Jeje Lalpekhlua

Youth career

Born in the small village of Hnahthial, Mizoram, Jeje was born in a football-fanatic family. His father and elder brother played for a local club, while his uncle represented Mizoram in the Santosh Trophy. Four months after his father had retired, Jeje made his debut for his club. Despite initial hesitation from his parents in pursuing football professionally, on account of his strong performance at the state-organised Wai Wai Cup, Jeje made it to the Mizoram U-19 team. He impressed his coaches at the U-19 selection camp in Gwalior and was selected for the national U-19 qualifiers.

Pune

Jeje's talent caught the attention of Pune FC, who signed him up when he was 16. Initially playing in their youth setup, Jeje would make his senior debut for Pune, who were then in the I-League 2nd Division, during the 2009 I-League 2nd Division season. The then 18-year old, scored against Sporting Goa on 17 October 2009 in a 2–2 draw, during the 2009–10 I-League season. He scored again in the same season against Chirag United in a 1–1 draw.

2010-11 season: Pailan Arrows (loan)

On 1 July 2010, Jeje signed for I-League newcomers Pailan Arrows on a one-year loan basis from parent club Pune for the 2010-11 I-League season. The Pailan Arrows team was only made up of Indian under-19 players. During the 2010 Indian Federation Cup, he scored 1 goal for Pailan Arrows in the two games he played. On 3 December 2010, Jeje took part in Pailan Arrows first…

On 23 February 2011, Lalpekhlua played his first international game and scored his first goal for the Indian U-23 team in the 2–1 victory over Myanmar. On 21 March 2011, Lalpekhlua made his senior debut in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification match against Chinese Taipei and also scored his first goal. On 23 March 2011, Lalpekhlua scored two more goals in his second match against Pakistan, also in the Challenge Cup qualifiers. On 25 March, he scored the fourth goal of his senior international career in a draw against Turkmenistan. On 28 July 2011, Lalpekhlua scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against the United Arab Emirates in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification phase. The draw was a historic moment, but it wasn't enough to help India advance as they lost 3–0 in the first leg. Then, on 16 November 2011, Lalpekhlua scored against Malaysia in a 3–2 friendly win. After impressing in a trial with Rangers of Scotland, Lalpekhlua participated in his first competitive tournament, the SAFF Cup and started the first match of the tournament against Afghanistan on 3 December 2011. His first goal did not come until 7 December 2011, when he scored against Sri Lanka. Then, he followed it up by scoring in the final as India defeated Afghanistan 4–0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on 11 December 2011. In a historic 1–4 win against Thailand at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, he scored the fourth and last goal of the match. However, India lost their next two matches and were eliminated…

Club

Statistics accurate as of 8 October 2021

International statistics

As of 14 January 2019

International goals

As of 6 January 2019

Under–23

Senior team

Scores and results list India's goal tally first.

Unofficial international goal

India

SAFF Championship: 2011, 2015; runner-up: 2013 Tri-Nation Series: 2017 Intercontinental Cup: 2018 India U23

SAFF Championship: 2009 Mohun Bagan

I-League: 2014–15 Federation Cup: 2015–16 Chennaiyin

Indian Super League: 2015 Indian Super League: 2017–18 Individual

FPAI Best Young Player Award: 2010–11 AIFF Emerging Player of the Year: 2013 Indian Super League Emerging Player of the League: 2015 Federation Cup Top Goalscorer: 2015–16 Federation Cup Best Player: 2015–16 FPAI Indian Player of the Year: 2015–16 AIFF Player of the Year: 2016 Indian Super League Fans' Player of the Month: December 2017