ISL 2016: 5 players whose career were rejuvenated by the Indian Super League
In its short span of just two seasons, the Hero Indian Super League has already given us innumerable stories. From hard-fought last-minute victories to dramatic turnarounds, ISL has every tailor-made stuff for football fans. Atletico de Kolkata won the first edition while Chennaiyin FC had won the second edition last year, defeating Zico’s FC Goa in the finals.
The third edition of the Indian Super League is currently on and has given us a lot of new excitement and frenzy. The matches are being contested at a better quality, stating that the older the league grows, the better it will become. The league, in just two years, have revived and reinvigorated a few slow and staggering careers already, for both domestic and international players.
Here, we take a look at a few players who thank the ISL for re-igniting their floundering careers.
#1 Leo Moura
Leo Moura is one of the most influential midfielders to have played in the ISL. The Brazilian box-to-box midfielder inspired and marshalled FC Goa brilliantly to the finals last season, being one of their most consistent and successful performers on the pitch. The player got the highest number of assists (8) in the league, also completing the most number of successful passes (825).
Leo Moura, at 36, had played his testimonial match for Flamengo, one of the four Brazilian clubs he represented in a celebrated career.
FC Goa’s coach, Brazilian superstar Zico, who had known Moura from his Brazilian days knew his abilities. The coach brought Moura to India and revived his career. Giving him responsibility and freedom on the pitch to express himself, the FC Goa coach gave Moura starts in the deep-lying playmaking roles. The move triggered positively and Leo never looked back.
For a player who had almost hanged his boots, being called up to join Santa Cruz, one of the Brazilian powerhouses at 37, is nothing short of a dream-come-true. Interestingly, Moura is also famous being one of the few players to have represented the ‘Big Four’ of Brazilian football, Botafogo, Vasco, Fluminense and Flamengo. Moura has also captained Flamengo for some time in his long career.