The Indian Super League involves a lesser number of games than the European leagues. But that doesn’t mean that the goalscorers in the league would score far lesser goals than they do in Europe. In the case of Roy Krishna though, that certainly isn’t true. And perhaps, his rise to stardom in India was coming, going against all real time odds.
The 32-year-old is of Indian origin but hails from Fiji. Since 2007, he’s been captaining the Fiji national team and has been a regular goalscorer for them. But strangely enough, this is his first stint in India. And in his very first campaign, he’s not let anyone down.
Krishna arrived at ISL club ATK before the 2019 campaign started. His move came for an undisclosed fee and he was slotted straight into the club’s first-team. ATK, whose tie-up with Atletico Madrid has already snapped, have been a well-known name in the country’s football forever since the ISL started. In that sense, a move for Krishna made sense for both parties.
So far this season, Krishna has been firing on all cylinders for the Kolkata-based outfit. He’s found the back of the net 14 times in the league, always looking to open new account, also picking up five assists on the way. He has played only 18 games and has been key to taking his club to second in the table.
The Fijian finds himself at the top of this season’s highest goalscoring table, tied at the top with the 37-year-old Coro. While that is remarkable and his numbers show what a good player he is, this was coming. And he isn’t a surprise.
In the A-League last season, Krishna was on fire for Wellington Phoenix. The New Zealand-based outfit became the perfect platform for him to carry forward his goalscoring abilities from Waitakere United and Auckland City.
In the regular A-League season, Krishna had scored 18 times in 24 games. He had five assists to his name and his contributions had taken the club to the Final Series of the A-League. During that phase, he played one game and scored in it.
That isn’t all, Krishna was impressive in the 2017-18 campaign as well even though he got only four goals and five assists. But he had joined Phoenix in 2017 itself.
Even at Waitekere United, Kirshna was impressive in front of goal. He made 103 appearances for them and got 72 goals, while bagging 37 assists as well for the club. Even during a brief spell with Auckland, he didn’t disappoint anyone even though he played only six games in all competitions for them. He had contributed to six goals during that little spell.
Fiji coach Christophe Gamel has been vocal about Krishna’s contributions. He said last year: “Roy is our real warrior. Whenever he is available, he is there for the country. His commitment and dedication to football is truly admirable.
“He is the only professional player in our team, and having him in the team lifts the morale of the players and his contribution is always immense.”
It shows that ATK have struck gold with Krishna. This is a proven goalscorer who has played in the FIFA Club World Cup in the past. He’s played at the highest level in the Asian game and despite the age, he’s still scoring on a regular basis.
