Footballers who played in India

In 2014, traditionally cricket-mad India tried to increase its presence on the global football map with the launch of the Indian Super League.

The early ISL hype appears to have been short-lived, but the competition's first decade saw it play host to some notable international stars from Europe, South America and beyond – including Champions League and World Cup winners.

Let's get straight to the countdown, shall we?

Having played in England for the likes of local club Newcastle, QPR and Crystal Palace, Peter Ramage headed to India in 2015 to join Kerala Blasters (who sound like they belong in the IPL T20 cricket league rather than the country’s top football competition).

The defender made 14 appearances for the Blasters as they finished bottom of the ISL under former England caretaker manager Peter Taylor.

A prolific scorer in the English lower leagues for Rochdale and Rotherham, Adam Le Fondre reached the Premier League with Reading in 2012 – and notched goals in his one and only top-flight season.

Just under a decade later, he was averaging better than a goal every other game in the ISL for Mumbai City – who he helped to the title while on loan from Sydney FC.

Capped five times by England at U21 level, Ryan Taylor starred in the Premier League for Wigan and Newcastle, making more than 100 appearances in the competition overall.

A versatile full-back who could also operate in midfield, Taylor played 11 ISL games for ATK (formerly Atletico de Kolkata due to their initial affiliation with Atletico Madrid), finding the net once.

Ten-time Scotland international midfielder Stephen Pearson had two spells in India, swapping Bristol City for Kerala Blasters in 2014 and Motherwell for ATK two years later.

The ex-Celtic and Derby man helped Jose Francisco Molina’s ATK to the 2016 ISL title, getting himself on the scoresheet twice along the way.

Roger Johnson started out at Wycombe Wanderers, played in the Premier League for Birmingham, Wolves and West Ham, and wound down his career at non-League Bromley.

But the towering centre-back had time for a spell out in India, too, featuring 15 times for Pune City during the 2015 ISL campaign.

Another player – and another centre-half – who can list the rare pair of Wycombe Wanderers and the ISL on their CV, Steven Taylor made 17 appearances for Odisha in between stints at New Zealand outfit Wellington Phoenix at the end of his career.

A veteran of almost 200 Premier League outings for Newcastle, Taylor captained Odisha during his one season at the club, the 2020/21 campaign.

An integral part of Reading’s ascent from the third to the Premier League – where he also featured for Aston Villa, Fulham and West Brom – Nicky Shorey spent the 2015 ISL season with Pune City.

The two-time England left-back made 14 appearances as Pune finished second-bottom of the table under Three Lions legend David Platt.

Best-known for his time at PSG, and a familiar name to English football fans from his spells with Bolton and Hull, right-back Bernard Mendy made 48 ISL appearances overall.

The Frenchman – who represented his country on three occasions – had three spells with Chennaiyin and one with East Bengal, winning the 2015 Indian title with the former.

One of the Premier League’s most popular flops, so to speak, one-time Manchester United midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba went on to have spells in Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Serbia, Scotland and India (before wrapping up his career in Indonesia and France).

A 2002 Africa Cup of Nations winner with Cameroon, Djemba-Djemba had a short stint with Chennaiyin while they were managed by Marco Materazzi.

A veteran of more than 450 Premier League appearances, turning out for Newcastle, Aston Villa and Fulham – starring as the latter finished as 2009/10 Europa League runners-up – former Northern Ireland skipper Aaron Hughes helped Kerala Blasters to the final of the 2016 ISL.

The defender featured 11 times for Peter Taylor’s Blasters, scoring once, before seeing out his playing days with Hearts in Scotland.

Hugely talented but hindered by ongoing off-field problems, Jermaine Pennant spent the 2015 ISL season with David Platt’s Pune City.

The former Liverpool, Arsenal and England U21 winger made seven appearances for the club from the west of India, later returning to Asia to play for Singaporean outfit Tampines Rovers.

Portugal’s go-to striker during the latter half of the 2000s, Helder Postiga helped his nation to the final of Euro 2004 – scoring in the quarter-final victory over England.

He had two spells with ATK at the very end of his career, netting four times in 12 ISL outings and winning the title in 2016.

One of the youngest members of Manchester United’s 1998/99 treble-winning squad, Wes Brown spent the majority of his career with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, winning five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues in all.

The 23-cap England defender saw out his playing days at Kerala Blasters, where he linked back up with former United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen.

Among Turkey’s greatest players of all time, Tuncay finished his career by scoring three goals in 10 games for Pune City.

A key member of the Turkish team who finished third at Euro 2008, the versatile forward – who played in England for Middlesbrough, Stoke and Bolton – bagged a brace on his Pune debut against Mumbai City.

One of Portugal’s finest players of the early 21st century, dazzling winger Simao won major trophies with Benfica and Atletico Madrid in his prime.

After spells with Besiktas and Espanyol, he concluded his career by playing 10 games for NorthEast United – who unveiled him as their marquee signing for the 2015 ISL season.

Former Chelsea, Juventus and Romania forward Adrian Mutu joined Pune City towards the end of his career, becoming the club’s marquee acquisition in 2015.

He made 10 appearances for David Platt’s side, scoring four goals to finish as joint top scorer in the ISL that year, before finishing his playing days with ASA Targu Mures in his homeland.

Ghana’s all-time record goalscorer and his country’s talisman en route to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup, Asamoah Gyan left elite European football behind in his prime – leaving Sunderland for Al Ain of the UAE in 2012, then playing in China, Turkey and, eventually, India.

The striker, who famously wore the number 3 shirt, found the net four times in eight outings for NorthEast United during the 2019/20 ISL campaign.

Ivory Coast legend Didier Zokora starred for two ISL clubs in his late 30s, joining Pune City in 2015 then moving on to NorthEast United the following year.

The former Tottenham and Sevilla midfielder wore the captain’s armband for NorthEast, leaving them in 2017 to play his final professional games at Semen Padang of Indonesia.

Forever an icon at Liverpool for scoring the ‘ghost goal’ against Chelsea which took the Reds to the 2005 Champions League final, Luis Garcia wound down his career with spells in Mexico, India and Australia.

The 18-cap Spain winger scored twice in 13 appearances for ATK en route to the 2014 ISL title.

Once the holder of the record for the most Premier League clean sheets, ex-Liverpool, Manchester City and England goalkeeper David James joined the Kerala Blasters in 2014 – following a stint with IBV of Iceland (quite a contrast in weather, for starters!).

As player-manager, James guided the Blasters to the ISL play-offs – and he returned for a second stint in charge in 2018.

A Champions League and FA Cup winner with Liverpool, Norwegian great John Arne Riise brought his rocket of a left foot to the ISL for the first time in 2015, when he signed for Delhi Dynamos.

He scored once for Dynamos, as he did for his second club in India, Chennaiyin – who he joined after a spell back in Norway with Aalesund.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest Australian footballers of all time, Tim Cahill made Jamshedpur his final club, scoring twice in 12 games during the club’s second ISL campaign.

The former Everton and Millwall attacking midfielder hung up his boots in 2019 at the age of 39, claiming that he was “an old man now”.

A Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League winner with Chelsea who earned 80 caps for France, Florent Malouda was among the finest left-sided players of the late 2000s and early 2010s.

The ex-Lyon man spent two seasons with Delhi Dynamos, making 32 appearances and finding the net three times.

Right up there with the Republic of Ireland’s best ever players, Robbie Keane found the net almost 400 times for club and country over the course of his 21-year career.

He finished things off in fitting fashion, striking eight times in 11 matches for ATK during the 2017/18 ISL season – when the club were managed by a former Tottenham teammate of his, Teddy Sheringham.

Arsenal and Sweden legend Freddie Ljungberg made just four appearances for Mumbai City, but he remains one of the biggest stars ever to play in the ISL.

The winger actually came out of retirement to join Mumbai for the league’s inaugural 2014 season, but back issues cut his stay short.

Premier League Golden Boot winner in 2010/11 – when he also won his second of two titles with Manchester United – Bulgarian great Dimitar Berbatov ended his playing days with nine outings for Kerala Blasters in 2017/18.

Curiously, though, he wasn’t used as a striker: manager David James stuck him in a defensive midfield role – a decision Berbatov described frankly as “absurd”.

At one point, in terms of cumulative transfer fees, Nicolas Anelka was the most expensive footballer of all time.

The gifted French frontman didn’t cost Mumbai City a penny, though, joining after leaving West Brom in acrimonious circumstances – and scoring twice in 13 matches as player-manager before hanging up his boots in 2015.

Among Uruguay and Atletico Madrid’s greatest ever players, Diego Forlan bagged five goals for Mumbai City to finish among the top scorers in the 2016 ISL.

The blond-locked striker helped Mumbai top the regular season table, only to be sent off as his side fell short in the end-of-season play-off semi-finals.

An indisputable legend in the history of Arsenal, Robert Pires had spells with Villarreal and Aston Villa in between leaving the Gunners and arriving at FC Goa.

The suave Frenchman came out of retirement aged 40 to join Goa at the ISL’s inception, and he went on to feature eight times, scoring once.

Another French great who ended their playing days in India during the inaugural edition of the ISL, David Trezeguet registered twice in nine outings for Franco Colomba’s Pune City.

Famously the scorer of the golden goal against Italy which sealed Euro 2000 glory for France, the ex-Juventus marksman retired in 2015.

Undeniably one of the greatest centre-backs in the history of the game, Alessandro Nesta won two Champions League crowns with Milan and lifted the 2006 World Cup with Italy.

He didn’t add to his enviable collection of silverware in India, turning out just three times for Chennaiyin, but he went down as one of the biggest names ever to play in ISL.

Nesta’s namesake and international teammate, Alessandro Del Piero is the best player ever to grace the ISL.

Nominated for the Ballon d’Or on multiple occasions, the inimitable Champions League and World Cup-winning forward made 10 ISL appearances for Delhi Dynamos in 2014 before hanging up his boots – having spent the previous two years in Australia with Sydney FC.