I-League: Top five current Indian players without a top flight league title

Liverpool captain and legend Steven Gerrard will always be regarded as one of the best players of his generation but the regret of not winning a league title will remain. Indian football too has some outstanding individual players who still haven’t tasted league success.

Sportskeeda lists the top five current Indian players who are yet to win a top flight league title.

Note: Both the National Football League (NFL) and I-League are being considered. The list is in no particular order

Subrata Pal

Subrata has played for four different clubs over nine years but has never really come close to the league crown. Besides a couple of third-place finishes (one each for Mohun Bagan and Pune FC), the 26-year-old has mostly had to settle for the top five or top six.

His best season individually was the 2007-08 campaign when he was adjudged the best goalkeeper but all that hard work was to save East Bengal from relegation. Subrata, who is currently contracted with IMG-Reliance for the proposed IPL-style tournament, is the last goalkeeper to score in an Indian top flight league match but he wouldn’t want to be remembered as the best custodian not to win the I-League.

Mehtab Hossain

The midfield general has won several major trophies with East Bengal in his six-year spell so far but the I-League remains elusive. After struggling to mount a title challenge with Mohun Bagan in a three-year-spell, Mehtab suffered mediocrity in the first three years of his East Bengal tenure also but the appointment of Trevor Morgan as coach in 2010 revitalised his career completely as he became one of the best central midfielders in the country.

The 27-year-old, who has finished runners-up with East Bengal twice and third last season, has been appointed club captain for the 2013-14 season and thus will be eager more than ever to get his hands on the I-League trophy.

Arata Izumi

The Japanese-born versatile midfielder became the first PIO (Person of Indian Origin) to represent the Indian national team at senior international level but is yet to win the league title despite playing seven seasons already. Arata finished fifth with East Bengal in his debut campaign in 2006-07 and didn’t come close to the summit during his two-year stay with Mahindra United also.

The 31-year-old then joined I-League newcomers Pune FC and helped them finish third in the 2009-10 season. However, his best campaign individually and collectively was 2012-13, where he was not only one of the best Indian players but also finished runners-up with the Pune club. Arata would be aiming to go one better this time.

Harmanjot Singh Khabra

Khabra is the only player in this list who has come agonisingly close to the title with two different clubs. The former Tata Football Academy (cadet) rose to prominence in the 2008-09 I-League when he was a key member of the Sporting Clube de Goa side who were the early pacesetters in the title race. The highly versatile Khabra played in various positions for the Goan club but in the end settled for third spot.

He has been at East Bengal for four years now and, like Mehtab, has won every major trophy besides the I-League. The new East Bengal vice-captain would be aiming to repeat his consistency from last season in the hope of finally breaking his I-League duck.

Syed Rahim Nabi

India’s Mr Versatile went close on three occasions with East Bengal during his seven-year spell there. Nabi joined East Bengal as a teenager in 2004, with the red-and-gold brigade aiming for a hattrick of league titles under Subhash Bhowmick. But the squad had been weakened and that proved to be decisive as they finished third.

Nabi, who is now contracted with IMG-R, then finished runners-up under Belgain coach Philippe De Ridder in 2005-06 but for the next four years couldn’t challenge for the title despite being consistent individually. The reigning AIFF player of the year finished runners-up for the second time in 2010-11 under Morgan before moving to Mohun Bagan where he spent two seasons but never challenged for the title.