ISL Golden Glove winners: Indian goalkeepers dominate the pack

The Indian Super League Golden Glove award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of every season, recognising his stellar performances between the uprights throughout the campaign.

Former FC Goa goalkeeper Jan Seda received the inaugural award in 2014, when he guided his team to the semi-final in his only season in the Indian top-flight.

Signed on loan from his then employers Mlada Boleslav, Seda kept seven clean sheets in 14 matches, conceding only nine goals.

The following season saw Armenian shot-stopper Apoula Edel win the best goalkeeper award with Chennaiyin FC, where he registered 37 saves along with six clean sheets in 13 matches to power CFC to their first ISL trophy. He also won ‘Hero of the Match’ thrice.

Interestingly, Edel also won the first edition with Atletico de Kolkata and finished just behind Golden Glove winner Seda in the race for the individual accolade.

Since the two foreigners bagged the awards in the initial two seasons, the Indian goalies upped their sleeves and have won every Golden Glove award since then.

Beginning with former Mumbai City FC’s Amrinder Singh, who won the laurel in 2016. The veteran goalkeeper was signed on a short loan spell from Bengaluru FC.

Even though Amrinder played just six matches in that campaign, he managed to keep a staggering five clean sheets, conceding just three goals. His ‘minutes per goal conceded’ figure stood at 180, which was the highest among all the goalies.

Former India goalkeeper Subrata Pal, who was a part of the India national football team that won the 2007 Nehru Cup, is next on the list of Indian Super League Golden Glove winners list.

Pal won the accolade in the 2017/18 season, keeping seven shutouts in 18 matches. 

The next two seasons, 2018/19 and 2019/20, saw Bengaluru FC’s Gurpreet Singh Sandhu win the ISL Golden Glove award.

His exploits in the 2018/19 campaign helped Bengaluru clinch their only ISL title so far. The 6’6 goalie made 61 saves and registered seven clean sheets in 20 matches to win the trophy for his side.

He retained the laurel the following edition too, keeping 11 clean sheets in 19 matches, the most among all goalkeepers in that season.

Two more Indians, namely Arindam Bhattacharja and Prabhsukhan Gill round up the Indian Super League Golden Glove winners list.

While Arindam won the award in the 2020/21 season with ATK Mohun Bagan, Prabhsukhan Gill became the youngest player at the age of 20 to bag the accolade in the 2021/22 campaign with Kerala Blasters.

Indian Super League Golden Glove winners list

Photo credit: Alamy