Iain Hume, a legend of the Indian Super League (ISL), described his time playing in Kerala and Kolkata as an incredible experience, highlighting the unique atmosphere he encountered during his time in India.

Having spent the final stages of his professional career in the league, the Canadian international played for Kerala Blasters FC, Atletico de Kolkata, and FC Pune City, where he made 69 appearances and scored 29 goals.

Hume was part of the league in 2014, in the very inaugural season, making his debut with Kerala Blasters FC. In his first season, the forward featured in 13 games in which he notched four goals and two assists.

Reminiscing his memories of playing in the ISL, especially in the opening seasons, the forward said in an exclusive interview season with Footy Prime, “In the first couple of years, there was a very carnival atmosphere. So, every game was a spectacle. We had the 10-second countdown on the big screen going into the game, fireworks on every goal, big flares when you’re walking out. I felt like stone cold coming out.”

In a cricket-loving country where the sport is deeply ingrained in the culture and identity of its people, Indians have shown unwavering support and unconditional love for football. Having closely experienced the passion of football fans, particularly along the coasts of Kerala and in Kolkata, two cities where this passion is passed down through generations, Hume ranked football second in the hierarchy of Indian sports.

“Second (on where football ranks in the hierarchy of Indian sports)," he said.

"You go to the East Coast (of India), to Kolkata, where I played for two seasons. I think it’s the second-oldest derby in world football. So, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC are on either side of Kolkata. And I think it’s second to one of the Brazilian rivalries. It’s insane,” he shared.

“They’ve had games where there were seventy-eighty thousand seated stadiums with 160000 or 170000 people inside them,” he further added.

“Kerala people were crazy in love with their club; Kolkata was a more historical one”

 

Hume has left behind a rich legacy in the league with his phenomenal goals and helping the teams that he played for achieve success. The Canadian enjoyed his best season numbers with Atletico de Kolkata in 2015, where he netted 10 goals and provided four assists. Moreover, Hume clinched the ISL Cup with the Kolkata-based side in 2016.

After plying his trade with Atletico de Kolkata and Kerala Blasters FC, Hume also played for another ISL club, FC Pune City, which was notably his last professional football club.

Sharing his experience of playing in the ISL, Hume said, “FC Pune City wasn't a great supported club, but it was a very good club. It was a smaller town, a tech city, and people would come out. We got six-seven thousand people every game. But playing in Kerala and Kolkata is crazy.”

“They are just football nuts. They love cricket, and I'm not going to take that away, but they are football nuts. Kerala was more over the top with it, like they (people) were crazy in love with their club and they still are. Kolkata was a more historical one. They formed Atletico de Kolkata, which was the sister club of Atletico Madrid. We would do our preseason in Spain. We did that for a month and then went back to India. I did that for two years,” he continued.

Kolkata still holds a special place in Hume’s heart. He also experienced a successful stint with the city, where they won the ISL Cup with Atletico de Kolkata and had been one of the strongest contenders in the league during that time.

“They just love the game; it’s just phenomenal,” he said.

“It was a sea of yellow everywhere”

 

Hume played for the Blasters in his debut ISL season, where they reached the final but missed out on the ISL Cup. The Yellow Army had a formidable squad with Jamie McAllister, Stephen Pearson, David James, Nirmal Chettri, Mehtab Hossain, Sandesh Jhingan, and others, which led the team to reach the Cup final in the very first season. 

"We ended up making it to the finals. We had a great group of guys. We bought into what was going on and, like, we fought tooth and nail for each other. That was the difference. A bunch of teams had egos around the league; we didn’t. We had a bunch of very good, experienced Indian players and gritty foreigners," Hume shared while speaking on their journey to the final in the inaugural ISL season.

"We didn’t have the flair from Spain; we didn’t have Brazilians or anything like that. We just had a bunch of gritty gritty players, and we made it to the final," he further said.

The Blasters faced Chennaiyin FC in the semi-final, whom they beat in both legs. The David James-led team registered a convincing 3-0 victory against the Marina Machans in the opening leg in Kochi.

Sharing insights of playing in front of thousands of energetic and passionate Kerala Blasters FC supporters, an excited Hume remarked,

"There was a semi-final at home and away (format). We had our first semi-final at home, and our stadium only held like 69-70 thousand. They said there were at least 85-90 thousand. I swear, they were in the rafters, above by the lights on the roof of the stadium. We’re like Dortmund, so we’re in yellow. It was a sea of yellow everywhere. It was absolutely nuts."

"We scored within the first 8-10 minutes of the game, and the place erupted. We’re like, This is insane, like we could not hear anybody. Then we scored again, and we ended the game winning 3-0. And the place was absolutely bonkers," he explained. "They (the supporters) showed how much they love football and how much they love our team," he expressed.

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