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In 2014, the Indian Super League was started with an aim to improve the standards of football in India and one of the main ways to do that was to play with top talents from across the world. Most clubs signed foreign marquee players before the beginning of the inaugural season.
With players like Juventus Legend and UEFA Champions League winner Alessandro Del Piero, FIFA World Cup winner Joan Capdevila, Liverpool legend Luis Garcia, Arsenal legend and Premier League winner Freddie Ljungberg and many more arriving, it seemed like a party for Indian football fans.
Arguably, Kerala Blasters has had the biggest share in the influx of the high profile stars plying their trade in the league over the years. A lot of big names have joined the Kerala-based side during the past few years such as Iain Hume, David James, Pulga, Michael Chopra, Aaron Hughes, Courage Pekuson, Mark Sifneos, Wes Brown and Dimitar Berbatov. Kerala have finished in the top 4 of the ISL table twice in the first four years.
Many of these became household names in India while others were forgotten by the fans as soon as they could wipe some of these big-money signings from their memories.
Let's take a look at the five most successful foreign signings for Kerala Blasters.
#5 Antonio German
Antonio German came through the Queens Park Rangers academy but was never able to nail down a place in the squad and was sold to Stockport County when QPR was promoted to the English Premier League in the 2011-12 season.
The Grenada international scored 6 goals and provided 3 assists in 9 appearances in the 2015 season of the Indian Super League. The forward flopped in the next season as he wasn't able to find the back of the net in any of his 14 appearances. After that, he was moved on to Ebbsfleet United where he managed to make only one appearance.
The 26-year old currently plays for the I-League side Gokulam Kerala.
#4 Chris Dagnall
Chris Dagnall came through the Tranmere Rovers academy and made 40 appearances for them across three seasons before being poached by Rochdale. He had a successful spell with Rochdale as he scored 54 goals in 140 appearances for the club in his 4-year stay. He helped the club win their first promotion in 41 years as he scored a career high 20 goals in his last season with the club.
The Englishman scored 6 goals and provided 2 assists in 13 appearances in the 2015 season of the Indian Super League. Kerala Blasters ended up in last position in the league that season as they conceded 27 goals in 14 matches. After his spells with the Blasters, he signed up with Crewe Alexandra for two seasons.
The 32-year old is currently playing his trade in England as he is contracted with the League Two side Bury.
#3 Josu
A product of the La Masia academy, Josu is a versatile player who can play as a central midfielder, right winger, left winger, left back and right back as well.
He made 25 appearances for the club split across the 2015 and the 2016 season of the Indian Super League. The Spanish midfielder bagged 1 goal and provided 6 assists in his stay at the Kerala-based club.
In his first season, he was mostly utilized as a left back while he played central midfield for a major part of his second season at the club. He is also infamous for the red card he was shown during a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of FC Goa.
After his spells with the Blasters, United Soccer League club, FC Cincinnati signed him up where he played for a season and a half before returning to his homeland, Spain. The 25-year old is currently plying his trade in Segunda Division B-the third tier of Spanish football.
#2 Cedric Hengbart
Cedric Hengbart came through the Caen academy and went on to make about 250 appearances for the club in his 8-year stint there. Then, he represented Auxerre for five seasons, making a total of 162 appearances.
The French defender made 30 appearances for the club split across two seasons, the 2014 season and the 2016 season. He made 13 appearances in the inaugural season and 17 appearances in the 2016 season of the ISL. He helped the club reach the final in both the seasons but wasn't able to push the club to win their first title in either of the situations.
Although he mostly played as a right back or a centre back for the club, he scored 1 goal and provided the assist for 4 goals during his stay at the club.
The 38-year old retired after a brief spell with Mosta FC following his last season with the Kerala-based club.
#1 Iain Hume
Iain Hume is regarded as one of the best foreign imports of the Indian Super League since its inception and is the all-time leading goalscorer in the league. Hume was the first Kerala Blasters player to score a goal in the Indian Super League.
The Canadian forward was the top scorer for the club in the inaugural season and the 2017-18 season as well. He is also the joint all time top scorer in the club's history with 10 goals in 29 matches. Hume wasn't just a poacher, he contributed to the team's game-play and also provided 3 assists during his time at the club.
After playing for Kerala Blasters in the inaugural season, the 34-year old was signed up by Atletico de Kolkata. He made a comeback to the Kerala-based side in the fourth season and is currently playing his trade in India only with FC Pune City.
