ISL has become a hot topic

After Alan Pardew picked him up for Reading FC in February 2001, Nicky Shorey became a familiar name in English football.

A confident set-piece taker and left-back, comfortable in both attack and defence, Shorey went on to play for several top clubs including Aston Villa, West Bromowich Albion and Fulham and the England national team during Euro 2008 qualifiers. At 34, after playing for nine English clubs, Shorey has signed for FC Pune City – a move which ensures his departure from England after a 16-year career.

According to Shorey, the ISL has become a hot topic in football discussions of Europe. “The ISL can prove to be a boon for Indian football at the international level. It’s early days for the league, so you can’t really predict who the favourites will be which is why it is more exciting than other leagues,” he says. Shorey says he chose ‘The Great Indian Adventure’ because of the team’s head coach and fellow Englishman David Platt. He has good memories about Aston Villa and Arsenal legend Platt who had once coached the under-21 England team. “I was a kid when he played and I liked his playing style a lot. When he asked me to play for his side, I couldn’t say no.”