From Manipur to Madras, goal machine Manglenthang weaves his magic

The 14-year-old import has already netted a whopping 18 times this season, getting his name on the scoresheet in each of his eight appearances. Manipur-based youngster Manglenthang sits second in the list of ‘Overall Top Scorers’ behind leader Rashid Cherukad of Reliance Foundation Young Champs (Mumbai Zone B), owner of 19 goals.

FC Madras’s Under-15 and Under-18 teams’ head coach Pranesh sang the praises of Manglenthang, the engine room of the side. “He always has the desire to get goals and is the focal point of our team. Apart from being a scorer, he makes play happen. With the ball, he is the best in our squad,” Pranesh told DT Next.

Club official MS Nasser, who has watched Manglenthang’s graceful game play from close quarters both home and away, also spoke highly of him. “He is sublime and his left foot is pure class. When you see him on the pitch, he will make you fall in love with his style of play. Off the field, he is such a down to earth lad,” said Nasser.

Since signing up for FC Madras in 2018, Manglenthang has been carrying the club, in multiple age categories. Last campaign, the teenager was ruthless in front of goal for the Under-13 unit, which was crowned the Chennai Zone champion. He struck 31 of the team’s 52 goals during its zonal assignment.

Although FC Madras failed to get past the group stage at the national level, Manglenthang ended the season as the ‘Overall Top Scorer’ with 54 goals. “He is one of the best talents I have coached so far. Initially, he found it difficult because of the change in environment. Like most other boys from the North-East region, he didn’t open up much at the start. Later on, he understood what we were trying to communicate with him,” added Pranesh.

Following promotion to the Under-15 outfit, Manglenthang has once again got his scoring boots on, astonishingly bagging more than 50% of his side’s goals (18 out of 33). “He is someone who wants the ball most times. He will keep finding spaces. He also makes runs to get on the end of balls,” Pranesh gave an insight into the youth’s movement on the pitch.

In the Junior League Chennai Zone standings, FC Madras (14 points from 8 matches) currently occupies the third spot, with Chennaiyin FC (24 points from 8 matches) and Great Goals (19 points from 9 matches) placed first and second respectively. As only the top two sides will make it to the next phase, FC Madras’s qualification hopes massively hinge on Manglenthang, a three-time hat-trick hero this edition.

Having risen to the occasion ‘n’ number of times, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Manglenthang helps the club climb up the ladder.