The 21-year-old made 57 tackles, 31 interceptions, 67 clearances and 11 blocks in 14 appearances for Kerala Blasters in the just concluded ISL season.
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The Indian men’s football team is currently in Bahrain for the international friendlies as a preparation for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in June. The Blue Tigers lost the first match 2-1 against Bahrain on Wednesday and they will now face a much higher ranked European side Belarus on Sunday. Head coach Igor Stimac has already hinted that he might give senior international debuts to the likes of Anwar Ali and Ruivah Hormipam.
Read more: Indian Super League: Owen Coyle parts ways with Jamshedpur FC
Our shining light at the back has been recognised as the #HeroISL Emerging Player of the Month for March ?@HormipamRuivah #KBFCJFC #YennumYellow #KBFC #കേരളബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സ് pic.twitter.com/z9F5vufHrd
— K e r a l a B l a s t e r s F C (@KeralaBlasters) March 15, 2022
Kerala Blasters FC defender Hormipam had a breakthrough season as he played a pivotal role in the Kochi-based clubs impressive run to the 2021-22 Indian Super League (ISL) final where they eventually lost to Hyderabad FC on penalties.
Hormipam made his senior debut in the I-League with Indian Arrows. He then spent a year with RoundGlass Punjab, before moving to Kerala Blasters. The defender made his debut for Kerala Blasters against the Indian Navy in the Durand Cup.
The 21-year-old centre-back has been one of the finds of the just concluded ISL season. He made 57 tackles, 31 interceptions, 67 clearances and 11 blocks in 14 appearances for the club. The Manipuri footballer was handed his first ISL start in the 3-0 win over Mumbai City FC. He finished the match with impressive figures of Five tackles, eight clearances, five interceptions (100% accuracy) and that was enough to retain his berth for the next contest.
Since then, Hormipan hasn’t looked back, he was one of the first names in the Starting XI alongside Marko Leskovic. Though head coach Ivan Vukomanovic has shuffled Leskovic and Enes Sipovic, Hormipam remained a constant presence in KBFC’s central defence.
Although his good run was halted for a while because of a facial injury suffered during the clash against Jamshedpur FC in February, the youngster returned to the field quicker than many expected and helped his side to the ISL play-offs for the first time in six years.
Vukomanovic’s side was built around a strong defence and Hormipam was a vital cog in it. KBFC kept the most number of clean sheets in the league (8) and conceded just 24 goals, only Jamshedpur FC had conceded fewer goals.
Hormipam’s best performance came in the semi-final first leg against Owen Coyle’s Jamshedpur which the Blasters won 1-0 courtesy of Sahal Abdul Samad’s goal. Hormipam was a star-performer against the Red Miners as he man-marked Greg Stewart brilliantly, staying close to the Scotsman and not giving him any space and time to work with. Stewart went on to win the ISL Golden Boot award but Hormipam neutralised his threat in the play-offs, helping KBFC to secure a place in the title-decider.
His heroics in the ISL has earned him a national call-up and he is itching to make his debut for the Blue Tigers and prove himself in the international stage. He is a ball-playing defender who has good range of passing and is not afraid to put his body on the line. The youngster needs to improve a bit more on his positional play and reading of the game. But with age on his side, he will surely improve in the near future.
