Top five foreign coaches in the I-League era

3. David Booth (Mumbai FC 2008-09; Mahindra United 2009-10; Salgaocar 2012-13)

In the NFL era, this English coach made Mahindra United Federation Cup champions and also won the Mumbai club an invitational tournament in Maldives. But he spent just one season and only returned to Indian football four years later as head coach of the newly-formed Mumbai FC. Booth had started from scratch at Mumbai FC and got them promoted to the top flight at the very first attempt, winning the second division in 2008. The former Barnsley and Grimsby Town left back guided Mumbai to a creditable seventh place finish despite having a squad with very little top flight experience.

The following season he joined Mahindra United for his second spell and nearly won them the I-League. Booth’s Mahindra United outfit were looking good for the title in early April following a 3-1 victory over title contenders Dempo but the news that the club could disbanded affected the morale of the squad and eventually they finished third. At the end of that season, Mahindra United’s senior football team was disbanded, a decision which Booth later described as the biggest shock of his career. He took charge of Salgaocar just a month into the 2012-13 campaign at a time when the club were having a mini crisis but eventually guided them to a top half finish.