5. Jerry Lalrinzuala
Jerry is a graduate of the AIFF Elite Academy, and was one of five people who were sponsored to train with French side FC Metz. He wasn’t even expected to be in the first team picture when the season started, but certain circumstances have come to his aid.
Chennaiyin’s first choice left-back Dhanachandra Singh is injured, and the Indian U-17 and U-20 international was entrusted with the reins of the position for what was his third appearance against FC Goa on Thursday. Honestly, it hadn’t a bed of roses for the 18-year-old Mizoram boy until then; he had given away a cheap penalty in the dying minutes of the second half in Chennaiyin's first game, against Atletico de Kolkata.
But luckily for Jerry, his coach understood the situation well. In his post-match conference, Marco Materazzi said, “…but he's just 18 and it's okay for him to make these mistakes now. What we need to make sure is to learn from these mistakes, be cautious in the penalty area. Once Jerry learns that he's ready to play during the whole league."
And Jerry has certainly learned from his experience already. Against FC Goa, he did exactly what the coach asked of him; he was smart on the ball, attacked with aplomb and defended bravely when he needed to.
The icing on the cake was when he slipped Davide Succi behind the Gaur defence with a lovely dinked ball from the outside of his foot. Jerry is definitely one for the future.