The whole footballing fraternity was taken by surprise when NorthEast United FC announced Lalengmawia as the captain of the Highlanders, making him the youngest captain in the history of Indian Super League. Gerard Nus, who has previously worked with legends like Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, among others at Liverpool, was the head coach of NEUFC during that time and it was his decision to show the utmost level of confidence in such a young player and hand him the armband.
Gerard, during an online interaction with the young footballers of Zinc Football Academy based in Udaipur, said: “I know it took everyone by surprise when I made Lalengmawia captain of the NEUFC team when we already had so many experienced Indian as well as foreign players in our dugout. But as the head coach, I was extremely happy with the dedication and hard work the boy from Mizoram was putting in both on and off the pitch. He has that urge to keep learning and giving his more than 100 per cent at every training session. Those are the attributes you look for in a young player. Soon after, he was called for the Indian National Team too.”
During his interaction with the young footballers, Gerard highlighted the importance of having passion and hunger to fulfil the dreams citing the example of 20-year-old Lalengmawia.
