*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:42, 14 December 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 December 2013
Fanai Lalrempuia (born 11 May 1996) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He is known for his superb ball control, accurate passing and speed.[1]
Career
Early career
Born in Lunglei, Mizoram, Lalrempuia started to play football from the age of 11 for his local side Bazarveng FC.[1] Under the coaching of Flalbiakchhunga, his head coach at Bazarveng FC, Lalrempuia started to improve as a player.[1] Eventually he was selected to join the Maomit High School under-14 side that was to compete in the Subroto Cup in 2010.[1] While playing in the Subroto Cup Lalrempuia was spotted by Pune F.C. Academy assistant coach Gift Raikhan who then selected Fanai to trial at the academy.[1] After the trial Lalrempuia was selected to join the academy. During his two seasons with the academy, Lalrempuia won the I-League U19 twice in 2012 and 2013 while also scoring a total of six goals during that time.[1]
Pune
Then at the age of only 16, Lalrempuia made his professional debut for Pune in the I-League on 20 April 2013 against Air India at the Balewadi Sports Complex.[2] He came on in the 55th minute of the match as a substitute for Velington Rocha as Pune went on to win the match 6–0.[2] Lalrempuia scored his first goal in the I-League on 4 April 2015 against Bharat FC in the first ever Pune derby.[3]
On 28 September 2013, it was announced that Lalrempuia had been selected into the 23-man squad for the India U19 side during the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers.[4] He then made his international debut for the country at the U19 level in India's first match of qualifiers against Qatar U20 on 4 October 2013.[5] He started the match and lasted the full 90 minutes as India lost 2–0.[5]
