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Ex-Premier League and England star 'loved' Iceland and India spells as the foreigner

David James ended his career with player-coaching roles in both Iceland and India after making almost 600 Premier League appearances for the likes of Liverpool and Portsmouth

David James
Ex-England goalkeeper David James loved playing abroad(Image: Getty Images)

Former Premier League and England star David James "loved" his spells as the foreigner in Iceland and India.


The ex-Three Lions goalkeeper ended his career with back-to-back player-coaching roles with IBV Vestmannaeyjar and Kerala Blasters after spending more than two decades in English football. He enjoyed his spell in India so much that he later returned to Kerala as manager in 2018, taking charge of 28 matches in his only managerial role to date.


Reflecting on his time playing abroad, James told Genting Casino: “It was magnificent to end my career in Iceland and India.


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"Having spent 22 years in England at home, and having numerous foreign players in my dressing room, to go to Iceland as the foreigner made me realise what it was like to be them. You get total appreciation for what it was like for foreign players to come into the Premier League.

"It was part-time, semi-pro, and I had an appreciation of what it was like to have a job and play top-level football in Iceland. We qualified for the Europa League, and it was amazing they could balance that. I love the country as well, it’s beautiful with beautiful people.

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“India was a very different experience. Inside India, they have the Calcutta derby with 100,000 people. It was crazy. You realise there is this heritage with India of staunch football fans.

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David James
David James headed to Iceland after two decades of English football(Image: UEFA)

"They would turn up to games with Liverpool banners, Man Utd banners, I think Arsenal too, then one day no banners at all because the club said we’re not here to support the Premier League. There was one game where there were 70,000, and it was crazy, the noise.

"When you love something like I love football, to go to Iceland and experience a different love for it, India too, it just made my love for the game get bigger. I’ve travelled around Asia a lot in the last five years and one thing that unites everyone is football.

“My last professional game was a cup final in India and, typical to my career, we lost 1-0. 94th minute header and after the game I sat on the bench and said to myself, that’s it, at 44-years-old, but I was so happy to be in India doing it.”


James headed to Iceland in 2013 after making 572 Premier League appearances across stints with Liverpool, Portsmouth, Manchester City, Aston Villa and West Ham United.

David James
David James ended his career with a player-coaching role at Kerala Blasters(Image: Getty Images)

He linked up with former team-mate Hermann Hreidarsson, who was managing IBV at the time, in Scandinavia and went on to make 23 appearances across the next nine months.


After leaving the club, James took a seven-month break before joining Kerala as a marquee player, making 12 appearances in his five months in India alongside a role on the coaching staff.

Following the end of his spell with the Indian Super League side, James retired from professional football. During his career, he won 53 caps for England and was included in squads for four separate major tournaments.

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