Kerala Blasters FC
Kerala Blasters Football
Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala. Kerala Blasters FC was established on 24 May 2014 and began their first professional
season a few months later in October 2014. The team name comes from one of
their owners, former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
Inaugural season
The club played their
first ever match on 13 October 2014 against NorthEast United at the Indira
Gandhi Athletic Stadium by losing 1–0. In the final of Indian Super League
Kerala Blasters was defeated 1–0 by Atlético de Kolkata.
2015 season
Fortunes failed to
change for the Kerala Blasters as the club ended their second season in last
place, failing to qualify for the Indian Super League finals.
2016 season
After failing to qualify
for the finals the previous season, the Kerala Blasters announced the signing
of former Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell as head coach.
In the final, the Kerala
Blasters would play host to Atlético de Kolkata. The Blasters took the lead
early through Mohammed Rafi before Kolkata equalized soon after. The match went
into a penalty shootout, despite taking the lead early in the shootout, the Kerala
Blasters lost 4–3 and thus were defeated in their second final in three seasons
A total of 16 teams will
play in the tournament and the top four teams of the tournament will qualify
for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup as the AFC representatives.
2017–18 season
After losing in the previous
season finals, Blasters appointed former Manchester United manager René
Meulensteen as their new manager. Blasters released all their foreign players
and signed new players including former Manchester United players Dimitar
Berbatov, Wes Brown and Paul Rachubka. They brought back their leading
goalscorer from the first season Iain Hume. But they had only one victory in
their first 8 games in the season, leading to the sacking of René Meulensteen.
They brought back the fan favorite manager David James as their new manager .
But James either could do much, Blasters managed 5 wins in the remaining 10
fixtures and finished 6th in the 2017-18 Indian Super League season. Blasters
had little success in the Super Cup.
2018–19 season
After failing to qualify for
the playoffs last season, Blasters made a 3-year deal with manager David James.
With a new roster Blasters Looked to bounce back. But they had their worst
season ever. They won only 1 and drawn 6 in their 12 fixtures leading to the
sacking of David James. After the international break midway through the season
Blasters appointed Nelo Vingada as their new manager for remaining 6 fixtures.
But team again managed only 1 win and drawn 3 in the remaining 6 fixtures and
finished 9th in the league. The Super Cup also was disaster for the club as they
were knocked out in the Qualification Round of the tournament.
2019–20 season
After a disappointing previous season, the Blasters wanted to make a serious come back and appointed Eelco Schattorie as their new manager. The club released all of their foreign players and signed a new roster that included Cameroon-born Raphaël Messi Bouli and former Nigeria international Bartholomew Ogbeche as forwards. Blasters beat their arch-rivals ATK on the season's first day. Throughout the season, the team was hit by injury concerns. Defender Sandesh Jhingan, who captained the club for the last two seasons, was out of action with an ACL injury and newly signed Brazilian defender Jairo Rodrigues was also injured. Both defenders missed the entire season and Rodrigues played a few matches in the start. Gianni Zuiverloon and Mario Arqués and other players were also hit by minor injuries in the season; they missed some of the crucial fixtures. The Blasters finished the season in seventh place in the table.
2020–21 season
As a part of their new philosophy, the Blasters
decided to rely more upon young Indian players and extended the contracts of
Sahal and Rahul KP until 2025. They signed Nishu Kumar on a four-year deal from
Bengaluru FC. Givson Singh, who performed well for the Indian Arrows the
previous season was signed on a three-year deal. Puitea, Rohit Kumar, Ritwik
Das, and Prabhsukhan Gill were the other major signings for the season. While
developing a squad of young players, the club also signed senior player Jessel
Carneiro, whose contract was extended to 2023. The Blasters only extended the
contract of Sergio Cido and signed a new roster of foreign players under the
supervision of the new sporting director. Facundo Pereyra, Costa Nhamoinesu,
and Bakary Koné were signed for a one-year deal while Vicente Gómez was signed
for a three-year deal. They fulfilled the AFC player quota by signing Jordan
Murray.
Coaching staff
Kerala Blasters FC
players for the 2020-21 season
Forwards: Gary Hooper, Jordan Murray, Naorem Mahesh
Singh, Shaiborlang Kharpan
Midfielders: Facundo Pereyra , Sergio Cidoncha, Vicente
Gómez, Sahal Abdul Samad, Rahul KP, Jeakson Singh, Prasanth
Karuthadathkuni, Seityasen Singh, Rohit Kumar, Givson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem,
Ayush Adhikari, Ritwik Das, Arjun Jayaraj, Puitea, Muktasana Sharma
Defenders: Bakary Koné, Costa Nhamoinesu, Nishu Kumar,
Denechandra Meitei, Jessel Carneiro, Lalruatthara, Abdul Hakku
Goalkeepers: Bilal Khan, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Albino Gomes, Muheet Shabir