William Lalnunfela

William Lalnunfela
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-07-06) 6 July 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Kolasib, Mizoram, India
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Kerala United
Number 49
Youth career
Pui Pui
Vengthar VC
2011–2013 Pune
2013–2014 Chanmari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Aizawl 16 (3)
2018–2019 Mohun Bagan 7 (1)
2019-2020 Aizawl 12 (2)
2020–2021 Jamshedpur 11 (0)
2021–2022 NorthEast United 2 (0)
2022–2023 Rajasthan United 0 (0)
2023– Kerala United 9 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:47, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

William Lalnunfela (born 6 July 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Kerala United in the I-League 3.

Career

Early career

Born in Kolasib, Mizoram, Lalnunfela started playing football at the age of twelve, starting off as a goalkeeper before switching to a striker.[1] He spent the first two seasons of his footballing career with his local club, Pui Pui, before joining the under-16 side of his village team, Vengthar VC.[1] After playing for the club in a Red-Ribbon inter-village tournament, Lalnunfela was scouted by Pune, an I-League club, and was told to trial with their academy.[1] With the Pune Academy, Lalnunfela finished as the top scorer in the 2013 edition of the I-League U20 while the academy won the tournament a consecutive season.[1] After graduating from the academy in 2013,[2] Lalnunfela moved back to his home state and signed with Chanmari.[3] He also played for the Mizoram state side in the Santosh Trophy in 2014 and 2015 and the side that won the gold medal for football at the 2015 National Games of India.[3][4]

Aizawl

His consistent performances in the domestic league for Chanmari attracted interest from Aizawl FC in 2015.

In 2015, Lalnunfela joined Aizawl and played for the club in the I-League 2nd Division the season they earned promotion to the I-League and the Mizoram Premier League.[5] He made his professional debut for the club in the I-League on 28 February 2016 against Bengaluru FC. He came on as a halftime substitute for Albert Zohmingmawia as Aizawl lost 1–0.The 25-year old gradually grew in stature at Aizawl FC and played a crucial role in their historic I-League quest in the 2016-17 season under the tutelage of Khalid Jamil. Apart from scoring goals, William is known for his blistering pace and ability to play in multiple attacking positions.[6]

Mohun Bagan

His talent stood out and Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan signed him in 2018 and he spent a season in Kolkata. He featured in 12 matches for the Mariners and scored twice and also registered an assist.

Aizawl

After only one season in Kolkata with Mohun Bagan, he came back to Aizawl plied his trade for the Reds in the last I-League season. He played 12 scored 2 times and provided one assist.

Jamshedpur FC

On 13 September 2020 , William Lalnunfela penned down a three-year contract with Jamshedpur FC which will see him wearing the club colours till 2023.[7]

NorthEast United FC

On 11 September 2021, it was announced that Lalnunfela was signed by NorthEast United ahead of the 2021–22 season.[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of 6 January 2022[9]
Club Season League Cup AFC Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aizawl 2015–16 I-League 2 0 0 0 — 2 0
2016–17 8 1 3[a] 0 — 11 1
2017–18 6 2 0 0 2[b][c] 0 8 2
Aizawl total 16 3 3 0 2 0 21 3
Mohun Bagan 2018–19 I-League 7 1 0 0 — 7 1
Aizawl 2019–20 12 2 0 0 — 12 2
Jamshedpur 2020–21 Indian Super League 11 0 0 0 — 11 0
NorthEast United 2021–22 2 0 0 0 — 2 0
Rajasthan United 2022–23 I-League 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Career total 48 6 3 0 2 0 53 6
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Federation Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in AFC Cup

Honours

Club

Aizawl FC
Mohun Bagan

References

  1. ^ a b c d D'sa, Edwin (13 April 2013). "In Pune, a Mizo sniper calls the shots". Times Crest. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  2. ^ "20 first-batch Peninsula Pune FC Academy cadets graduate". Goal.com. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Santosh Trophy Champion Mizoram team home coming 12th March 2014". Lamtluang News. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  4. ^ "National Games 2015". NG2015. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  5. ^ Bhutani, Rahul (10 May 2015). "Aizawl FC Champions". www.thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Bengaluru FC 1-0 Aizawl". Soccerway.
  7. ^ "Jamshedpur sign William Lalnunfela and Bhupender Singh". fcjamshedpur.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  8. ^ NorthEast United FC [@NEUtdFC] (11 September 2021). "Adding more 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 💥 to the 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸, the Mizo striker is now a 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 🔴⚪ #WelcomeWilliam #StrongerAsOne" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ William Lalnunfela at Soccerway
  10. ^ "Mohun Bagan Win Calcutta Football League After Eight Years". sports.ndtv.com. Retrieved 15 September 2018.