“Football can be cruel sometimes.” A very common quote used when things go south and nothing seems to go in a players’, managers’, or teams’ favor.
Football is indeed a beautiful game, but it does come with hardships, difficulties, failures, and disappointments. The fame and success that football brings always get highlighted in today’s day and age. The other side, the one with struggles and difficulties, is not talked about enough. In an interview with IFTWC, PC Laldinpuia talks about his first-ever season in the I-League, what it has been like to play with the fans and how the team has had to quickly adapt to a change in management as Aizawl FC decided to let former head-coach Stanley Rozario go due to personal reasons, and brought in Yan Law.
PC Laldinpuia, born 29 November 1996 is a Mizoram-born defender who started his football career with Bethlehem Vengthlang in the Mizoram Premier League, only joined Aizawl FC in 2020. When asked about his debut season in Hero I-league and how he felt about it personally, he said “I feel good personally though we could have done better as a team.”
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, football, like other sports, is being played without fans in the stadiums. In India especially, all the league games are played in a bio-bubble without fans. While fans play a crucial role in a football match, and their absence has undoubtedly affected the performance of teams worldwide, Laldinpuia acknowledged this but was quick to brush this aside as a reason for his teams’ display this season, “ If not for the pandemic, it would be great to play home matches with fans cheering for us, but it’s not a good excuse to say about the whole performance.“
Having let head coach Stanley Rozario go, Aizawl FC went into pre-season without a first-team coach, but according to Laldinpuia, it wasn’t much of a cause for concern. “In pre-season, we got to practice and train under Sir Sanga, one of the best Mizo coaches. So we didn’t feel the absence of a head coach, to be honest.”
Conventionally when there is a change in the coaching department, the team and the players often take a little time to adapt to the style and system of the new coach, but Laldinpuia was quick to brush this aside. “There’s not much difference before and after we trained under the new coach. We adjust to it soon.”
When asked about the first goal he scored, he commented, “I feel perfect to have scored and received the Hero of the Match in my first season. I’m very thankful to God for all the blessings.”
Lastly, when asked if he had anything to say to the viewers and fans, particularly the red armies, he stated, “To all the red armies, we’re very sorry that we can’t meet your expectations and at the same time we’re also thankful for all your prayers. We still have a long way to go, so we need your prayers to favour us in the future.”
Follow our website for all the latest updates on Indian Football.