Luis Garcia, who captained ATK FC to the inaugural Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) trophy in 2014, believes that a marquee player in any team helps the younger players develop into future stars. During an interactive session with La Liga, the Spanish forward spoke about the importance of a marquee player for a club and the Hero ISL as a whole.

“It’s always very important to have a marquee player. The figure of a marquee player was part player, part mentor. For the young generation of Indian players, it’s very important to have someone like that,” the former ATK FC forward shared.

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“Marquee players can bring something different. They have knowledge of a (big) dressing room in Europe and other markets. Having a marquee would mean something to look at for young players. The decision is for the clubs, but for me to begin with, it was fantastic (to be ATK’s marquee player in the inaugural Hero ISL season in 2014),” Garcia added.

Many star players such as Asamoah Gyan and Tim Cahill have also graced the Hero ISL over the last couple of seasons and Garcia explained why he believes that more big names will be coming to India in the future.

“From three months at the start, the competition is now six (months long). It’s about continuing to grow. ISL needs to have a few more years, a few more teams involved and in the end it’s about growing. The league has been doing well in the past few years. I am expecting them to have big names in the future,” Garcia said.