Lajong Juniors Triumph – The Superstars of Tomorrow….
by Janice Lynrah
Shillong Lajong Media
Alan Hansen once said, “You can’t win anything with kids,” about the mighty Manchester United, in 1995. The sports journalists and the people in the know may not say this explicitly about the young guns at Shillong Lajong, but that was the overwhelming feeling that one got when the Shillong Premier League kicked off.
As it stands, like it did in 1995, if the players on the pitch have the heart, the desire and most importantly, the overwhelming hunger to succeed, age is reduced to just a number.
November 29 was the final test for the Lajong Junior Reds, in the most prestigious tournament of the state – the Shillong Premier League 2014/15, where they have been dominant, despite suffering an occasional blip in form at times.
The Lajong boys went into the final against Langsning FC determined and resolute. The Junior Reds seized the game by the scruff of the neck right from the kick off.
As the referee blew the final whistle, the whole team was overwhelmed with excitement. The Juniour Reds defeated their opponents by a 3-0 margin. Shillong Lajong Juniors finally did it as they lifted the Shillong Premier League trophy in front of the spectators who came to witness the Future Stars of North East.
This season has been a testament to the solid groundwork that has been laid and the strength of the Academy that Lajong has. It is noteworthy that the average age of the squad is only 19 years.
The Club’s Academy was set up in 2007 with the sole aim to develop the game at the grassroots level keeping in mind the abundant football talent in the North East. The academy’s aim lies in moulding and shaping the boys into future stars and ultimately paving the way into the senior team.
The Academy has been instrumental in transforming and grooming the young players and has eventually helped them graduate to the Club’s senior team, and most importantly, helped them grow into the next batch of football stars, leaving no stone unturned in the quest for precision and excellence.
The Club had started the Goal 14 project in 2009 with the objective to develop local players from the North East who would become a new generation of Lajong Products for the I-League. This project has managed to create many football prodigies from the 8 states of the North East as the academy boast of 10 players of the Under 19 Indian National Team. The success of the Goal 14 project is evident as many of these players are involved in top flight football in the country.
The academy’s junior teams have won many accolades, and have made their presence felt in the various competitions and events which were held within the state and the country such as:
• Inter Milan Youth Tournament (Indian team)
• Manchester Cup-Winners (All India) Under-15
• Bayern Munich Youth Cup (Indian team)
• Tottenham Leapstart Tournament Winners (Under-14 team)
• Shillong Premier League Under-19 Champions – 2011
• MFPA tournament Winners 2011 (Under-16 team)
• All India Invitation Football Championship – Golaghat (Winners 2013)
With a line of academy products actively contributing to the competitive teams of Shillong Lajong FC, including the senior I-League outfit, the success of the initiative that started half a decade ago has begun bearing fruits in terms of the future line of players.
Undoubtedly, the Academy has been responsible for grooming and developing their skills and talents which have been instrumental in shaping the boys to match the challenging and ever-demanding atmosphere of football in the country.
One of the most promising players that SLFC has is the football sensation from Mizoram, Zodingliana. He was also part of the India Camp Under 14, 16 and 19 team respectively and is now regularly featuring for North East United in the Indian Super League. Along with Zodingliana, other junior players from the Lajong ranks like Redeem Tlang, Alen Deory and Pritam Kumar is part of the squad in NorthEast United FC.
Coming back to the Shillong Premier League, the Lajong Reds drew many a connoisseur in with their good combination play, high work rate & team work.
The defence was very strong for the Reds along with some superb display by the Goalkeeper who conceded just 10 goals from 17 games throughout the tournament. The midfield line was very influential as they gave a lot of support in defence and attack while the forwards worked very hard to put pressure on opponents and create goals for the team.
Midfielders Rupert Nongrum & Lalrammuana have been a revelation in the tournament as they scored a combined tally of 14 goals.Like they say, the sky is the limit for this talented bunch of youngsters, as they continue to write history and the glory days for these creme de la creme has just begun.
