The new Indian Super League season is just around the corner and if we get a repeat of last season then it will be a Nigerian player who is leading the way in terms of goals.
Bartholomew Ogbeche has just turned 36 and has spent the last two seasons in India playing football as he moves into the latter stage of his career. His first season was impressive, but last season, his first with the Kerala Blasters, saw him move up another level.
Assuming Ogbeche comes back in the same frame of mind, and hoping that he stays fit for the full season, the Blasters will fancy their chances of doing well this season. Many people will look at online betting on Indian football and see the Blasters as a team they need to follow because of this one player.
What Did Ogbeche Achieve Last Season?
We had three different players tied on 15 goals last season at the top of the Indian Super League scoring charts. However, Ogbeche was injured for a small period of time, so he scored his goals in a much shorter period.
Roy Krishna scored his 15 goals in 21 games while Nerijus Valskis took 20 games to score his 15. Better than both of those, Ogbeche scored 15 goals from just 16 games and had he stayed fit and played a full season then there is little doubt that he would have been able to control the scoring charts and lead the league on his own.
What Can We Expect This Season?
This is really simple, Ogbeche will want to lead the league in scoring and win the scoring title outright, rather than sharing it with others.
In his first season in the league, Ogbeche scored 12 goals from 18 games as he settled into what it is like to play in the Indian Super League. Then last year, he moved forward, despite becoming a year older and turning 35. He scored 15 goals, but did it in two fewer games than what he played a year before.
This year, the goal is simple, be the top scorer in the league. He has had two seasons in the league now, so understands how things work, who he is up against and what is expected from him. Turning 36 takes Ogbeche a year older, and there will be a time when he begins to slow down with his production.
However, if you look at what happened last season, something dramatic would have had to have happened over the summer for that to be this season. When arriving in India, he came straight out of playing in the Eredivisie, regarded as one of the better leagues in Europe and certainly a few steps above where he is playing now.
The new season is not too far away, and all eyes will be on a Nigerian player, Bartholomew Ogbeche, to see if he can lead the way in goals once again.
