ISL: Top five foreigners in 2024

These foreigners have been an asset to their teams.

In India’s top-division football league, that is the Indian Super League (ISL), a team can register only six foreigners. Of these six only four can be fielded by a team at a given time. Yet, we see the non-Indian players dominating the show. This has been observed ever since the first edition of the tournament in 2014 and has continued to be the same even in this ending 2024 year.

Non-Indian players have ruled the roost of ISL in the second half of 2023-24 and the ongoing season too. Some have been solely responsible for changing the fate of their clubs this season. Some excellent spells this year from some very very special players have guided clubs to the shield, while some helped their bottom-placed, new sides to rise up the ranks and show the nation that they deserve to be counted on.

On that note, let’s have a look at the five best foreigners in 2024 in the Indian Super League.

5. Luka Majcen

The veteran centre-forward is surely Punjab FC’s poster boy. He is leading by example this season and is one of the few players who shined in the former I-League winners camp in their debut ISL campaign too. His duet with Madih Talal was one of the prime factors for a new club in the league to finish eighth last season, above former title holders like Bengaluru FC, Jamshedpur FC, and Hyderabad FC.

The club was seen struggling to match the standards of ISL, but Majcen took the task into his hands and went on to score on a spree, especially since the start of 2024. He scored in almost every other game, even against tough sides like Kerala Blasters and FC Goa. This season he has been even more fierce, having already netted five goals and three assists in just eight appearances.

4. Dimitri Petratos

The Mohun Bagan heartthrob might be having an average season this time, but his performance has been top-notch in the second half of last season. He had goal contributions in almost every game, barring a few. For Antonio Lopez Habas he turned out to be the trump card in the Shield win.

He scored plenty of goals in the first third of the year, scoring against almost every team and if not then definitely assisting. The Australian is a fan favorite, and it’s not just because of his goals, but also because of his exceptional performance in the Kolkata derby against arch-rivals East Bengal.

Petratos was the best player in the second half of 2023-24. This time too, he is going smoothly, but fans will hope he activates his beast mode just like in February 2024. 

3. Noah Sadaoui

The new arrival for Kerala Blasters has been a rockstar for FC Goa last season too. This time too he is performing well, unlike his new club in the ISL. The Moroccan winger has scored four goals and assisted four this season. His impact can be stated from the fact that KBFC have only lost one game in which he has a goal contribution. In the rest of the games, they have either won or managed a draw.

He even scored continuous goals and provided repeated assists in the second half of ISL 2023-24 he was one of the only good performers in the FC Goa side, which started to bottle at the beginning of the year. His fast hat trick after coming off the bench against Hyderabad FC is surely in the fond memories of ISL followers.

2. Alaaeddine Ajaraie

The Moroccan centre-forward is the top goal-scorer of ISL 2024-25, and it justifies his spot so high up in this table. His killer performance and hunger for goals have awe-struck everyone this season.

He has scored in every match for the first eight games of the league. For the first five matches, he scored a goal per game and assisted in two of them. For the next three, the NorthEast United player had netted braces in all, and an assist each for a couple of them.

He came only this summer from FAR Rabat and took no time to adjust to the Indian conditions. The world-class finishing, good pace, excellent judgment, and most importantly the consistency he hails state clearly that he will rule Indian football if he stays here for long.

1. Armando Sadiku

Sadiku changed sides from Mohun Bagan to FC Goa this summer, and he’s been phenomenal for both sides, all year long. This season with FC Goa he has 10 goal contributions (eight goals and two assists) in 11 games. The striker has been a nightmare for all the backlines out there.

He was on a scoring spree for the first eight games, scoring in all, except the third which he missed. He even had a brace against Durand Cup 2024 winners NorthEast United, helping the team draw a 3-3 thriller. His team has found form lately, but he has been at the helm since the season started.

Last season Mohun Bagan was found scoring again and again. Some of his iconic stints which helped the Mariners clinch the shield for the first time were a derby goal, and a brace against Kerala Blasters, helping the side win games. Sadiku was an ace in Mohun Bagan’s domestic triumphs last season, this time he is the same for FC Goa, who are currently ranked third.

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