Hmingthanmawia Ralte (born 31 May 2000), commonly known by his nickname Valpuia, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Indian Super League club Mumbai City.

Hmingthanmawia
Personal information
Full name Hmingthanmawia Ralte
Date of birth (2000-05-31) 31 May 2000 (age 23)
Place of birth Aizawl, Mizoram, India
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right-back, Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Mumbai City
Number 3
Youth career
–2017 Aizawl
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Aizawl 25 (0)
2019– Mumbai City 8 (0)
2022–2023RoundGlass Punjab (loan) 15 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:22, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

Club Career edit

Aizawl FC edit

Born in Aizawl, Mizoram. Hmingthanmawia started playing football at the age of 8. After representing Mizoram in sub juniors, Hmingthanmawia was selected by Aizawl FC junior team. He was the main defender for junior team for two seasons. In September 2017, Hmingthanmawia was promoted to Aizawl F.C. senior team for Mizoram Premier League and I-League.[citation needed]

Mumbai City FC edit

Early years edit

On 10 June 2019, Hmingthanmawia signed for ISL club Mumbai City FC on a two-year contract.[1] He made four ISL appearances in his debut season, as Mumbai finished fifth. Despite not playing a single game in the ISL in the club's 2020-21 double-winning season, Hmingthanmawia signed a fresh four-year contract until 2025.[2]

Loan spell at Punjab FC edit

On August 10 2022, Mumbai City FC announced that Hmingthanmawia would go on loan to I-League club Roundglass Punjab (now Punjab FC).[3] In the I-League, he played regularly and shone, even scoring his first senior goal while at the club. His loan spell ended with him having made 15 appearances in the club's successful 2022–23 I-League season, as Punjab became the first ever club to get promoted into the ISL.[4]

Return to Mumbai City FC edit

Following his loan spell, he was kept at the club by manager Des Buckingham. He made his Mumbai debut in the Durand Cup, playing the full 90 minutes in Mumbai's 5-0 defeat of Jamshedpur FC.[5] He also made his AFC Champions debut, playing in an all-Indian line-up away against F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran, due to visa issues for the club's foreign players preventing them from travelling to Iran.[6] However, Hmingthanmawia never made a league appearance under Buckingham, and was regularly left on the bench.

Although, when Buckingham left to go to EFL League One side Oxford United, Mumbai appointed Petr Kratky as their new head coach,[7] Hmingthanmawia was given a chance in the first team. In Kratky's third match against Mohun Bagan, following an early red card for Akash Mishra, Hminghthanmawia was substituted onto the pitch in the 17th minute,[8] playing until the 68th minute when he was substituted back off for winger Vikram Partap Singh. Due to a suspension to regular right-back Rahul Bheke at the end of the match, Kratky trusted Hmingthanmawia to start the two games Bheke was banned for. They were away versus Kerala Blasters, which ended in a 2-0 loss,[9] and at home in a 3-0 win over Chennaiyin FC.[10]

With the season breaking for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, and the Kalinga Super Cup being played at the same time, players called up for the Indian national team for the Asian Cup could not play for their clubs in the Super Cup. With Bheke called up for India,[11] the Super Cup presented a chance to Hmingthanmawia for regular game time, which he was given by Kratky. He started all 3 group stage games for The Islanders. Despite having thought he scored his first goal for the club versus Gokulam Kerala FC, the referee controversially ruled it out.[12] He scored his first goal for the club against Chennaiyin FC, with a towering header from a Yoell van Nieff free kick. This goal was crucial, as it was the winning goal that ensured Mumbai's passage to the Super Cup semi-final ahead of the aforementioned Chennaiyin.[13] He played in the semi-final of the tournament Mumbai lost to Odisha FC, thanks to a 42nd minute penalty from ex-Mumbai forward Diego Maurício.[14]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of 16 April 2023[15]
Club Season League Cup AFC Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aizawl 2017–18 I-League 10 0 2[a] 0 5[b] 0 17 0
2018–19 15 0 0 0 15 0
Aizawl total 25 0 2 0 5 0 32 0
Mumbai City 2019–20 Indian Super League 4 0 0 0 4 0
2020–21 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021–22 1 0 0 0 1 0
Mumbai City total 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
RoundGlass Punjab (loan) 2022–23 I-League 15 1 3[a] 1 18 2
Career total 45 1 5 1 5 0 55 2
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Super Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in AFC Cup

References edit

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ https://www.indiansuperleague.com/undefined/indian-super-league-welcomes-punjab-fc-as-its-12th-club#:~:text=Punjab%20FC%20are%20the%20latest,%2D23%20I%2DLeague%20campaign Archived 6 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ https://www.mumbaicityfc.com/news/match-report-mumbai-city-5-0-jamshedpur-fc#:~:text=In%20the%2054th%20minute,in%20favour%20of%20the%20Islanders Archived 22 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ https://www.mumbaicityfc.com/news/match-report-mumbai-city-fc-2-1-gokulam-kerala-fc#:~:text=With%20several%20senior%20players%20absent,into%20the%20starting%20line%2Dup Archived 22 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/indian-football/mumbai-city-fc-vs-chennaiyin-kalinga-super-cup-2024-bhubaneshwar-group-stage-football-news/article67763195.ece#:~:text=Chennaiyin%20FC%20had%20to%20settle,four%20points%20from%20three%20matches.&text=Mumbai%20City%20FC%20rode%20on,Pitch%20in%20Bhubaneswar%20on%20Sunday Archived 26 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/kalinga-super-cup-semifinal-result-odisha-fc-beats-mumbai-city-to-advance-into-final-vs-east-bengal/article67777663.ece#:~:text=The%20result%3A%20Semifinal%202%3A%20Odisha,bt%20Mumbai%20City%20FC%200 Archived 31 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ Hmingthanmawia at Soccerway

External links edit