#9 Anas Edathodika
Anas didn’t have an I-League club in 2016, which was hugely surprising given his performances for Delhi Dynamos in last year’s ISL. But the man from Kerala used that time off to become an even better defender.
And that is what he showed in the 2016 ISL. Last year, he partnered John Arne Riise at the heart of the Delhi Dynamos defence and matched him stride for stride. This year, it was exactly the same, except that the other defender was Ruben Rocha.
The Indian defender is strong, doesn’t hesitate to go slide in on opposition attackers and most importantly, he is always ready to put his body on the line. The 31-year-old has been around Indian football circles for a long time but only in the last 12-18 months has he really asserted himself as a top defender.
He has not made an appearance for the national team yet, and that will be high on his priority list for 2017. Stephen Constantine could very well do with a defender like Anas as back-up for Arnab and Jhingan. But for now, the man from Kerala is focussed on the I-League, if he does find a club for this year.
