ISL 2017: 5 iconic players who received debuts under current ISL managers
The Indian Super League (ISL) has given us some of the biggest names in world football at the twilight of their careers. The likes of Del Piero, Pires, Riise etc. have all graced the Indian football pitches and brought with them a large audience dying to see one last hurrah. What sometimes goes unnoticed, however, is the league’s ability to bring some of the best managers in the world.
Very much in their heydeys, some of these managers have been able to bring out the very best from mediocre players in the past, hoping to do the same with some of the young Indian talent ready to make a splash on the big stage. Their contribution remains vital to the very foundation of the ISL and no doubt creates an impressive buzz around the sub continent’s richest domestic football competition.
Sportskeeda decided to dig up some of the most impressive achievements in the man-management career of these talented coaches and it makes for interesting viewing. Here are five iconic players you would have definitely heard of who received their debuts under current ISL managers:
#5 Gareth Southgate
The current England senior team manager is a well-known and well-respected name in world football. Management experience aside, the Englishman was one of the best defenders in the England senior squad during his playing days. Being the iconic player he was, it comes as a surprise that Southgate actually received his playing debut under current Tata Steel Jamshedpur manager Steve Coppell.
At the age of 20, a young Gareth graced the football world with an appearance for Coppell’s Crystal Palace team in a 3-0 loss to Liverpool in the old First Division. Southgate had a slightly better outing a few months later when he made his Premier League debut in a 3-3 draw with Blackburn under the same manager. As they say, the rest is history.