Everbrightson Sana: The accidental striker lighting the way for Shillong Lajong

When Everbrightson Sana walks onto the football field, there is little to suggest that one of Indian football’s brightest young forwards almost walked away from the game altogether.

Today, the 23-year-old Shillong Lajong striker is among the most exciting attacking prospects in the country, having earned admiration for his movement, finishing and relentless work rate. Yet his journey has been anything but straightforward. It is a story shaped by unexpected detours, patient guidance and one decision that changed the course of his career forever.

For nearly three years, football was no longer part of his life.

“After playing in the Under-18 I-League, I stopped football,” Everbrightson recalls. “I didn’t play for three years. I didn’t even play with my friends. I just left football.”

At a stage when most aspiring professionals are chasing every opportunity to stay in the game, Everbrightson stepped away completely. Between 2017 and 2019, while studying in Classes XI and XII, football took a back seat as he focused on academics.

Unlike many youngsters who dream of professional contracts from an early age, Everbrightson’s future seemed uncertain.

“I was so blank during Class XI and XII,” he says. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I just took one day at a time. At that time, I didn’t even want to play football.”

Ironically, football had always been part of his upbringing. Born in Shillong on December 28, 2002, Everbrightson grew up in a household where the sport was a way of life. His father, Seibor Sana, had been a footballer himself and later became a coach with Shillong Lajong’s academy, ensuring that the game was never too far away.

Still, young Everbrightson was not immediately captivated.

“I started playing when I was around seven or eight because my dad was involved in football,” he explains. “But when I was younger, I wasn’t that interested. I also liked studies and didn’t give football that much importance. It was only when I was around 13 or 14 that I really started enjoying it.”

Like many youngsters in Meghalaya, he entered Shillong Lajong’s famed academy, progressing through the age groups before representing the club in the Under-18 I-League. Few, however, could have predicted that the academy graduate would one day become one of the team’s most dependable forwards – least of all Everbrightson himself.

His return to football came almost by chance.

Friends from the academy persuaded him to rejoin Shillong Lajong’s reserve team after his prolonged break. Initially deployed as a right-back in the Shillong Premier League, the experiment proved disastrous.

“I played as a right-back and I was beaten like anything,” he laughs.

The turning point arrived the very next match.

With the team’s striker unavailable through injury, the coach asked an unexpected question.

“He asked me, ‘Can you play as a striker?’ I told him, ‘Yeah, I can give it a try.’ That day I scored a hat-trick. That’s where everything started.”

Few careers have pivoted on such a simple conversation.

That one positional switch unlocked a natural goalscorer. Everbrightson soon impressed in the I-League Second Division, earned a call-up to the Meghalaya squad for the Santosh Trophy and eventually signed his first professional contract with Shillong Lajong ahead of the 2023-24 I-League season.

The striker who had once abandoned football had suddenly found his calling.

Yet those close to him believe the transformation had less to do with position than personality.

“Whatever I do in life, I always give 100 per cent,” Everbrightson says. “Every game I play, I just want to win because I don’t want to have any regrets afterwards. I think that’s my mentality.”

That relentless approach has become one of the defining features of his game.

Modern football demands far more from strikers than simply scoring goals. They are expected to press relentlessly, link play, stretch defences and contribute defensively. Everbrightson has embraced those responsibilities while remaining focused on improving the one aspect every striker is ultimately judged by – finishing.

“This season I’ve worked a lot on my finishing,” he says. “Last year I scored goals in the I-League and the Durand Cup, but I wasn’t satisfied because I also missed chances. At the same time, I’ve worked on my pressing because modern strikers need a much higher work rate.”

That desire for constant improvement perhaps reflects the values instilled during his years at Shillong Lajong, a club renowned across Indian football for developing young talent.

For Everbrightson, the academy’s greatest contribution extends well beyond technical ability.

“Shillong Lajong doesn’t only develop players; it teaches values,” he says. “From a young age, the club teaches us to be comfortable on the ball and to play with confidence. That’s why if you watch our matches, you’ll see so many academy players who are confident in possession.”

The production line has become one of Indian football’s most admired success stories, with numerous academy graduates progressing to clubs across the country. Everbrightson believes the culture within the academy is what makes the difference.

“It’s about developing the player as a person as well as a footballer.”

If the club has shaped his footballing education, home has shaped the striker himself.

His father remains his biggest influence – not only because of his football background but because of the countless lessons shared over the years.

“Locally, my biggest idol is my dad,” Everbrightson says. “He taught me how to finish, how to shield the ball, how to use my pace and what to do when defenders come close.”

Internationally, his inspirations span generations.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar were the players he admired growing up, while Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazário remains the complete striker in his eyes.

“I watch Ronaldo Nazário a lot because of how aggressive he was inside the penalty box.”

When his first professional contract expired earlier this year, Everbrightson briefly considered leaving Shillong Lajong in search of new opportunities. Once again, his father offered measured advice.

“He told me not to rush towards the ISL because foreign strikers make it difficult to get game time. He said Shillong Lajong trusts me, so I should continue developing here.”

It proved a decision supported by the entire family.

“My father was very happy, and my mother was happy too because she didn’t want me to move away from Shillong,” he says with a smile.

While his football career gathers momentum, Everbrightson has never neglected education. He completed his schooling before earning a degree in History from St Anthony’s College, reflecting a balance rarely highlighted in discussions about young footballers.

That grounding perhaps explains his calm perspective whenever conversations drift towards the future.

As Indian football continues its search for the next generation of attacking talent, comparisons with legendary striker Sunil Chhetri inevitably surface whenever a promising young forward emerges.

Everbrightson welcomes the ambition but rejects the pressure.

“Every footballer wants to play for the national team,” he says. “I also want to play for India. But people develop expectations very quickly. If someone scores on their debut, people immediately say he’ll be the next Sunil Chhetri. Football doesn’t work like that. Sometimes it’s your day and sometimes it isn’t. Sunil Chhetri has done so much for Indian football, but I believe in myself. It depends on how much effort I put in to help the team.”

That maturity is perhaps born from experience.

His first Durand Cup appearance, against FC Goa in 2024, remains vivid in his memory – not because of personal success, but because of the nerves.

“I was super nervous,” he admits. “We played against an ISL club and we lost heavily. It was my first experience, so naturally there was pressure.”

Three editions later, the transformation has been striking.

“Now I don’t feel that pressure anymore. Playing in the I-League and facing teams like NorthEast United and East Bengal has given me experience. I’m much more comfortable now.”

He also recognises the importance of the Durand Cup itself.

“Indian football doesn’t have enough matches compared to Europe. The Durand Cup gives us more game time and, more importantly, it gives young players exposure. Last year, people started noticing me because of this tournament. This year there are more youngsters in our team getting the same opportunity.”

That perspective perhaps best encapsulates Everbrightson Sana’s journey.

It is not simply the story of a talented striker emerging from one of India’s most respected academies. It is the story of a young man who once walked away from football, only to discover that the game had never truly left him. A right-back who became a striker by accident. A student who never stopped learning. A footballer grounded by family, shaped by Shillong Lajong’s values and driven by a simple philosophy.

“I always give 100 per cent,” he says.

For a player whose career has already taken unexpected turns, that unwavering commitment may yet carry him to even greater heights.