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Indian Super League fever and goal festival are about to start from 30th September where the mixture of young and experienced players make their name for themselves in the subcontinent's tournament. Elano, John Stiven Mendoza, Iain Hume, and Ferran Corominas have won this personal accolades before.
Strikers love to win games on their own, but they would stand a chance for adding golden boot to their personal cabinet only if they are consistent enough throughout the season. In this piece, we shall look at five players who have a chance of finishing first in the goalscoring chart and winning the golden boot.
#5. KALU UCHE ( ATK ):
Kalu Uche spent his first spell at India with Pune City FC in 2015. The Nigerian forward made 11 appearances and scored 4 goals in the process. In 2017, Delhi Dynamos contacted the attacker when he was a free agent.
Former Delhi Dynamos manager Miguel Angel brought the best of Uche and played the attacker to his strengths. The former Pune City forward started to hit the ground running from day one. He found the net 13 times from just 15 appearances when he was at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The new manager of ATK Steve Coppell lured the 35-year-old to Kolkata in a one-year deal. The two-time champions have made great reinforcements with the likes of John Johnson, Manuel Lanzarote and Gerson making their way to play under the Englishmen.
#4. SUNIL CHHETRI ( BENGALURU FC) :
The Indian icon made his Bengaluru FC debut in the Indian Super League last season in what was turned out to be a heartbreak after losing to arch-rivals Chennaiyin FC in the finals. Sunil Chhetri's performances over the course of the season were breathtaking and took his goal tally to 14. He was rightly adjudged with the 'Hero of the League' award.
The 34-year-old plied his trade with Mumbai City FC in 2015 to make his debut in this league. He added 7 goals in between these two years with the Maharashtrian club. The Bengaluru forward is the third highest goal scorer in the league with 21 goals.
Under the management of Carles Cuadrat, he is expected to play the same role as the club is desperate to land the prestigious trophy this year. With a forward line of Sunil Chhetri, Miku and Udanta Singh, fans will want to see the net bulging more often than not.
#3. MIKU ( BENGALURU FC ):
Bengaluru FC announced that Venezuelan striker Miku would be playing for the Indian Super League Club in 2017. The 33-year-old is a ferocious striker, with such ability to give nightmares to the defenders and notch up goals and assists inside the penalty box.
He scored his first goal for the blues in a 4-1 routing of Delhi Dynamos on 26th November. Miku bagged a brace in a 4-3 loss to FC Goa away from home and went on to add another 12 including one in the finals. The side from Karnataka was far by most the consistent side in the league, but Chennaiyin FC was too strong for them in the finals.
Miku has become a fan favourite among the Kanteerava faithful, and they will be roaring for him when he takes up the field for the blues this season.
#2. IAIN HUME ( PUNE CITY FC ):
Kerala Blasters found an agreement to bring the striker to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium soon after the competition was inaugurated. The striker did his reputation no harm by netting 5 goals. It was not a bad first season for the Blasters as they lost to a last-gasp winner from Mohammed Rafique in the finals and ended up as runners-up.
In 2015, Hume chose to sign for the two-times Champions ATK. His 11 goals were not enough to take his side to the finals, as they lost to Chennaiyin FC. However, he was able to get his hands on the trophy the corresponding year. He found the back of the net on 8 occasions, including a brace in 3-2 win over Mumbai City in the playoffs.
His return to Kerala was cut shorten halfway into the tournament, as the striker was forced to withdraw from the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Pune City FC becomes the latest club to secured the signature of Iain Hume. His partnership with Marcelinho up front is much awaited.
#1. FERRAN COROMINAS ( FC GOA ):
Ferran Corominas signed for Goa one year ago. The Spanish striker has gone on to find the back of the net 18 times in his debut campaign and would look back at this spectacular time with total joy. Another stupendous record has been set by the 30-year-old is the maximum number of goals in a single season of the Indian Super League.
Despite losing their star player Manuel Lanzarote, the club has tweaked the squad with the signings of wingers Miguel Palanca and Jakichand Singh. Sergio Lobera's new attacking philosophy has made their football so much attractive, even for the neutrals. Quality of the whole squad is not quantifiable, as Fatorda faithful expected the outfit to bring success and Corominas to lead the scoring chart once again.
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