Prominent ISL stars from Season 2: Where are they now?

Some of these stars went on to ply their trade in the top divisions of European football after their time in India.

The inaugural season of the Indian Super League (ISL) was a roaring success, as several superstars of yesteryear took part and thereby attracted huge crowds. The likes of Robert Pires, Alessandro Del Piero and Luis Garcia among others turned out for their respective franchises and gave the wide-eyed audience a glimpse of their waning brilliance.  

Similarly, in the second camppaign, a new set of high-profile individuals arrived on Indian football shores to provide an account of their ingenuity, whilst simultaneously helping the local players in their own development by sharing their experience with them.

So, let’s look a look back at their time in India and further learn about their endeavours after leaving the ISL.

Roberto Carlos

One of the best left-backs of all-time and renowned for his powerful forward surges and extraordinary free-kick prowess, Roberto Carlos graced the Indian Super League with his presence, as he replaced Alessandro Del Piero as the marquee signing at Delhi in the second season. The legendary Brazilian left-back acted as player-coach for the Delhi Dynamos. He guided them to the semi-finals, only to be knocked out by Zico's FC Goa.

The former World Cup winner decided against extending his contract and spent only a solitary season in India. Since his stint with Delhi, Carlos has been involved in a couple of interesting projects. In 2018,  he was announced as the ambassador of Morocco’s candidature to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Last year, he played for the World XI team led by Usain Bolt, against the England XI in the Soccer Aid match at Stamford Bridge, a game they ended up winning on penalties.

Helder Postiga

The Portuguese striker was roped in by Atletico de Kolkata to replace Luis Garcia as their marquee player ahead of the 2015 season. Helder Postiga made an instant impression on the fans by scoring a brace against Chennaiyin FC on his debut, but unfortunately picked up a hamstring injury and played no further part in that campaign. Following a short stint with Portuguese outfit Rio Ave, where he scored five goals in 10 games, he returned to Kolkata for the 2016 season.

In the following campaign, he made 11 appearances registering two goals and providing three assists, as he led the side to their second title triumph before pulling the curtains down on his career. Since then, Postiga has kept a low profile.

Carlos Marchena

Two-time La Liga winner and World Cup champion, Carlos Marchena was asked to fill the shoes of David James at Kerala Blasters for ISL 2. However, the Spaniard made only a solitary appearance with the Blasters enduring a horrid season. They finished at the bottom with a mere 13 points.

He returned back to his homeland and trained briefly with CD Gerena before announcing his retirement in January 2016. Following his retirement, he stepped into management and became the assistant manager at Sevilla FC 'C,' before taking on the role of No. 2 on Fernando Hierro’s coaching staff at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.  

Nicolas Anelka

Two-time Premier League winner Nicolas Anelka joined Mumbai City FC as a player-coach in the second edition of the ISL. He had also played seven matches for Mumbai in the inaugural season scoring two goals, but had ultimately missed out on a playoffs spot. The following campaign too wasn’t very fruitful, as the Islanders finished sixth and couldn’t make it to the semis for the second straight season.

Since then, he became a consultant at Dutch club Roda JC and joined French outfit LOSC Lille as a youth coach in their academy. However, some reports suggest that he has left the role a while ago, but there has been no official announcement of the same.

Adrian Mutu

Adrian Mutu donned the jersey of some of Europe’s top clubs in Inter Milan and Chelsea. The Romanian joined FC Pune City in 2015 as their marquee player, replacing David Trezeguet.

Mutu played 10 games for Pune and found the back of the net on four occasions. After leaving the Stallions, he joined Targu Mures for a brief period before calling time on his playing career. In 2018, he began his managerial career by taking charge of Romanian club Voluntari and currently manages the Romania U-21 team.

Simao Sabrosa

NorthEast United brought in Simao Sabrosa as a marquee player in 2015. The Portuguese winger had played for the likes of FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid previously in his career, winning the Europa League with the latter. He replaced Joan Capdevila as the Highlanders’ marquee player for the second season.

Simao made 10 appearances and notched three goals for the franchise. After his time at NorthEast, he started working as a pundit and interviewer for Portuguese channel Sport TV HD in 2016. A year later, he took up the role of head of international relations at former club Benfica.

Lucio

Three-time Bundesliga winner Lucio turned out for Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus among several other clubs in his playing career. FC Goa signed him as their marquee player before the 2015 season of the ISL. He spent two seasons there and made 19 appearances for the club, as they finished runners-up in his debut term in India.

After the highs of reaching the final he endured a disastrous second campaign, as Goa shockingly finished rock-bottom on the table in 2016. Following that disappointment, he moved back to Brazil to play for Gama before leaving them for rivals Brasiliense in 2018. Earlier this year, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Florent Malouda

Florent Malouda was signed by Delhi Dynamos in the second edition of the ISL and was a vital player for them in his two-year stay at the franchise. His incredible displays powered Delhi to the semis in both seasons. He bagged three goals and recorded another 13 assists across 32 appearances, highlighting his immense attacking contributions.

Following his successful spell at Delhi, he played for FC Differdange 03, a club in Luxembourg. Despite injury issues restricting his time on the field, he managed to notch three assists in five games. Later, he undertook coaching duties at Swiss side FC Zurich, but couldn’t gain much success as he was fired in less than two months.