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The bro code: How Mumbai City FC’s players bond on and off the field
Footballers Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Partap Singh and Akash Mishra are winning matches, setting records. Have teamwork goals ever looked so good?
At the Indian Super League in May, Mumbai City FC were leading until the last day of the league stage. The football team needed either a draw or win against Mohun Bagan Super Giant. They lost, but at the play-offs, nine days later, they beat FC Goa. All eyes were on right-winger Lallianzuala Chhangte, who scored three goals. His teammate, forward Vikram Partap Singh, scored one goal and assisted on another.
The men were fighting to retain their top spot. In the 2022–23 Indian Super League, Mumbai had an 18-game unbeaten streak, the longest in the history of the ISL. The finals brought them full circle, playing against Mohun Bagan SG again. This time, Chhangte scored a crucial goal, helping Mumbai City FC win 3-1 and pick up the 2022-23 Indian Super League cup for the second year in a row. Chhangte, with 10 goals and six assists though the tournament, was also named the Hero of the League.
He’s only 27. He plays for both Mumbai FC and the India national team. He’s so fast on the field, fans call him the Mizo Flash. But to teammates and friends he’s Zuala. Singh, meanwhile, is 22 and from Chandigarh. His standout moment at the club came in March, when he scored a hat-trick against NorthEast United FC, becoming the second-youngest ISL player to do this. Their teammate, Akash Mishra, 23, is a left-back. Unfortunately, he was injured early in the play-offs and was off the field. But he was there cheering them on.
The three footballers have had an eventful year already. And they’ve learnt new lessons on the field. Of course, talent, strategy and dedication matter. But for wins that go above and beyond, being in tune with the team matters just as much – and it doesn’t come easy. The players talk about brotherhood and belonging as they prepare for the upcoming ISL season, which begins on September 13.
WARMING UP
The players couldn’t be more different. Chhangte was playing football in Lunglei, Mizoram, since he was six, and made his ISL debut in 2016. Singh started at the Chandigarh Football Academy, joined Mumbai City in 2020 and played his first match on the national team, against Australia, in January. Mishra first kicked a ball around at local matches in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur, but joined the India team in 2021 and won the All India Football Federation’s Emerging Player of the Year for 2023.
“When I signed with Mumbai City FC, I thought it was just going to be like, we go out on the pitch, play and then forget each other off the field,” says Chhangte. “It wasn’t like that at all.” He remembers a match they played against Air Force Club of Iraq in 2021, at the AFC Champions League final. At the time, fans and critics didn’t have much faith in the Indian line-up. “People thought we were just there to ‘perform’ or to lose matches,” he recalls. “But the team had been gelling very well. We did what people thought we couldn’t achieve.” They won the match 2-1, and became the first Indian team to win in AFC Champions League. “That was one of the moments I really felt like I was a part of this team.”
FARE PLAY
It’s clear that there is a hierarchy among the players. Newer, younger footballers look up to the more established ones. “If people have to idolise anyone after Sunil [Chhettri] bhai, it should be Chhangte,” says Mishra. “He carries himself on and off the field like a top professional. I haven’t seen anyone like him, even among international players.”
Experience matters, but “there’s no ragging,” Singh says. There’s no gatekeeping on fitness and nutrition advice either. “Our senior players keep an eye on our plates. And they don’t hesitate to speak up.” Chhangte is the one who takes excellent care of what he eats and how he works out. He’s the one who makes the rest of the team toe the line too. Some days, a player might sit far away from him. He knows it’s because they’re planning to break a few rules. “I used to say, ‘What is this? You can’t eat this, you can’t eat that!’” Chhangte says. Now, he mostly takes on his class-monitor role only on the eve of a big match.
UNIT TESTS
On the field, the team of 11 is tight. Everyone knows what to do, and who’s got their back. Training for the ISL 2024-25 is on in full swing, and fans have been popping up to watch them at the Mumbai Football Arena at the Andheri Sports Complex. “At one point, there were 50-60 people,” Singh recalls. “That was an entirely new, different experience. Mumbai fans are young – kids who’ve just started playing football. They follow our matches and it makes us happy.”
At matches, and during practice sessions, some fans also carry banners and posters to cheer the footballers on. They’ve devised their own chants for the team – one of them is the Marathi version of K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag. In return, a few players give away their T-shirts or jerseys to the fans after playing is done.
Of course, they fight. “I’m a defender. Sometimes there’s miscommunication with the keeper, maybe things get heated during half-time,” admits Mishra. “But that’s on the pitch. You can’t let it hurt your ego. And all the players understand that. Everything is better the next day. Nobody takes it personally.”
And each of them knows that loss is part of the game. That’s where being part of the team, a brotherhood, helps. The players don’t hesitate to reach out to their team members when they’re feeling down. “Sometimes you play well and sometimes you don’t. But talking about it to another player always helps. You get so much relief,” says Singh.
If there’s anything the three players know, it’s that football isn’t an individual’s game. “Messi and Ronaldo are great but they can’t do anything all by themselves. Chhangte is the best player on our team, but he also needs a team,” says Mishra. Even Chhangte agrees: “Whatever we’ve achieved in the past few years, it’s not only because we work hard on the field and train well. It’s because the bones are strong, on and off the pitch.”
Next month, when the three players defend their cup at the ISL 2024-25, they’ll need all the team spirit they’ve been building. They’re up against 12 teams from all over India. We’ll be watching closely.
Goal setting
Mishra draws inspiration from legendary defender Sergio Ramos.
Chhangte admires David Beckham’s style. He used to follow Chelsea’s Frank Lampard. But it’s Cristiano Ronaldo he idolises, proudly wearing the No. 7 jersey. “When I saw his skills, the way he played, the way he moved past the defender – he became my favourite,” he says. “I’m a winger so I used to copy what he used to do. What I admired the most is the way he looked after himself. The way he takes care of his body – it just shows that with hard work and dedication you can achieve anything.”
As for Singh, Lionel Messi is his all-time favourite. But, “at the moment, it’s Portuguese midfielder and right-winger, Bernardo Silva.”
From HT Brunch, August 17, 2024
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