© ISLNorthEast United Football Club have signed 2010 World Cup and 2008 European championship winner, Spanish defender Joan Capdevila, as their marquee player for the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL). Capdevila, who marshalled the left-back position for La Roja, has played over 400 games and scored 36 goals in the Spanish La Liga for big guns like Espanyol, Atlético Madrid, Deportivo de La Coruña and Villarreal. The left back, who last season played for Espanyol, expressed his delight on signing for NorthEast United:“At this stage, after winning everything to be won, a new challenge was needed. After speaking to John Abraham about the way he is passionately looking to promote football in India and the project of NorthEast United FC, it excited me to take up this challenge.“India is a huge country and it should be a privilege for me to be a small part in popularising this global game here and working with the young talented footballers of North-East India.”NorthEast United co-owner John Abraham exuded excitement about the signing. “We at NorthEast United are very excited that Capdevila is a marquee player for our team. We are confident that his achievements in the game and his presence in our team will motivate our younger Indian players and his inputs would help us build a strong team for our future. Speaking with him when he was in Brazil I got a sense of his passion for the game and his excitement about joining our team was motivational and unparalleled. We look forward to his arrival in India,” he said.Post by ISL- Indian Super League.Shillong Lajong managing director and NorthEast United co-owner, Larsing M Sawyan, felt that this was the best thing to happen to NorthEast United. “A player of Capdevila’s calibre will definitely add impetus to our ambitions in the upcoming ISL. Football fans from the North-East are already familiar with him and we believe the excitement over the ISL in North-East has already reached a high level. We welcome Capdevila to NorthEast United and hope he can help us bring success both on and off the field,” he stated.