ISL 2016: Top 5 contenders for the Hero of the League award

#2 Cedric Hengbart

Armed with a never-say-die attitude on the pitch, Hengbart has emerged as a consummate team player and fan favourite during his three seasons in the league.

The player plied his trade for Kerala Blasters in the first season, switched to NorthEast United for the second season and returned to his former club for the third season.

The Blasters had reached the finals in the first season, but plummeted to the bottom of the table in the second season, conceding 27 goals. Nothing went right for them last season, and thus, they entrusted the job of reorganizing their defence to their star defender from season one, Cedric Hengbart.

The Frenchman did not disappoint his coach, Steve Coppell, bringing some much-needed calmness and composure to his side’s flailing defence.

With Aaron Hughes and Sandesh Jhingan beside him in defence, they have conceded just 15 goals this season, 12 less than what they did in 2015.

Hengbart has made 30 tackles, some of them being goal-saving ones. Apart from those impressive numbers, the powerful defender has also won 31 aerial duels and has made 25 interceptions.

The Frenchman has made 39 appearances in the ISL and his team can count on his experience to take them all the way. The defender had registered 101 clearances and 49 tackles in 2014 with the Kerala Blasters, an unbroken record till date.