Top five players with most goals for a single team in ISL
These forwards have cemented their status as all-time greats at their respective teams.
Football is a game of eleven players. Each player has a different role to perform on the pitch. When each role is performed to perfection, a positive result is attained.
Goalkeeping, defence, midfield and attack are what make a football team function well. Clean sheets, ground duels, number of passes, are all important metrics in football. The teams that dominate these metrics dominate the match, however, the thing that matters the most on the pitch is scoring goals.
Regardless of how dominant a team is, if the goals do not come, all of the good work turns to nothing, however a team that prioritises scoring over anything else, and scores goals regardless of the way they play, that goal turns every mistake, missed pass into something that can be forgotten.
Goals are the most important element in football. Over the years, the Indian Super League (ISL) has brought to the forefront many strikers of high quality. These strikers brought with them thunderous goals and high-quality playing styles that propelled their teams to high positions in the league.
On that note, let's take a look at the top five players with the most goals scored for a single club In India.
1. Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC): 50 goals
The 39-year-old occupies the top spot in the list with 50 goals for Bengaluru FC. He has consistently been one of the top-performing players for the Bengaluru FC team. He has been with the club since its inception in 2013 and has been the heartbeat of the team since. He scored for the team for the first time in ISL in the 2019-20 season when he scored 9 goals in 17 appearances. He was in the race for the Golden Boot and is the highest scoring Indian in the league's history. He has also scored in eight out of the nine ISL seasons and in all the seasons he has been part of Bengaluru FC in the ISL.
2. Coro (FC Goa): 48 goals
The Spaniard scored 48 goals for FC Goa in three seasons with the club. The Spaniard joined FC Goa in the 2017-18 season and won the Golden Boot at the end of the season, scoring a league-high 18 goals in 20 appearances for the club. The following season, he scored 16 goals in 20 appearances and won the Golden Boot again. He played one more season for the club, scoring 14 goals in 17 appearances and left the following season. He was able to score goals from almost every angle on the pitch and he scored headed goals too. His consistent performances helped FC Goa win the League Winners' Shield in 2019-20.
3. Bartholomew Ogbeche (Hyderabad FC): 28 goals
The Nigerian striker scored 28 goals for Hyderabad FC in two seasons with the club. He joined Hyderabad FC ahead of the 2021-22 ISL season and scored 18 goals in 20 appearances for the team. He won the Golden Boot that season. The following season he scored 10 goals in 21 appearances. His special trait was his unpredictable nature of goals. He could score from anywhere inside the box even when he wasn't playing at his best as he had the ability to come alive any moment.
He was already an established player in the league before he joined Hyderabad FC. He scored 12 goals in 18 appearances in his first season in the ISL with Northeast United FC. He joined Kerala Blasters FC the following season and scored 15 goals in 16 appearances. He had a slightly underwhelming season in 2020 as he managed to score 8 goals in 23 appearances for the club but he returned back to form for Hyderabad FC the following season.
He played a key role as the Yellow and Blacks won the ISL Cup in 2021-22.
4. Diego Mauricio (Odisha FC): 25 goals
The Brazilian scored 25 goals for Odisha FC in two seasons with the club across two different spells. He joined the club during the 2020-21 season and quickly became one of the fan favourites. He scored 12 goals in 20 appearances for the club and finished third in the Golden Boot race. His physical prowess was his major strength which was further helped by his elite technical quality. He was the shining star in an otherwise underperforming Odisha FC side that season. He left the club the following season and returned in the 2022-23 season. He won the Golden Boot that season with 12 goals in 21 appearances that season and cemented his status as one of the top strikers in the league.
5. Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC): 23 goals
The Mizo striker scored 23 goals for Chennaiyin FC in five seasons with the club. He joined the club initially on a loan deal in the 2014 season in which he scored four goals in 13 games. The deal was later made permanent from 2015 onwards and that season, he scored 6six goals in 11 appearances for the club and won the ISL Cup with the team. In the 2017-18 season when he won his second ISL Cup title with Chennaiyin FC, he scored nine goals in 20 appearances for the club. He was one of the top-performing strikers in the league with consistent performances every season. His pace and directness were a major problem for opposition defences during his term with the club.