisha and also have a great impression on the new coach as well. The Kalinga Brigade must be hoping for him to stay as long as long as he fit to make those marauding runs from the right wing and probably the management will do everything possible to make that happen. Surely, this player has a great future ahead if he keeps his head on his shoulder and works hard everyday to make himself a better player.