Before starting the ISL 2021-22 season. The previous editions of ISL have seen some spectacular players from foreign countries. These players have lived up to their reputation for their goal-scoring abilities and technical skills.
So let us check out the ISL Golden Boot winners of the last 7 seasons:
#1. Igor Angulo (Mumbai City FC)
Matches- 21
Goals- 14
Golden Boot Winner of 2021 Season.
Igor Angulo began his career with Athletic Bilbao in Spain and also played in countries like France, Cyprus, Greece, and Poland. He had a successful 4 seasons at Górnik Zabrze in Poland. Angulo was among the top-2 goalscorers. He helped them gain promotion to the top division in his very first season at the club and they kept improving. Playing for Górnik Zabrze he scored 88 goals in 154 matches. He joined FC Goa ahead of the 2020-21 season and got attention with his goal-scoring abilities. He scored 14 goals to bag the Golden Boot award. After a successful debut season with FC Goa, he joined 2020-21 ISL champions Mumbai City FC in July.
#2. Nerijus Valskis (Jamshedpur FC)
Matches- 20
Goals- 15
Golden Boot Winner of 2019-20 Season.
Nerijus Valskis started his career in Lithuania and spent a lot of years at the top level of Lithuanian football, winning several trophies. Valskis scored 27 goals in the A Lyga in the 2012-13 season in Lithuania's top division while playing for FK Suduva. He has also traveled around a lot of countries like Belarus, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Thailand, and Israel. Valskis played for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Ligat ha'Al, Israeli top division. He made his ISL debut during the 2019-20 season with Chennaiyin FC and went on to score 15 goals and bag six assists in 20 matches. Valskis was also awarded the Golden Boot award. He joined Jamshedpur FC ahead of Hero ISL 2020-21 but failed to replicate his form from the previous season.
#3. Ferran Corominas (FC Goa)
Golden Boot Winner of 2018-19 Season.
Matches- 20
Goals- 16
Golden Boot Winner of 2017-18 Season.
Matches- 20
Goals- 18
Ferran Corominas signed for FC Goa ahead of the 2017-18 season and has been a sensational player for both Club and the ISL. With 34 goals in 40 matches, the striker won the Golden Boot in both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons respectively. As of before the start of the 2019-20 season, Corominas is the highest goal scorer in ISL history. The Spaniard, who has over 200 La Liga appearances, was also the team's top scorer with 5 goals during FC Goa's Super Cup 2019 victory. Ferran Corominas is all set to return with Goa for the 2019-20 season in search of the ISL title.
#4. Marcelo Pereira (ATK Mohun Bagan)
Matches- 15
Goals- 10
Golden Boot Winner of 2016 Season.
Also known as Marcelinho, the Brazilian forward can play on either wing as an attacking midfielder. With Delhi Dynamos FC, he was the top scorer of ISL 2016 and had the most goals under his name. The 2017-18 season was no different as Marcelinho became the top goal scorer for FC Pune City and seven assists as the season's best during their run to the semis. The Brazilian was a key player for Hyderabad FC in 2019-20 before joining Odisha FC for the 2020-21 season. After nine appearances for Odisha FC in Hero ISL 2020-21, he joined ATK Mohun Bagan on loan during the January transfer window.
#5. John Stiven Mendoza Valencia (Chennaiyin FC)
Matches- 16
Goals- 13
Golden Boot Winner of 2015 Season.
is a Colombian forward. He is primarily a left-winger, but can also play on the right side or in the center. He made his way through the ranks of local clubs Deportivo Cali, Envigado FC, América de Cali, and Cúcuta Deportivo and was part of the Colombian squad which finished fourth in the 2009 Under-17 FIFA World Cup. Mendoza joined Chennaiyin FC in the 2014 ISL season, where he scored 4 goals in 9 matches. But in the following season in ISL 2015, Mendoza won the Golden Boot with 13 goals in 16 matches.
#6. Elano Blumer (Chennaiyin FC)
Matches- 11
Goals- 8
Golden Boot Winner of 2014 season.
Elano Blumer played as a goal-scoring attacking midfielder at Santos, where he played alongside Robinho, Diego, and Alex. He helped the club to the Brazilian Serie A title before switching to Shakhtar Donetsk. He won back-to-back league titles with Shakhtar before Manchester City signed him up. Elano has 14 goals and 11 assists in 62 Premier League appearances for the Cityzens. Elano represented Brazil in 50 matches, with nine goals in his name. He was part of the squads that won Copa America 2007 and FIFA Confederations Cup 2009. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he scored twice in two appearances for Brazil. The Brazilian midfielder lived up to his reputation and was the top scorer in ISL 2014 with 8 goals including some spectacular ones.