We have come to the end of the league phase of the 2016 Indian Super League (ISL) season. With it ends Chennaiyin FC’s defence of their title as they failed to progress to the semifinals. There will be a different champion this year. It has been a premature end to a season where Chennaiyin clearly hoped for better than seventh place in the table.
A repetitive habit of shooting themselves in the foot cost them dearly in the end. While some of it can be attributed to bad luck, they can only blame themselves for not being in the final four of this year's competition, a tale of opportunities not grasped.
For the first time in the competition's three years, Chennaiyin failed to make it to the knockout stage. But while that tradition was discontinued, another was kept up rather well - that of bringing through youth.
His debut saw him concede a penalty while his last game saw him score a peach of a goal, the two moments bookending a remarkable debut season for 18-year-old Jerry Lalrinzuala.
I always wanted to play at this level: Jerry
Featuring in all but one game this season the young man from Mizoram has been the breakout star for Chennaiyin in the ISL. It's been a breakthrough no one expected, least of all the man himself.
“I didn't think I would get this chance. Until now I had played only at the junior level, but I always wanted to play at this level with these players and the coach had belief in me”, said Jerry.
Having represented India at every age category from the U-14 to U-19 levels, Jerry isn't someone who has come out of nowhere. He had been honing his trade at the AIFF Elite Academy till the opportunity with Chennaiyin came along.
“We used to receive good training and they used to send us out for tournaments, AFC tournaments. There we got to play with a lot of teams from other countries like Japan and China and we got a lot of improvement. The junior level there in those countries is very good”, the Mizo lad said about the time at the Elite Academy.
Along with four others from the Academy, Jerry was part of a group that got the chance to train at French top division side FC Metz’s highly reputed academy in the summer. That's where Chennaiyin came calling, pitching in to sponsor the trip, as well as sign the youngsters for the season, to train with the team.
“The practices there were very nice. Their football is very fast. That helped me a lot, plus I could go and practice in Italy (pre-season)”, Jerry reminisces about the experience gained in the summer.
The debut
Making the left-back position his own, Jerry has been a measure of consistency for an otherwise inconsistent Chennaiyin group. As mentioned earlier though, his start was anything but smooth.
Chennaiyin had managed to fight back from going a goal down to lead 2-1 away at Atletico de Kolkata in their opening match of the season. Marco Materazzi would summon Jerry off the bench in the 73rd minute to replace Nallappan Mohanraj in the left-back role with a lead to protect.
On he comes and after a steady first 10 minutes, he is involved in a key turning point in the game, giving away a penalty which Iain Hume duly converts to help ATK draw the game. Knowing Materazzi’s fury and considering the state of the game at that moment, it would have been very easy for someone so green to lose confidence and go into a shell. Yet, Jerry’s season only got ever stronger.
He grins with a guilty look when reminded of that torrid start.
“It was tough and took a lot of hard work. As you know I came on in the first game and conceded a penalty. But the senior players and coach told me not to get too down saying that it will affect my game and they cheered me up.”
“As you said the first few matches were difficult, but then all the players told me not to get down, just told me to look forward and focus. They said what's done is done and to focus on the matches coming up”, he added as he explained how the senior players in the Chennaiyin squad helped him overcome that rough start.
“Jeje (Lalpekhlua) has told me the things I should do and should not do”
Hailing from Mizoram and in turn the Northeast, a region rampant with footballing talent, it is hard to ignore the level of competition he must have faced.
“You have to play well every time because if you don't play well, someone is going to come and play better than you. We have to work hard every time”, he says about the game back home.
But he has come through all of that and now finds himself in a team that won the ISL title last year, in the company of another guy who has made quite the remarkable journey himself from the same state of Mizoram.
Jeje Lalpekhlua was named the ISL Emerging Player of the tournament last season and has had a terrific two seasons for both club and country. Jerry speaks fondly of his senior.
“Jeje is a very senior player and I have stayed with him sometime as well (back in Mizoram). He has told me the things I should do and should not do”, says Jerry.
A fan of Brazilian left-back Marcelo, Jerry started off playing left-wing before settling at the left-back position. After that torrid introduction in the opening game and another substitute appearance in the next one, Jerry soon became first-choice for Marco Materazzi at that position.
Circumstances proved beneficial to the youngster too with Dhanachandra Singh, the automatic choice at left-back in both previous editions was ruled out of the entire 2016 ISL season through injury. This coupled with Nallappan Mohanraj’s failure, despite being more experienced, to nail down that position opened the door for Jerry.
“I met him in Delhi and they were of course last year's champions and he was their coach. I was so happy that he gave me a chance to play this year and he keeps telling me what to do and what not to do”, says Jerry about his first meeting with his Italian head coach.
“He tells me that my first job is to defend. You do that and then everything else comes. When you get the chance to go forward, then you go.”
Materazzi himself has spoken highly of the youngster's qualities. After Chennaiyin’s third game of the season, versus FC Goa at home, the Italian had this to say - “I keep Jerry in great consideration because during the training sessions he is very, very good, he works hard, he fights hard and he deserved his place today. And if Jerry continues like this, he will play again.”
I’m grateful that the coach gave me the opportunity to play: Jerry
Well, Jerry continued to put out consistently good showings and Materazzi, true to his word, kept giving him the opportunities that he had merited.
From a measured start, sticking to defending primarily as told to by his coach, Jerry started getting forward to better effect as his confidence grew. For the season, he has two assists and a goal. That lone goal came in Chennaiyin’s last league game from a beautifully taken free-kick just outside the box.
Also Read: 5 youngsters who have made the most of their chances in the ISL
Chennaiyin had already been eliminated from the playoffs by then, but Jerry continued to show glimpses of what he can offer and the goal was in many ways a perfect way to end the season on a high note. Despite the goal, Chennaiyin ended up losing 4-5 in a thrilling goal fest.
“Today, it was the last game of the season for us. I have had a great experience and learned a lot from the senior players. I’m very happy to play for Chennaiyin, and I’m grateful that the coach gave me the opportunity to play.”
His showings have not gone unrecognised in a season where many new Indian talents have made a mark on the game. Jerry has won the Emerging Player of the Match award the most number of times this season, picking it up four times. It's a record he shares with Sena Ralte of Mumbai City and Kean Lewis of Delhi Dynamos; the latter duo have a chance to add to their tally as their teams have made it to the semis.
“Actually feel very good. It makes me feel very happy and makes me want more. I want to win more of these awards so that again motivates me to work very hard”, the 18-year-old says about what the awards have meant to him.
Jerry's performances in this debut season of his have definitely raised his profile significantly. He's been given the opportunities and he's taken them in earnest while being grounded in his approach. Pencilling in a note in your diary to see how his nascent senior career goes from here would be in order.
