Parthib Gogoi: The silver lining for NorthEast United this season

The youngster scored three goals and assisted once in 18 appearances for the Highlanders.

NorthEast United suffered an abysmal ISL 2022-23 season. They finished rock bottom, with just one win and two draws, and managed five points, the lowest by any team in the history of the Indian Super League. NorthEast lost a total of 17 matches, a league record, and conceded the most goals in a single season with 55. Coach Marco Balbul was sacked midway through the season, and Vincento Alberto Annese failed to turn the fortunes around despite some reinforcements arriving in January. In such a lowly season for the Highlanders, there emerged one bright spark: Parthib Gogoi.

Here, we speak about the youngster, who was perhaps the only silver lining from the entire season.

Rise of a youngster

20-year-old Parthib Sundar Gogoi shot to fame with his displays for the Indian team in their road to SAFF U-20 Championship glory. Hailing from Nazira in Assam, Parthib began his career with Bengaluru-based Ozone FC and played across age groups for the national team. In the Tri-Nation Cup, Parthib impressed by scoring four goals in eight matches. The player also had a chance to train with Bavarian giants Bayern Munich.

Parthib joined the now-defunct Indian Arrows in 2019 and was a part of the 2020-21 I-League. In a total of 28 appearances across two seasons in the I-League, Parthib scored three goals and provided three assists and wore the captain’s armband in his second season.

Despite a lot of interest from several ISL clubs, Parthib opted to join his brother Pragyan at NorthEast United with the club paying a transfer fee to land the player.

Asset for the future

Parthib Gogoi has shown some promising traits of becoming a star in the future. He excels as an inside forward and can play across both wings, with the ability to lead the line as well. He exhibits good awareness, possesses blistering pace, and has a solid technique to build his game upon.

With a penchant for scoring screamers, Parthib has tested even the best of goalkeepers with his long rangers. The best exponents were a swerving finish past Samik Mitra and a cracking long-ranger against East Bengal that oozed class.

Another good trait of Parthib is that he is a quick learner and progresses at a rapid pace. Given the right kind of support and guidance, he can be a real asset in the future.

The silver lining for the season

Parthib Gogoi’s emergence is a positive takeaway from NorthEast United’s ISL 2022-23 season. He made the right wing position his own, after beating the injury-ravaged Emil Benny to a starting spot.

NorthEast’s philosophy of selling their best player and building their team for the following season on the transfer fee earned could be a template they will attempt to follow the upcoming season.

With no shortage of suitors waiting to land the gifted Parthib, many clubs will be willing to break the bank to land the youngster’s services.

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Nurturing him for the National team

India will need a successor for Sunil Chhetri sooner rather than later. A number of talented individuals across positions have emerged over the previous 2-3 ISL seasons and should be fast-tracked to the national team. With an acute shortage of inside forwards that can cross with either foot, Parthib’s name should be a priority for the national team.

The Blue Tigers are currently in a period of transition, and this could be the right time to blood this host of young talents. Parthib should be given a chance to develop under the right mentors and proper care needs to be taken to ensure his potential is reached.

Parthib has the ability, technique, versatility, and skill needed and has excelled on the highest of platforms. Given he gets his chances at the right time throughout his career, Indian football have just unearthed a new gem.