Since its inception, the Indian Super League, one of the top footballing tournaments in India, has adopted the marquee player rule in which all eight teams signed one player to be their marquee player for the season. The rule allows ISL teams to pursue players who, in their prime, were considered superstars in the game. Their presence would help build attendances and fanfare throughout the league while also benefiting the players on the field performance wise.
Former Liverpool and Spanish international player, Luis García was the first marquee player in the Indian Super League when he signed for Atlético de Kolkata. [1]
Prior to the start of the Indian Super League, it was announced that all teams would include at least one marquee player in their side. Luis García was the first marquee signed when he was bought in by Atlético de Kolkata in July 2014. [1] The first season began with the inaugural class of marquee players being García at Atlético de Kolkata, former Brazilian international Elano at Chennaiyin, former Juventus and World Cup winning Italian forward Alessandro Del Piero at Delhi Dynamos, former Arsenal and World Cup winning France midfielder Robert Pires at Goa, former England international goalkeeper David James at Kerala Blasters, former Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg at Mumbai City, another former Spanish international and World Cup winner Joan Capdevila at NorthEast United, and former French international and World Cup winner, David Trezeguet, at Pune City. [2] For Kerala Blasters, David James not only served as the marquee player but also as the team's head coach. [2]
After the first season, the ISL introduced a salary cap of 20 crore which also included marquee players in the cap. [3] Due to the new salary cap and various other reasons, only Elano was retained as a marquee player for the 2015 season. [3] Atlético de Kolkata decided to replace García with former Portuguese international Hélder Postiga. [4] Both Delhi Dynamos and Goa continued the run of bringing in Brazilian marquee players by signing former internationals Roberto Carlos and Lúcio respectively. [5] [6] NorthEast United signed another former Portugal international in Simão Sabrosa while the Kerala Blasters bought in Carlos Marchena. [7] [8] Mumbai City and Pune City signed Nicolas Anelka and former Chelsea forward Adrian Mutu respectively. [9] [10] Both Carlos and Anelka would also serve as player-coaches throughout the season.[ citation needed ]
After the 2015 season it was announced that signing marquee players who also served as head coaches would be banned from happening in the Indian Super League. [11]
Year signed | Team | Marquee |
---|---|---|
2015 | Atlético de Kolkata | Hélder Postiga [12] |
2016 | Chennaiyin | John Arne Riise [13] |
2016 | Delhi Dynamos | Florent Malouda [14] |
2015 | Goa | Lúcio [15] |
2016 | Kerala Blasters | Aaron Hughes [16] |
2016 | Mumbai City | Diego Forlán [17] |
2016 | NorthEast United | Didier Zokora [18] |
2016 | Pune City | Mohamed Sissoko [19] |
Year signed | Player | Club |
---|---|---|
2014 | Luis García [20] | Atlético de Kolkata |
2014–2015 | Elano [21] [22] | Chennaiyin |
2014 | Alessandro Del Piero [23] | Delhi Dynamos |
2014 | Robert Pires [24] | Goa |
2014 | David James [25] | Kerala Blasters |
2014 | Freddie Ljungberg [26] | Mumbai City |
2014 | Joan Capdevila [27] | NorthEast United |
2014 | David Trezeguet [28] | Pune City |
2015 | Roberto Carlos [29] | Delhi Dynamos |
2015 | Carlos Marchena [30] | Kerala Blasters |
2015 | Nicolas Anelka [31] | Mumbai City |
2015 | Simão Sabrosa [32] | NorthEast United |
2015 | Adrian Mutu [33] | Pune City |
2016 | Eiður Guðjohnsen [34] | Pune City |
The 2014 Hero Indian Super League was the first season of the Indian Super League, the top flight football league of India. The season featured eight teams, each playing 14 matches during the regular season.
Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is part of the City Football Group, the owners of various successful such as Manchester City and Spanish Side Girona. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of the Indian football league system. Mumbai City is one of the most successful clubs in the history of the ISL. They are the first club to win both the League Winners Shield and the ISL cup title in a single season, which it accomplished in the 2020–21 season. They are the only team to win the ISL league winners shield twice.
The 2014 season was Atlético de Kolkata's inaugural season in existence in the Indian Super League. They ended their first season as the champions of the inaugural edition of the competition.
The 2014 Season is Mumbai City FC's 1st season in existence in the Indian Super League.
The 2015 Hero Indian Super League was the second season of the Indian Super League, a professional football league played in India since 2014. The season featured eight teams. The regular season kicked off on 3 October and ended on 6 December, while the finals began on 11 December, which will conclude with the final match on 20 December. The defending champions Atlético de Kolkata were eliminated in the semi-finals by Chennaiyin FC. The final was played between Goa and Chennaiyin on 20 December 2015 at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa. Chennayin were crowned as champions defeating Goa 3–2 in the final.
The 2015 season was Atlético de Kolkata's second season in the Indian Super League. They started their second season as the defending champions, and ended the season as the semi-finalists.
The 2015 season was FC Goa's second season in existence in the Indian Super League.
The 2015 Season is Pune City's 2nd season in existence in the Indian Super League.
The 2015 season was Chennaiyin FC's second season of Indian Super League. Chennayin defeated FC Goa 3–2 in the finals to win the season.
The 2015 Season is Mumbai City's 2nd season in existence in the Indian Super League. Mumbai City began the season on 5 October 2015 against Pune City, with the opening game of their League campaign. For 2nd season, Nicolas Anelka was announced as the marquee player as well as the manager of the club, replacing Englishman Peter Reid. Mumbai City finished their season at 6th position in ISL 2015.
The 2016 Indian Super League season was the third season of the Indian Super League, the football league, since its establishment in 2013. The season featured eight teams again, each playing 14 matches during the regular season before the finals. The regular season began on 1 October and ended on 4 December. The finals began on 10 December and concluded with the final on 18 December. The defending champions coming into the season were Chennaiyin.
The 2016 Mumbai City FC season was the club's third season since its establishment in 2014 and their third season in the Indian Super League, their most successful till date. This season was also the first in which the club was coached by the Costarican Alexandre Guimarães, replacing Nicolas Anelka who served as player-coach the previous season. They finished first in the standings after the ending of the league season, qualifying for the semifinals for the very first time led by Diego Forlán who was their marquee player. However they lost in the semifinals to Atletico de Kolkata 1-5 on aggregate.
The 2016 Chennaiyin FC season was the club's third season since its establishment in 2014 and their third season in the Indian Super League.
The 2016 season was the third season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their third season in Indian Super League. After finishing second position in the league stage, the club managed to make it to the final. In the finals, they were again defeated by Atlético de Kolkata, this time through the penalty shoot-out.
The Indian Super League is an Indian professional league for association football. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition and is contested by 13 clubs. This page details the records and statistics of the league since its first season in 2014.
The 2017–18 Indian Super League season was the fourth season of the Indian Super League, one of the top Indian professional football leagues. It was established in 2013. The regular season started on 17 November 2017 and ended on 4 March 2018, The finals began on 7 March 2018, concluding with the final on 17 March 2018. ATK were the defending champions from the 2016 season, however they could not advance to the playoffs. Chennaiyin won their second Indian Super League title by defeating Bengaluru 3–2 in the final.