5 tallest players to feature in the ISL
The Indian Super League (ISL) is gearing for up for another season of action-packed football filled with mind-blowing goals, top-notch defending, and amazing skills. In the off-season, we have seen a lot of club legends move within the league and some excellent foreign players signing for ISL clubs as well.
One of these recruits is the Bosnian defender Enes Sipovic signed by Chennaiyin FC to strengthen the team at the back. At 6 feet 6 inches tall, Sipovic is a towering figure at the back but he is not the tallest player to have signed for an ISL club, and he doesn't even make the top two of this list.
Let's look at the 5 tallest players who have signed for an ISL club. We have also included players who signed for an ISL club but never made an appearance for their team.
#5 Bilal Khan
Bilal Khan was signed by the Kerala Blasters ahead of the 2019-20 ISL season. Standing at 1.95 meters tall, Khan was the second choice to Rehenesh TP during the course of the season.
The 26-year old had a breakout season with Gokulam Kerala in the 2017-18 I-League season and was signed by Real Kashmir FC. Khan shined with the 'Snow Leopards', keeping 9 clean sheets in 19 matches, winning the Golden Glove and helping the club finish third in the 2018-19 season of the I-League.
In the 2019-20 ISL season, he made 5 appearances for the Blasters and kept just one clean sheet, conceding 7 goals in the other four matches. Khan will be competing with new signings Albino Gomes and Prabhsukhan Gill for the No.1 spot at the club in the 2020-21 season.
#4 Marco Klisura
Mumbai City FC brought in the young Serbian defender ahead of the 2018/19 ISL season to provide back-up for Lucian Goian and to further strengthen the defense. At just 27 years of age, Klisura is quite a journeyman as he has already represented 11 different clubs in four different countries.
Standing at 1.95 meters tall, the centre-back can play at right-back, left-back, and defensive midfield as well. Klisura made 3 league appearances for the Islanders, helping the team make the playoffs where they lost 5-2 aggregate to Sergio Lobera's FC Goa.
#3 Enes Sipovic
Chennaiyin FC's latest recruit in the transfer market is1.98 meters tall and is expected to partner Eli Sabia in the heart of the Chennaiyin FC defense.
The club let go of some senior players in Jeje Lalpekhlua and Lucian Goian in the off-season and acted fast to replace their foreign centre-back with the Bosnian. New manager Czaba Laslo has a lot of faith in Sipovic and the Chennaiyin fans are eagerly waiting to see their new player in action.
The 30-year old has represented various clubs in Romania, Belgium, Morocco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Saudia Arabia, and is looking forward to playing football in India.
#2 Duwayne Kerr
The Jamaican goalkeeper joined Chennaiyin FC ahead of the 2016 ISL season in a bid to help the club defend their title win from the 2015 season. Standing at 1.99 meters tall, the 33-year old was expected to challenge Kamaljit Singh for the No.1 position in the team.
Kerr conceded 10 goals in 5 league appearances, keeping no clean sheets and was eventually usurped by Kamaljit Singh. The club ended 7th in the league and underwent major changes following the 2016 season to lift the title again in the 2017/18 season.
Since leaving Chennaiyin FC, the shot-stopper has been out of a contract.
#1 Kristof Van Hout
Ahead of the first season of the ISL, Delhi Dynamos signed the world's tallest professional footballer, Kristof Van Hout. The 33-year stands 2.07 meters above the ground, which is approximately 6 feet and 10 inches.
The Belgian keeper made the switch from Racing Genk to the ISL club on a free transfer and ended up playing all 14 matches of the inaugural season. A towering figure between the sticks, Van Hout kept 5 clean sheets as the Dynamos narrowly missed out on making it to the playoffs.
Since then, the former Delhi Dynamos goalkeeper has been representing K.V.C Westerlo in theProximus League, the second tier of the Belgium football league pyramid.