So the second edition of the much entertaining Indian Super League came to an end, with Chennaiyin FC clinching the title through a thrilling victory over FC Goa in Fatodra. A lot of overseas players played in the entire tournament for the eight participating teams. Throughout the tournament we saw them giving superb performances, sometimes for the winning cause, sometimes for the losing cause but some of them were simply outstanding which will always be cherished in the minds of the football fans.
Let’s take a look at the five best foreign footballers in this edition of the ISL:
1) Steven Mendoza (Chennaiyin FC): The Colombian was in a raging form this season for Chennaiyin FC as he scored 13 goals, which included double hat-tricks, in the competition, including the most important goal in the dying minutes in the final match against FC Goa that sealed the victory for the Super Machans.
His raging speed has been a constant nightmare for all defenders of the rival teams. FC Goa should know it most of all as he was the player who made the difference between the two teams that night. Along with his speed, his awsome dribbling, ball controlling skills and brute physical power makes him the best striker of the tournament. Due to his tally of 13 goals, which is the highest by any player in the tournament, Mendoza was awarded with the Golden Boot. He also walked away with the prestigious Player of the Tournament Award. The previous few statements are enough to prove one point- ISL 2015 belonged to only one person- Mendoza !
2) Ian Hume (Atletico de Kolkata): The Canadian international has been in prolific form this season with Atletico de Kolkata. He has scored 11 goals for his team and is the second highest scorer in the league behind Mendoza. Hume was widely been described as a utility player who gave his 100 percent in all the games. Apart from being a fantastic old-school striker, he can also help his team in defending if required. How many players carry that kind of capability? ATK played a masterstroke this season by roping Hume which certainly bore positive results for the franchise. With two double hat-tricks this season, Hume was also adjudged the fittest player of the tournament which makes him one of the most fittest and dependable players of the ISL.
3) Edel Bete (Chennaiyin FC): Edel Bete has now the distinction of having won the ISL twice, last year with ATK and this time with Chennaiyin. He, just like Mendoza is a player who likes to make a difference between the two teams. It was mainly due to his heroics under the bars that Chennaiyin went on to lift this year's ISL trophy. His valiant goalkeeping where he made a number of stupendous saves in the second leg of semi-final against ATK was simply mesmerising.
Throughout the tournament, he made some brilliant saves for his team, which included saving two penalties. Gifted with superb reflexes and great anticipation, it almost became a tough job for rival strikers to score against him. Undoubtedly, he is the finest keeper in ISL's short history and was rightly awarded with the Golden Gloves this season.
4) Leo Moura (FC Goa): FC Goa made it to the finals of the ISL for the first time. They topped the league table and were reckoned as a brutal force in the football field and much of the credit goes to the Brazilian. Leo Moura has been in phenomenal in the midfield zone for FC Goa this season with 2 goals and 8 assists, the highest by any player. Moura is an extremely hardworking footballer and his crucial passes, long balls and pacy runs from the midfield propelled Goa's signature attack. In most the matches it was seen that the origin of FC Goa's many moves and attacks was created by Moura. Moura emerged as one of the impact players in this year's ISL and one of the best midfielders of the league.
5) Florent Malouda (Delhi Dynamos): The veteran Frenchman was the heart of Dynamos team in the entire league. Although he could not score a goal in the tournament, but his contribution to the Dynamos performance was simply outstanding. Just like Moura, Malouda was a force to reckon with in the midfield. The former Chelsea player was seen to take a lot of work load on himself and helped to create a lot of attacking moves for the Dynamos. He played a pivotal role for his team as he was seen setting up opportunities for his fellow strikers to score goals. It’s unfortunate that Dynamos could not take the ISL trophy home this year, but Malouda's grit, determination and hardwork was simply fascinating.
By Dipayan
