DAVID JAMES
Probably the most well known person among those mentioned in the list as far as Indian football fans are concerned, David James’s time in India couldn’t be described in a few words. He was brought in by the Kerala Blasters as their marquee player cum coach for the very first season of the ISL. He made a total of 12 appearances for them during the course of the season and was instrumental in guiding the team to the final of the showpiece event.
He played a total of 958 games in his career, majority of which came in the Premier League, playing for clubs like Aston Villa, West Ham United, Manchester City and Liverpool.
As good a player as James was, the same cannot be said for his coaching. After his retirement from the game, he took up the responsibility of managing Kerala Blasters from Rene Meulensteen, but failed miserably. After going through a winless run of 11 matches, he was sacked by the Kerala management. Since then, he is without a club.
James’s time in India can be compared to that of a goalkeeper, which he himself was. One can make numerous saves in a match but people will only remember the ones you missed. And as is the case with James, people tend to forget his contributions as a player for Kerala Blasters and judge him on the basis of his coaching career. But that’s how the world works, David.