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Best Of 2000-2009: Top Ten Foreigners In India
As we approach another new decade, Goal.com India is looking back at the best of the last ten years. We start off by listing the ten best foreign players in India between 2000 and 2009.
28-Dec-2009 4:52:11 PM
The players are not in any particular order
Cristiano Junior
We will never know how big a player Cristiano Junior could have been if he had not died tragically in Dempo’s 2-0 win over Mohun Bagan in the 2004 Federation Cup final. At that time, he was the highest paid player in India and was considered to be the most lethal foreign striker.
The season before, he first came to India and signed for East Bengal. The late Brazilian formed a very good partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia and helped the Kolkata giants win the league and reach the quarterfinals of the AFC Cup. He had a phenomenal goal per game ratio and despite playing just over a year in India, he is considered to be one of the greatest foreign players ever to grace the country. Dempo have even retired their number 10 jersey in his honour.
Douglas Da Silva
The Brazilian is one of the few foreigners, who has played for all the big three clubs of Kolkata. He was considered to be a very versatile player, having played in defence, midfield and even in attack. Douglas was an integral part of Subhash Bhowmick’ s East Bengal side that won two league titles and the Asean Cup in the early parts of the noughties. He excelled in the central midfield position for the red and gold brigade, from where he both created and also scored crucial goals.
Douglas later had a spell in Mohammedan Sporting also, where he followed mentor Subhash Bhowmick but it wasn’t a successful stint. The Brazilian then joined Mohun Bagan in 2006 and won the Federation Cup and the Kolkata League with them.
Suley Musah
Suley Musah was arguably the best foreign defender in the last decade. Most of his successes came in the first part of the noughties in East Bengal colours. He won eleven major trophies with the red and gold brigade including three league titles. Musah was the captain of East Bengal when they won the ASEAN Cup in 2003, thus becoming the first Indian club to win a major international competition.
The Ghanaian was known for his physical strength and good heading ability and was very popular among the East Bengal fans. After spending seven successful years with EB, he opted to sign for Mohammedan and later also had a spell at Air India. But none of those stints were successful and then in 2008 he rejoined East Bengal. By then Musah had reached the wrong side of thirty and therefore couldn’t reproduce the form that made him so famous in the early parts of the decade. Yet, he deserves to be remembered as one of the all time best foreigners of Indian football.
Mike Okoro
The Nigerian striker came into recognition during his successful stint at East Bengal. He was part of the 2003 Asean Cup winning side and even scored in the final of that tournament. Okoro was a clinical finisher but also had a few individual tricks that would entertain the football crazy crowd of Kolkata. He also won two league titles and was very consistent with his goal scoring.
In the second half of the decade, Okoro played for Mohammedan and helped them return to the top flight after a long time. He skippered the black and whites last season and played a vital role in their first real Kolkata League title challenge in 27 years. Okoro might not have won too many major trophies during his time in India but his match winning abilities do make him of the one of the best outstation players of the noughties.
Macpherlin Dudu Omagbemi
Dudu first came to India as a 16 year old when he joined Dempo and helped the Goan club gain promotion to the National League in 2002. After spending few months at Salgaocar he signed for Sporting Clube de Goa and went on to have five very successful years there. First he helped the Flaming Oranje get promoted to the top flight after winning the second division in 2003. Then in the 04/05 he guided them to a runner up finish in the league and was topscorer with 21 goals.
In total he scored 61 goals in National Football League history but was unfortunate not to win any major trophy as Sporting lost two consecutive Federation Cup finals in 2005 and 2006. Currently he is playing for Hungarian outfit Debrecen, who were in the group stages of this season’s Champions League. The Nigerian may never return to play for an Indian club but will always be considered a legend in Sporting’s history.
Roberto Mendes Silva (Beto)
Beto first played in India for Mohun Bagan but he couldn’t become a popular figure there despite putting in some fine performances. He joined Dempo in 2005 and since then he hasn’t looked back. At Bagan, the Brazilian was mostly used as a striker but Dempo coach Armando Colaco employed him in midfield, a change which worked wonders both for him and Dempo. The man from the Samba land has the ability to both create and score goals and sometimes few of his touches on the pitch reminds all that he is in a class of his own.
He has been a vital part of the Dempo side that has dominated Indian football in the second half of the noughties. Beto is indispensable to Armando Colaco’s team, which has been proved again very recently as in his absence due to injury, Dempo crashed out of the Federation Cup group stage. Beto has it in him to make a career outside India but he loves Indian football and earlier this year, he formed the Brasilia academy in Goa along with compatriot Barreto.
Jose Ramirez Barreto
The Brazilian maestro joined Mohun Bagan in 1999 and has went onto become a legend both at his club and Indian football in general. In his first spell with the Mariners he won seven major trophies including two National League titles. He left Bagan in 2004 after being unhappy with a few club officials and played one and a half seasons for Malaysian club Penang.
Barreto returned to India and signed for Mahindra United in 2005 and helped the Mumbai outfit win the National League and Federation Cup in the same season. He rejoined his beloved Mohun Bagan in 2006 and has been successful in his second spell also, having won six trophies so far. At 33, his best years might be past him, but Barreto is still considered to be one of the best foreigners in the country and enjoys God like status at Mohun Bagan.
Yusif Yakubu
The Ghanaian striker is the highest scorer in the combined history of the National League and I-League. In his first two seasons in India he finished top scorer in the National League, while playing for Churchill Brothers. He scored an impressive 65 league goals in four seasons for the Goan club but failed to win any major trophy.
Yakubu joined Mahindra United in 2005 and spent three seasons there, winning the league and Federation Cup double in the 05/06 season and also two IFA Shield titles. Last season he finished East Bengal’s topscorer in his first season at the Kolkata club and this term he has already made a good start. After eight successful years in India, Yakubu still remains one of the best foreign players even at the age of 31.
Ranti Martins
The Nigerian is currently in his sixth season at Dempo and during his tenure, he has established himself as one of the most feared strikers in the country. He has a superb goal scoring record and has also finished topscorer once in the 05/06 season. Ranti has so far won nine major trophies with Goan giants including three league titles.
The forward has also managed to score crucial goals for Dempo at continental level and played a key role last season in the Goan’s club dream run to the AFC Cup semi finals. Ranti intends to play in Europe but his performances for Dempo will ensure his place among foreign greats in Indian football history.
Odafa Onyeka Okolie
One would run of out adjectives to describe current Churchill Brothers skipper Odafa Onyeka Okolie. The Nigerian striker has scored over 100 goals in just over four seasons in Indian football and has gone on to break several individual goal scoring records.
Surprisingly back in 2003, Mohammedan Sporting discarded him. He had a stint in Bangladesh before returning to India in 2005, when he signed for Churchill and four years on, he has established himself as the best player in the country. The Nigerian is currently the highest paid player in India and has won every major trophy except the Federation Cup. Worryingly for defenders Odafa is only 24, so the best is yet to come from him.
Goal.com India
Who were your top ten foreigners of the last decade? Let us know your thoughts.
Cristiano Junior
We will never know how big a player Cristiano Junior could have been if he had not died tragically in Dempo’s 2-0 win over Mohun Bagan in the 2004 Federation Cup final. At that time, he was the highest paid player in India and was considered to be the most lethal foreign striker.
The season before, he first came to India and signed for East Bengal. The late Brazilian formed a very good partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia and helped the Kolkata giants win the league and reach the quarterfinals of the AFC Cup. He had a phenomenal goal per game ratio and despite playing just over a year in India, he is considered to be one of the greatest foreign players ever to grace the country. Dempo have even retired their number 10 jersey in his honour.
Douglas Da Silva
The Brazilian is one of the few foreigners, who has played for all the big three clubs of Kolkata. He was considered to be a very versatile player, having played in defence, midfield and even in attack. Douglas was an integral part of Subhash Bhowmick’ s East Bengal side that won two league titles and the Asean Cup in the early parts of the noughties. He excelled in the central midfield position for the red and gold brigade, from where he both created and also scored crucial goals.
Douglas later had a spell in Mohammedan Sporting also, where he followed mentor Subhash Bhowmick but it wasn’t a successful stint. The Brazilian then joined Mohun Bagan in 2006 and won the Federation Cup and the Kolkata League with them.
Suley Musah
Suley Musah was arguably the best foreign defender in the last decade. Most of his successes came in the first part of the noughties in East Bengal colours. He won eleven major trophies with the red and gold brigade including three league titles. Musah was the captain of East Bengal when they won the ASEAN Cup in 2003, thus becoming the first Indian club to win a major international competition.
The Ghanaian was known for his physical strength and good heading ability and was very popular among the East Bengal fans. After spending seven successful years with EB, he opted to sign for Mohammedan and later also had a spell at Air India. But none of those stints were successful and then in 2008 he rejoined East Bengal. By then Musah had reached the wrong side of thirty and therefore couldn’t reproduce the form that made him so famous in the early parts of the decade. Yet, he deserves to be remembered as one of the all time best foreigners of Indian football.
Mike Okoro
The Nigerian striker came into recognition during his successful stint at East Bengal. He was part of the 2003 Asean Cup winning side and even scored in the final of that tournament. Okoro was a clinical finisher but also had a few individual tricks that would entertain the football crazy crowd of Kolkata. He also won two league titles and was very consistent with his goal scoring.
In the second half of the decade, Okoro played for Mohammedan and helped them return to the top flight after a long time. He skippered the black and whites last season and played a vital role in their first real Kolkata League title challenge in 27 years. Okoro might not have won too many major trophies during his time in India but his match winning abilities do make him of the one of the best outstation players of the noughties.
Macpherlin Dudu Omagbemi
Dudu first came to India as a 16 year old when he joined Dempo and helped the Goan club gain promotion to the National League in 2002. After spending few months at Salgaocar he signed for Sporting Clube de Goa and went on to have five very successful years there. First he helped the Flaming Oranje get promoted to the top flight after winning the second division in 2003. Then in the 04/05 he guided them to a runner up finish in the league and was topscorer with 21 goals.
In total he scored 61 goals in National Football League history but was unfortunate not to win any major trophy as Sporting lost two consecutive Federation Cup finals in 2005 and 2006. Currently he is playing for Hungarian outfit Debrecen, who were in the group stages of this season’s Champions League. The Nigerian may never return to play for an Indian club but will always be considered a legend in Sporting’s history.
Roberto Mendes Silva (Beto)
Beto first played in India for Mohun Bagan but he couldn’t become a popular figure there despite putting in some fine performances. He joined Dempo in 2005 and since then he hasn’t looked back. At Bagan, the Brazilian was mostly used as a striker but Dempo coach Armando Colaco employed him in midfield, a change which worked wonders both for him and Dempo. The man from the Samba land has the ability to both create and score goals and sometimes few of his touches on the pitch reminds all that he is in a class of his own.
He has been a vital part of the Dempo side that has dominated Indian football in the second half of the noughties. Beto is indispensable to Armando Colaco’s team, which has been proved again very recently as in his absence due to injury, Dempo crashed out of the Federation Cup group stage. Beto has it in him to make a career outside India but he loves Indian football and earlier this year, he formed the Brasilia academy in Goa along with compatriot Barreto.
Jose Ramirez Barreto
The Brazilian maestro joined Mohun Bagan in 1999 and has went onto become a legend both at his club and Indian football in general. In his first spell with the Mariners he won seven major trophies including two National League titles. He left Bagan in 2004 after being unhappy with a few club officials and played one and a half seasons for Malaysian club Penang.
Barreto returned to India and signed for Mahindra United in 2005 and helped the Mumbai outfit win the National League and Federation Cup in the same season. He rejoined his beloved Mohun Bagan in 2006 and has been successful in his second spell also, having won six trophies so far. At 33, his best years might be past him, but Barreto is still considered to be one of the best foreigners in the country and enjoys God like status at Mohun Bagan.
Yusif Yakubu
The Ghanaian striker is the highest scorer in the combined history of the National League and I-League. In his first two seasons in India he finished top scorer in the National League, while playing for Churchill Brothers. He scored an impressive 65 league goals in four seasons for the Goan club but failed to win any major trophy.
Yakubu joined Mahindra United in 2005 and spent three seasons there, winning the league and Federation Cup double in the 05/06 season and also two IFA Shield titles. Last season he finished East Bengal’s topscorer in his first season at the Kolkata club and this term he has already made a good start. After eight successful years in India, Yakubu still remains one of the best foreign players even at the age of 31.
Ranti Martins
The Nigerian is currently in his sixth season at Dempo and during his tenure, he has established himself as one of the most feared strikers in the country. He has a superb goal scoring record and has also finished topscorer once in the 05/06 season. Ranti has so far won nine major trophies with Goan giants including three league titles.
The forward has also managed to score crucial goals for Dempo at continental level and played a key role last season in the Goan’s club dream run to the AFC Cup semi finals. Ranti intends to play in Europe but his performances for Dempo will ensure his place among foreign greats in Indian football history.
Odafa Onyeka Okolie
One would run of out adjectives to describe current Churchill Brothers skipper Odafa Onyeka Okolie. The Nigerian striker has scored over 100 goals in just over four seasons in Indian football and has gone on to break several individual goal scoring records.
Surprisingly back in 2003, Mohammedan Sporting discarded him. He had a stint in Bangladesh before returning to India in 2005, when he signed for Churchill and four years on, he has established himself as the best player in the country. The Nigerian is currently the highest paid player in India and has won every major trophy except the Federation Cup. Worryingly for defenders Odafa is only 24, so the best is yet to come from him.
Goal.com India
Who were your top ten foreigners of the last decade? Let us know your thoughts.
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