Lalengmawia Ralte

Lalengmawia Ralte (born 17 October 2000), commonly known by the nickname Apuia, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club Mumbai City and the India national team.

He is the youngest player to ever captain an Indian Super League club, by doing so for NorthEast United at the age of 20 years and 44 days.

Lalengmawia started playing football at the tender age of 6.

His first big break arrived when he was selected to play in his school team for the U14 Subroto Cup, an international inter-school football tournament that is held annually in New Delhi, India.

He spent a couple of years at the Regional Sports Training Centre football academy in Kolasib, Mizoram and trained under HC Zarzoliana.

In January 2016, he went to the trials for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup squad that took place in Mizoram and thus joined the AIFF Elite Academy, in Goa.

On 29 November 2017, Lalengmawia was selected to play for the Indian Arrows, an All India Football Federation owned team that would consist of India under-20 players to give them playing time.

He made his professional debut for the side on 23 February 2018, against his hometown club Aizawl.

He started and played the full match as Indian Arrows lost 3–0.

In his debut season, Lalengmawia made three appearances, including one in the 2018 Indian Super Cup for the Arrows.

He featured in 11 matches of the 2018–19 I-League campaign and also once in the 2019 Indian Super Cup as he played well whenever he was called upon and contributed to the ideas head coach Pinto had in his mind.

On 13 January 2019, Lalengmawia scored his first goal for the development club against Shillong Lajong, in a dominant 3–0 win.

He made some space for himself and pulled the trigger from just inside the box to see the ball nestle into the top corner.

On 23 May 2019, Indian Super League club NorthEast United secured the services of Lalengmawia for the 2019–20 season.

On 18 December 2019, he made his professional debut for the club in the 9th matchweek of the 2019–20 Indian Super League campaign against Bengaluru, in a 2–0 loss.

This started of him being more involved in the starting XI following this match.

The 2019–20 Indian Super League season was yet another one to forget for the Highlanders as they finished second last in the table.

Lalengmawia, though, was one of the few bright spots in NorthEast's gloomy season.

He controlled the midfield, pulling the strings and managed the game like a seasoned pro.

He impressed many with his passing accuracy, creativity and endurance in midfield.

On 5 August 2020, NorthEast United extended contracts of 5 Indian players which included Lalengmawia for the upcoming season.

On 30 November 2020, he captained NorthEast United for the first time in their 1–1 away draw against Goa, which made him the youngest player to lead a side in the Indian Super League, at an age of 20 years and 44 days.

It was the 2020–21 Indian Super League season in which Lalengmawia had a breakout season with the Highlanders.

They finished third in the league stages, qualifying for the playoffs for only the second time in their history.

On 26 February 2021, he finally managed to get his first professional goal for the club in the last game of the league stages against Kerala Blasters, in a 2–0 win.

On 13 March 2021, his wonderful displays in the season won him the Indian Super League Emerging Player of the League.

He also won the FPAI Young Player of the Year, on 31 March 2021.

On 13 August 2021, Apuia joined Mumbai City on a five-year deal for a record transfer fee of INR 2 crores ($280,000).

He was part of the team as they finished the season on fifth place and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Ahead of the 2022 AFC Champions League kick-off, the club went to Abu Dhabi for training and defeated Emirati giants Al Ain 2–1 in a friendly match, in which Apuia scored a goal.

Apuia started all six of Mumbai's 2022 AFC Champions League group stage matches, as the club made history by being the first Indian side to win an AFC Champions League match, beating Iraqi club Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (also known as Air Force Club) 2–1, thanks to a winning goal from Rahul Bheke.

Mumbai went on to draw with Abu Dhabi club Al Jazira 0–0, and beat Air Force Club again, this time with a 1–0 scoreline and Diego Mauricio scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot.

This meant Mumbai bowed out of the tournament as the second-placed team in Group B, with seven points and two wins.

On 3 September 2022, Mumbai City officially announced that Apuia went to Belgium for a two-week training stint with First Division B side Lommel.

Due to this stint, Apuia missed most of the club's matches in the 2022 Durand Cup, but returned in time to play and score in the final, where Mumbai narrowly lost 2-1 to Bengaluru FC.

He made his first ISL appearance of the season away against Hyderabad FC, in a thrilling 3-3 draw on 9 October 2022.

He scored his first ISL goal for the club on 17 November 2022 against Bengaluru FC at home, scoring the second goal in an eventual 4-0 win for the Islanders, picking up the ball in the area and calmly slotting the ball past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

On 16 December 2023, he scored his first-ever brace, netting in the 26th and 59th minute away against East Bengal FC.

He remained a key part of the Islanders' season, as they made history in the league with a stunning 18-match unbeaten run, which is the longest unbeaten start for any team in the history of the ISL.

It is also the longest unbeaten streak in ISL history.