ISL 2017: Best hat-tricks scored in the history of the tournament
With only three days left for the wait to be over, the latest edition of the the Indian Super League kicks off on November 17, with two of the heavyweights, Kerala Blasters and ATK, playing the first match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Kochi.
Indian Super League has seen some famous players playing in India and have witnessed some world class goals over the last three seasons. The fans also witnessed some great hat-tricks over the three years. 12 hat-tricks have been scored in ISL, staring from the 2014 season.
Let us take a look at hat-trick scorers in the league.
Stiven Mendoza
The young Colombian striker was there with Chennaiyin FC from the inaugural 2014 season and had a fine form for the Chennai based team. After his fantastic performance in India, Brazilian club Corinthians signed him.
Mendoza was at his best in ISL 2, when Chennaiyin went on to win the league. During the course of the tournament, they came face to face with Kerala Blasters, whom they brushed away with a 4-1 victory. This victory was essentially made possible due to Mendoza's red-hot form, as the Colombian forward netted three goals in the game.
Iain Hume
Iain Hume played for Kerala Blasters in the Inaugural season, but lost out to ATK in finals. In 2015 the season, Hume tried his luck at ATK. Like Mendoza, the all-time top scorer of ISL had a fantastic season with ATK, scoring 11 goals in 16 games, which included 2 hat-tricks against Mumbai City FC and FC Pune City.
Dudu
Dudu, the strong Nigerian striker has also proved his worth in Indian Super League, scoring 12 goals from 32 games. Dudu had played for three teams in ISL, FC Pune City, FC Goa and for Chennaiyin FC. Dudu has also scored 2 hat-trick. The first one was scored for FC Goa in the 2015 season against Mumbai City FC, while the second one was scored for Chennaiyin FC in a 3-3 draw against NorthEast United FC.
André Moritz
The tall Brazil-born striker was with Mumbai City FC for first two season. Moritz was composed in front of the goal and scored some good goals before moving to Thailand in 2016.
There was only one hat-trick in the 2014 Inaugural season on ISL, and that was by Moritz. He scored the only hat-trick of the season in a 5-0 rout against local rivals FC Pune City.
Reinaldo
The Brazil-born striker played for FC Goa in ISl. He had a lot of experience in Europe before coming to India. Reinaldo had played 65 games for the French giants PSG, but he could not bring his form to India. The FC Goa player also has a ISL hat-trick in his bag. Reinaldo scored his only hat-trick against Kerala Blaster in a 5-1 rout in ISL 2.
Marcelinho
The Pune City FC player played for Delhi Dynamos last year and was the ISL top scorer for the 2016 season. Marcelinho scored his only hat-trick against FC Goa in a 5-1 scoreline. It will be interesting to see whether the Brazilian can recreate his for Pune this season.
Diego Forlán
The Uruguayan legend had just one season in India, and played for Mumbai City FC in the 2016 season. Diego Forlán had a season to forget in India but had a hat-trick in his name. The Uruguayan scored his hat-trick against the finalist Kerala Blasters.
Sunil Chhetri
The India Ccaptain is one of the two Indian hat-trick scorers. Chhetri played for Mumbai City FC for two seasons, and scored the hat-trick against NorthEast United FC in a 5-1 victory in 2015.
Thongkhosiem Haokip
The young Manipuri is not a name that fans have heard often. Haokip has scoed 4 goals from 6 games in ISL, which includes a hat-trick. Haokip had an unforgettable game against Mumbai City FC as he scored 3 goals in a match which ended 7-0.
In the 2016 season, he played for Kearala Blasters, but had a disappointing season by making only 1 appearance for the Yellow Army. This year, playing alongside Chhetri Haokip will hope to regain his form.