Goa : Kerela Blasters FC, is a club with one of the most prolific fan base. Although, the club was recently founded as compared to many other clubs in India, which have been established decades or even centuries ago.
The club based from Kochi, Kerela and founded in 2014, they had their first professional appearance in October in that very year. Since then they have reached the final of the ISL tournament twice, once in their very first season in 2014 and next time it was in 2016, both of the times they lost to Atk.
The fans of Kerela live and breath football. They recorded the highest league attendance. The fans would be walking into yet another season, hoping to see their favourite team lift the prestigious trophy.
They have a very strong squad as off the papers. Their squad looks like :
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Bilal Khan, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Muheet Khan
Defenders: Costa Nhamoinesu, Nishu Kumar, Bakary Kone, Jessel Carneiro, Sandeep Singh, Abdul Hakku, Lalruatthara.
Midfielders: Sergio Cidoncha, Sahal Abdul Samad, Vicente Gomez, Seityasen Singh, Rahul KP, Givson Singh, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Yendrembam Denechandra, Nongdamba Naorem, Arjun Jayaraj, Ayush Adhikari, Jeakson Singh, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Ritwik Das, Rohit Kumar.
Forwards: Gary Hooper, Jordan Murray, Facundo Pereyra, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Shaiborlang Kharpan.
Kibu Vicuna who had a very successful season with Mohun Bagan, and made them the I-league champions. He would be looking to continue his success as a coach with his new team as well.
Foreign players to look out for :
Gary Hooper : The 32 year old Tottenham Hotspur academy player, has played in many leagues across the world. He started his professional life at Grays Athletic. Hooper made appearances in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League with Celtic. He also signed for Norwich City FC.
Bakary Kone : Kone, played in France Ligue 2 with Guingamp as a defender. After two seasons, he won the Coupe de France in 2009. Later on he signed for Olympique Lyon and thereafter he also playef for Malaga. He also played in Turkey and Russia before moving to India with Kerela Blasters FC.
Jordan Murray : Murray is a 25 year old Australian forward who started his career with Bulli F.C and then signed for Wollongong Wolves. He has scored 10 times for his 38 appearances for the senior team. After he joined APIA Leichhardt, he won the Golden Boot in 2018.
Indian players to look out for :
Nishu Kumar : The full-back was the highest paid footballer after his transfer from Bengaluru FC to Kerela Blasters FC. He has innate capability to be a leader. And, being a veteran player of India, he is expected to lead the defence as his experience is going to vastly enrich his team.
Sahal Abdul Samad : His accolades with KBFC has even earned him call to the Indian team. Since 2018, he has been a regular for his team and his performance also has been very consistent since his breakthrough.
Kerela Blasters would this competition with renewed energy and to pay off the enthusiasm of their fans, who have been flocking in numbers to watch their team play, but would not be able to do the same due to the health guidelines regarding the pandemic.
