#3 Rino Anto
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Curiously, the Kerala Blasters did not seem to have faith in him to play him in either of the full-back positions. Either Josu or Pratik Chowdhury was preferred to Anto, but the year that he had, was spectacular, especially for Bengaluru FC.
He was a tireless worker on whichever flank he played for Bengaluru throughout the season. It was a stunning 2016 for the champions of India as they followed up winning the I-League with a stunning run to the final of the AFC Cup.
Injury to Keegan Pereira meant than Rino had to be played at left-back for a large part of the AFC Cup knockout rounds, but he was equally comfortable on the left as he was on the right. His energy meant that the likes of Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Alvaro Rubio always had an option to pass to on the flanks.
His teams lost two finals this year – Bengaluru in the AFC Cup and Kerala in the ISL. But on a personal level, Anto could not have had a much better year.
