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The success of any league in the World is gauged by the quality of players it manages to attract. The English Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga have all built credibility and following based on the kind of names they have managed to bring in.The same goes for the ISL as well. The league has managed to pull some of the biggest names ever to grace the game and this has been a major reason behind the success of the league. The ISL managed to redefine stadium attendance in Indian football, managing to garner an attendance of about 1.58 million and became the 4th largest attended league in the World in just its first season.The TV numbers too were as high as 127 million viewers, a lot of which can be attributed to the star names and the quality they bring along.While there is a long list of big name arrivals, here are the 7 most successful players to have played in the ISL:
#7 Carlos Marchena
Not the kind of name to get you jumping with joy, but Carlos Marchena has had a very neat, subtle, yet successful career, where he went about doing his job without making much noise. There is hardly anything the Spaniard has not won, with his trophies including the Euros, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup and the biggest of them all, the FIFA World Cup.
The Spaniard is a team man and has put himself on the line numerous times to protect his team’s goal. He hasn’t won many individual accolades in his career, with his only standout achievement being getting named in the Euro 2008 team of the tournament.
His most successful club stint was with Valencia, where he achieved the most success and spent a lion’s share of his career, featuring in 230 games. He won the La Liga twice with them, along with the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. He also won the Copa del Rey in the 2007-08 season.
His career with Spain saw him win the Euros in 2008 and the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Though he has now left the Kerala Blasters, he did make one appearance for them as their marquee signing.
#6 David Trezeguet
One of the biggest names to have graced the ISL in season 1, David Trezeguet brought with him a bag full of experience and some great achievements. He was part of the French line-up when they won the 1998 World Cup, starring as a young striker.
His best spell during his club career was at Juventus. Trezeguet netted 138 times in 245 games for the Italian giants, making him an indispensable member of the side.
He won the Serie A twice with Juventus, apart from the Supercoppa Italiana in 2002 and 2003, while finishing runners-up in the 2002-03 season of the Champions League. He also played an integral part in getting Juventus back to the top tier, following their demotion due to the Calciopoli scandal.
In what was probably the best time of his career, the striker won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championships with France.
#5 Robert Pires
In what seemed like a match made in heaven, Robert Pires, an integral part of the free-flowing Invincibles of Arsenal, made his way to FC Goa, the team led by Zico, who too preaches an easy on the eye football system.
The 40-year-old orchestrator was brought for his immense experience, and for the calmness that he brings when he plays in the middle of the park. Despite a poor start to the season, his influence slowly grew, both on and off the field, and he helped the Goan team reach the semi-finals.
His best club years came at Arsenal, where over the course of 6 years, he won 2 Premier League titles, 3 consecutive FA Cups and 2 Community Shields. The Champions League was the only trophy he couldn’t win in his career.
He won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 European Championships with France, in what was without a doubt his best spell of international football.
#4 Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi came to the Indian Super League with a lot of expectations. The Italian was given a challenging yet exciting role of a player-manager. His new role with the ISL made him take up dual responsibilities, a test he passed with flying colours.
He managed to take Chennaiyin FC to the semifinals and the tall centre-back showed astute man management and good tactical understanding during his tenure.
Having had a rather feeble initiation to his career, Materazzi only came into his own in 2001 when he joined Italian giants Inter Milan. This was the time he also broke into the Italian setup. Solid in defence, Materazzi had a knack of chipping in with crucial goals.
The highlights of his career are the 2006 World Cup win, where he played an integral role, scoring both the goal in normal time and then converting his spot-kick in the penalty shootout that helped Italy lift the Cup.
The other came in the 2009-10 season where he won the treble with Inter Milan, comprising of the Champions League, Serie A, and Coppa Italia. He also won the FIFA Club World Cup and SuperCoppa Italiana in 2010.
Coming on the back of a successful season with Chennaiyin FC, Materazzi has found peace with the managerial role and has not played this season. Having strengthened the team with valuable additions to go along with retaining key players from season 1, the Italian has been tipped to do bigger things this time around.
Although the start hasn’t been great, given the potential and the experience in the team, Materazzi should be able to find a way out.
#3 Lucio
Having been prompted by Zico to make a move to the ISL, the experienced Lucio packed his bags, boarded his flight for Goa, and landed in the football crazy state eager to begin a new journey with the Virat Kohli co-owned FC Goa outfit.
Lucio comes with heaps of experience with leading clubs in Europe and has also led the Brazilian national team. He has had very successful stints in Italy and Germany, spending the majority of his club career there.
His best years were with Bayern Munich, where he won 3 Bundesliga titles and 3 DFB Pokal titles before moving to Inter Milan where he had the highlight of his career, winning the treble in the 2009-10 season.
Though he led the Brazilian team in 2006, Lucio’s moment of glory with Brazil came in 2002, when the South Americans won the World Cup, while the years 2005 and 2009 saw him get his hands on the FIFA Confederations Cup.
#2 Alessandro Del Piero
Apart from being the biggest and most expensive signing of ISL-1, Alessandro Del Piero was also made to don the role of the ambassador of the league, due to which he was seen in a number of commercial and promotional activities.
The Italian striker needs no introduction and has won everything in football. From league titles to European triumphs to the World Cup, Del Piero has achieved the highest with both club and country.
He spent most of his career with Juventus, netting 208 times in 513 appearances. The leader of the team, Del Piero took his side to all major laurels, including 6 Serie A titles, 1 Champions League and 1 UEFA Super Cup.
The 2006 World Cup win completed his incredible haul of trophies. Although Del Piero would have loved to add an ISL title to his kitty, he was unable to do so with Delhi Dynamos.
#1 Roberto Carlos
A fitting name to complete the roster of most successful players having graced the ISL, Roberto Carlos is unarguably the biggest addition to the Indian Super League to date. A name that sent shivers down the spine of opposition goalkeepers, for obvious reasons, is now an integral part of the Indian Super League.
Like Materazzi in the first season, Carlos is donning the role of a player-manager, but unlike Materazzi, the Brazilian has experience of playing that role with Anzhi Makhachkala, Sivasspor and Akhisar Belediyespor. Though the journey hasn’t been all rosy for the Brazilian, he is definitely doing quite well with the Delhi Dynamos.
Carlos is a fan favourite across the country and has received great support from the Delhi Dynamos ultras. He has also shown that he knows how to take his team to the top, with Delhi currently tied at the top spot.
Having spent most of his career with Spanish giants Real Madrid, the left-back remains one of the biggest names to have played for them, which is admirable, given the fact that a host of big names have represented Real.
