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The sixth season of the Indian Super League is less than ten days away and the fans can't wait for the action to begin.
In the first five seasons of ISL, Indian football fans have been treated to plenty of great attacking football and some magnificent goals. With the standard of the game continuously improving in the country, a tougher fight is expected for the Golden Boot this season.
South American players dominated the Golden Boot with Elano, Stiven Mendoza and Marcelinho winning the golden boot in the first three seasons. FC Goa's Ferran Corominas took the league by storm in the last rwo seasons, winning the Golden Boot back-to-back while becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in the history of the league.
So, who is in with a shout this time around? Let's take a look at five strongest contenders for the Golden Boot ahead of the 2019-20 season.
#1 Asamoah Gyan (NorthEast United)
Indian football's latest high profile recruit is Ghana's all-time record goalscorer, Asamoah Gyan. The 33-year old also holds the record for scoring the most number of goals by an African player in the World Cup finals.
Having lost their skipper Bartholomew Ogbeche and manager Eelco Schattorie, NorthEast United would be hoping for their star recruit to adjust quickly to the new environment and settle in his new surroundings. He has already scored for the Highlanders, in a pre-season match against the Indian national side. So, the signs are promising.
Plenty of marquee signings have failed to make a lasting impression in the ISL. Gyan will hope to rise above the norm and stamp his authority on the pitch for NorthEast United.
#2 Ferran Corominas (FC Goa)
The Golden Boot winner for two consecutive seasons and the league's best player last time out, there is no reason why Ferran Corominas won't be able to repeat his exploits from the past couple of seasons. The Spanish forward has scored 34 goals in 40 outings at an impressive rate of 0.85 goals per match.
FC Goa have rattled opposition defenses in the past few seasons with Sergio Lobera's attack-minded philosophy bearing fruit. The understanding between the midfielders like Ahmed Jahouh, Edu Bedia and Hugo Boumous mixes well with the pace and industry of the likes of Brandon Fernandes, Jackchand Singh and new arrival, Seiminlen Doungel. The Spaniard can feed off all these players to continue his goalscoring exploits.
Coro will be hoping to fire on all cylinders as he aims for a third consecutive Golden Boot in the ISL.
#3 Bartholomew Ogbeche (Kerala Blasters)
The former NorthEast United skipper has followed his former manager Eelco Schattorie all the way to Kerala Blasters in order to initiate a renaissance for the Yellow Army.
The Blasters have struggled in front of goal in the last two seasons. Dimitar Berbatov failed to deliver and left after a pretty public spat and CK Vineeth too scored in fits and starts.
While Slavisla Stojanovic and Matej Poplatnik started last season with promise, their goals too ran dry soon. Schattorie will be hoping to break this norm by using the partnership of Ogbeche and Raphael Messi Bouli up-front.
Ogbeche will be supported by a very able midfield consisting of the likes of Sergio Cidoncha, Mario Arques, Sahal Abdul Samad and Halicharan Narzary among others. Kerala Blasters able midfield can go a long way towards helping Ogbeche bettering his tally of 12 goals from 17 matches last season.
#4 Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
Sunil Chhetri is a household name in India when it comes to football. The 35-year old is second in the list of active international footballers with 72 goals for India. He is also second in ISL all-time scoring list, four behind Coro with 30 league goals to his name. With no Miku, Chhetri will carry the main goal threat for the defending champions
While Chhetri has won an ISL title and also the best player of the league, the mercurial forward has not won the 'Golden Boot' in any of the four seasons he has featured in.
With Chhetri approaching the twilight of his career, 2019-20 season might be the last one where his name is being mentioned among the top forwards. If the Bengaluru FC striker remains injury-free, there is no reason why he won't find himself in the hunt for the award come the end of the season.
#5 Roy Krishna (ATK)
ATK has invested highly in the summer and will be looking for a change of fortunes after enduring a dismal couple of seasons. The two-time champions have gone in for the likes of Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Michael Soosairaj, Carl McHugh and Michael Regin and the Fijian striker Roy Krishna.
Krishna has spent the last six years of his career in the Australian top flight, the A-League. The 2018-19 season was his best in terms of output as he bagged 19 goals in 27 matches.
The forward with Indian roots was happy to return to the sub-continent. A lot of expectation will be on him to score and make up for the lack of end product from the likes of Balwant Singh, Kalu Uche and Jayesh Rane.
