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The Indian football witnessed the birth of something phenomenal in the year 2014- the Indian Super League.
It attracted the eyes of the global audience towards India in its very first season. Fans thronged the Stadiums to support their favorite teams as it created a 'Football wave' across India with the chants of 'Come on, India. Let's Football!' echoing everywhere. It was a sight never seen before in the Indian Football.
Several star players of the beautiful game descended on India to ply their trade in the new league.
Now, after four seasons it stands tall as one of the most watched football league on earth. The success of the league is mainly attributed to the players and the quality of football on display.
Let us now look at nine former FIFA World Cup winners who have played in the Indian Super League.
#9 Carlos Marchena (Spain, Kerala Blasters)
The former Spanish Centre back who also played as a defensive midfielder won 69 International caps for the La Roja from 2002-2011.
Marchena, who played for several Spanish clubs in his career, also represented Spain Under 20, 21 and 23 sides.
He started his career with Sevilla in 1997, before moving to the Portuguese club Benfica, three years later. Marchena went on to represent three other Spanish clubs in his career (Valencia, Villareal and Deportivo La Coruna), after his one year stint with the Portuguese giants.
During his successful ten year stay at Valencia (2001-2010), he won two La Liga, one Copa del Rey, one UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup title.
The 1999 FIFA Under 20 World Cup winner, won the Silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics with the Spanish U23 side at Sydney.
Marchena was named in the 2008 UEFA Euro Team of the tournament, when the Spanish side won by defeating Germany 1-0 in the finals at Vienna.
After finishing third with Spain at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, Marchena was named in the Spanish squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, where he featured in three games- against Portugal (Round of 16), Paraguay (Quarterfinals) and Germany (Semi-finals).
Spain went on to win the FIFA World Cup for the very first time, defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in the finals at Johannesburg.
After his stint with Deportivo, he was signed by the Indian Super League side, Kerala Blasters as their marquee player in August 2015 prior to the second season of the ISL.
He played just one game for the Blasters in their 0-1 home defeat against the Delhi Dynamos in October 2015 and left the league two weeks later due to personal reasons. That turned out to be the only game in his ISL career.
#8 David Trezeguet (France, FC Pune City)
The former French striker represented his Nation in 71 matches for ten years (1998-2008), scoring 34 goals. Trezeguet, who was just 20 when he was selected in the French squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup at home, represented France in all the matches except the finals against Brazil which the French won 3-0 at Paris.
Two years later, Trezeguet won the 2000 UEFA European Championship with France in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He started his career with the Argentine club, Platense before moving to AS Monaco in 1995.
After his five-year stint at Monaco, Trezeguet moved to the Turin giants Juventus whom he represented for ten years.
He won two Serie A, one Serie B and a Supercoppa Italiana title during his stay with Juventus. After his Juventus stint, he played for several Argentine and Spanish clubs before joining the ISL side, FC Pune City in July 2014 for the inaugural edition of the league.
He represented the Orange army in 9 matches in the first season, scoring two goals. Trezeguet announced his retirement from the game in January 2015.
#7) Alessandro Nesta (Italy, Chennaiyin FC)
The former Italian centre-back represented the Azzurri for ten years (1996-2006), winning 78 International caps.
Though he played three World Cups with Italy (1998, 2002 and 2006), he found success the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany where he featured in three matches (group stage games) for Fabio Cannavaro's men. Nesta won all the possible titles during highly successful stints with Lazio (1993-2002) and AC Milan (2002-2012).
After his one year stint with the Major League Soccer side, Montreal Impact, he moved to the ISL side Chennaiyin FC in 2014.
His fellow Italian defender Materazzi, who was the player-manager of Chennai played a major role in his move to the Indian Super League side.
Nesta played just three games for Chennaiyin FC in the entire first season (2014), finishing as the Semi-Finalist. In the following year, he took the managerial role of the North American Soccer League side, Miami FC and is currently the manager of the Italian club, Perugia.
#6) Joan Capdevila (Spain, Northeast United FC)
The former Spanish left-back represented the La Roja for nine years (2002-2011), in which he made 60 appearances scoring four goals.
Capdevila won the 2000 Summer Olympics Silver with the Spanish under-23 side at Sydney. He was also a part of the Spain National team that finished third at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa and won the 2008 UEFA Euro title in Vienna.
Capdevila played all the seven matches of the Spanish team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which they won at Johannesburg by defeating the Dutch 1-0 in the finals.
Though he played for several Spanish clubs in his career, his stints with Deportivo La Coruna (2000-2007) and Villarreal (2007-2011) were highly successful during which he won one Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup.
The defender joined the Indian Super League side Northeast United FC in 2014 as their marquee player for the inaugural season, after his two-year stint with the Spanish club, Espanyol.
He played 12 matches for the Highlanders in the 2014 ISL, in which the side finished last out of the eight teams with just three wins out of fourteen league games. Capdevila left ISL and joined Belgian side Lierse the following year.
#5) Roberto Carlos (Brazil, Delhi Dynamos FC)
The former Brazilian left-back is one of the best defenders the game has ever witnessed. Roberto Carlos represented the Selecao in 125 matches across fourteen years (1992-2006).
He played six games for Brazil in the victorious 2002 FIFA World Cup that was hosted by Japan and South Korea.
Brazil defeated Germany 2-0 in the finals and won the World Cup for the fifth time. Though he played for several clubs during his career, his eleven-year (1996-2007) stint with Real Madrid was highly successful.
He played 370 matches for the Los Blancos scoring 47 goals and winning all the possible titles. Three years after his stint with the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, he signed for Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos as player-manager in 2015.
He played three matches for the Delhi side and led them to a semi-final finish in season two, after which he did not return to the league.
#4) Alessandro del Piero (Italy, Delhi Dynamos FC)
The former Juventus forward played for the Italian Under 17, 18 and 21 sides before representing the Italian National team for 13 years (1995-2008) for whom he scored 27 goals.
Del Piero made five appearances for the Azzurri en-route to their title win at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
He started his career with the Italian club Padova before joining the Turin giants Juventus, for whom he scored 208 goals in 513 appearances. He won all the possible titles during his successful nineteen-year stint with Juventus (1993-2012).
In 2012, he joined Australian League (A- league) side Sydney FC, and became the highest paid footballer ever to play in Australia with a pay of approximately AU$3.5 million per season.
After his two year stint with Sydney FC, he was signed by the Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos as their marquee player for the inaugural ISL season in August 2014.
He scored his only ISL goal in 2-2 away draw against Chennaiyin FC in December 2014. Del Piero, who made ten appearances for Delhi throughout the season, failed to inspire them to the knockouts after finishing fifth in the eight-team league standings.
The 2014 edition was the only ISL season in which the Italian legend played.
#3) Robert Pires (France, FC Goa)
The former French International represented Les Bleus for eight years (1996-2004), winning 79 caps and scoring 14 goals.
Pires, who played three matches for France at the 1998 FIFA World Cup at home, went on to lift the trophy, as the French defeated the mighty Brazilians 3-0 in the finals at Paris.
He also won the 2000 UEFA European Championship and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003 with France. Pires played for two French clubs- FC Metz and Olympique de Marseille before joining the English Premier League giants, Arsenal in 2000.
Pires represented the North Londoners in 189 matches across six seasons, scoring 62 goals.
Under Arsene Wenger, he evolved as one of the best during his successful six-year stint with the Gunners.
He played a vital role in Arsenal's 'Invincible' 2003-04 season along with fellow Frenchman, Thierry Henry. After his Arsenal stint, Pires went to the Spanish club, Villarreal in 2006 before returning to the Premier League four years later with Aston Villa, whom he represented for just one season.
In September 2014, he was signed by the Indian Super League side FC Goa as their marquee player for the inaugural edition of the league.
He made his ISL debut in a 1-2 home defeat to Chennaiyin FC in October 2014. Pires, who played eight matches for FC Goa in the 2014 ISL en route to their semi-final finish was released by them in March 2015.
#2) Lucio (Brazil, FC Goa)
The former Brazilian centre-back represented the Selecao for eleven years (2000-2011), in which he played 105 matches. scoring four goals.
Lucio featured in all the seven matches of Brazil at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, which the Selecao won by defeating the Germans in the final at Yokohama.
Lucio, who played for several clubs across Italy, Germany, and Brazil enjoyed successful spells at Bayern Munich (2004-2009) and Inter Milan (2009-2012) during which he won all possible titles.
After his two year stint with the Brazilian club, Palmeiras he moved to the Indian Super League side FC Goa as their marquee in 2015.
He led them to the finals in the 2015 ISL, where they lost to Chennaiyin FC by 2-3. Lucio played 19 games for FC Goa across the 2015 and 2016 season, before moving to the Brazilian league once again.
#1) Marco Materazzi (Italy, Chennaiyin FC)
The former Italian centre-back represented the Azzurri for eight years, winning 41 International caps. Though he scored only twice in his International career, Materazzi headed home the all-important equalizer in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final against France to cancel out Zinedine Zidane's seventh-minute penalty.
Italy eventually won 5-3 on penalties at Berlin, as the match ended 1-1 even after extra time. Materazzi played for several Italian clubs before his move to the Premier League club Everton in 1998, whom he represented just one season.
He returned to the Italian football in 1999 with a two-year stint with his former club, Perugia. The towering Italian defender joined Inter Milan in 2001, the club where he spent ten successful seasons (2001-2011) winning five Serie A, four Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana, one UEFA Champions League and a FIFA Club World Cup title.
Three years after his stint with the Milanese club, the Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC signed him in September 2014 as a player-manager for the inaugural season of the ISL.
He played seven matches for the 'Marina machans' in the inaugural season in which the Chennai side lost in the semi-finals against Kerala Blasters after topping the league standings.
In the next season, he took up the full-time managerial role and led Chennai to a memorable title win. He stayed with the Chennaiyin FC for another season (2016), before ending his association in March 2017.
