Papuia: The FC Goa Dev Team is ready for success
posted in Interviews by Sarthak Sharma on 17th March 2021
posted in Interviews
by Sarthak Sharma
on 17th March 2021
Papuia: The FC Goa Dev Team is ready for success
As the FC Goa Developmental Team inches its way forward in the Goa Professional League (GPL) this season, a number of heroes are starting to emerge. The young Gaurs are hot on the heels of leaders Salgaocar in the league table as things stand, and look ready to make yet another push for the lucrative GPL trophy.
Among the players in the squad desperate to get their hands on some silverware is central defender Lalhmangaih Sanga, better known as Papuia, who has slowly become an integral part of the FC Goa Dev Team.
Since joining FC Goa in 2018, the centre back has progressed leaps and bounds, and as he says himself, his style of play has changed completely.
“This club has changed me a lot from when I came here a few years ago,” Papuia says.
“I have started understanding the game more and working towards fitting in with the ideology of the club. The coaches here have helped me understand how to read a game, when to pass, how to build from the back and taught me what it takes to be a successful player for this club.”
And success is something that Papuia has already had a taste of at FC Goa, lifting the GPL trophy in 2019.
“Winning the GPL was a great moment. We had worked really hard to get ourselves in that position and the whole team came together that year. This is something that we need to do again. The team is ready for success.”
A vital cog
After a pandemic hit season last time out, the Gaurs are once again ready to build towards reclaiming their lost gold, and Papuia is set to play a major role in the climb to the top alongside his central defence partner Brian Faria, who have together become a force at the back for the team.
“Brian and I have a great understanding,” Papuia remarks.
“Before a game we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition forwards and always look out for each other on the field. We know each other very well and this helps the team as a whole too.”
Papuia’s arrival from the Aizawl was a sign of things to come as a number players followed suit seeing the success of the youngster, and he feels there is plenty more talent in the pipeline.
“There are so many good players in the Northeast,” the 21-year-old goes on.
“When I was joining FC Goa I was amazed at how organised everything was here and I think that is the problem in the Northeast. There is so much talent but kids lack the right facilities to be able to train and chase their dreams. If we can fix this, we will have so many more players coming from our region.”
Despite his success, the young man feels there is still a lot he can learn.
“I think I still need to work on my physical and mental strength. I can tend to get frustrated at times during a game and that is something I am working on with our coaches because it can affect my performance as well. There is always scope for improvement.”
No shortage of inspiration
FC Goa’s rich history of promoting players from the youth system up to the first team serves as an inspiration for many of the squad’s names, and Papuia is no different, seeing so many of his former teammates now tearing it up in the big leagues.
“I get so inspired when I see guys like Leander and Princeton for example play for the first team. These were players I knew so well and now they are representing FC Goa and it really motivates me to join them in the first team one day and play in the ISL.”
When asked about his footballing idol, the defender chose to name someone who has pretty much done it all in his own footballing career.
“I look up to Thiago Silva a lot,” he says with a smile.
“He is an experienced player who can keep the ball and knows how to be aggressive as well as calm when he needs to be. I want to be the same as I grow in my career.”
And growth is something that Papuia is sure to achieve the way he is playing at the moment, with a calmness about his play at the back and a steely determination to win aerial duels against the biggest of opposition strikers.
The future is bright for the youngster who came to Goa with big dreams and is already on his way to achieving them.