Isak Vanlalruatfela was remembering his first coach Sirram Hluna sir when receiving the ‘Best Young Footballer of the Year’ trophy from former India coach Savio Medeira in the award-ceremony function of Football Players Association of India (FPAI) on Saturday at Varca in Goa. 

The country one of the most potential forwards from Mizoram sounded ecstatic while speaking to Parallel Sports on Sunday. “I cannot express how happy I am with the award. This was the first national-level award I received and I remember Hluna sir of my first academy at Aizawl. I would not have been today’s Isak if he had not groomed me at the academy 10 years ago.”

He continued, “I often call him whenever I become man-of-the-match or perform well in a match. Yesterday also, I called him after the award ceremony function. I should not forget the root. He becomes so happy whenever I call him.” 

The 23-year-old Isak also sounded delighted while sharing the stage with Lallianjuala Chhangte at the function on Saturday. Chhangte was voted the 'Best Indian Footballer'. Isak commented, "He has set an example for us. We should learn how to maintain consistency as he maintained." 

Isak lives with his grandmother in Aizawl while his parents and siblings reside in other district towns. The wing-forward who represented Odisha FC in the ISL last season reminded me, "After my grandfather died in 2016 grandmother became lonely. So I decided to stay with her.” 

The wing-forward who scored four goals and three assists in the ISL had a lot of praise for his current coach Sergio Lobera also revealing, “He is different, can mix with the footballers like a friend. We can even share personal problems with him. His training style mostly contains with-ball. But he also gives huge importance to the off-the-ball movement."

An ardent fan of Brazilian striker Neymar, Isak wants to be regular in the first eleven of the senior national team like Jeje, the renowned striker from Mizoram. Isak was among the 35 probables of the senior national team before India’s World Cup Qualifier against Afghanistan. “Jeje is a hero in Mizoram. All of us idolised him while growing up. But Sunil Chhetri is also one of my idols in India. I want to take my performance to a level where national coaches cannot think of excluding me from the first eleven,” opined Isak. 

When asked about Mizoram footballers dominating Indian football recently, Isak explained, "I will be happy to see more footballers from Mizoram shining in the mainstream of Indian football. It should be as Mizoram football is growing with well-equipped infrastructure and more training centers across the state."