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Kerala Blasters had an extremely underwhelming campaign in the Indian Super League last season. Having appointed I League-winning coach Kibu Vicuna, the Kochi-based outfit failed to meet expectations in the 2020-21 season.
They finished a lowly 10th last season in the league and managed to win only three matches. KBFC drew eight games and ended up losing on nine occasions. Only Odisha FC conceded more goals than The Yellow Army (44 compared to KBFC’s 36).
Kerala Blasters have been a dominant force in the Indian Super League since its inception in 2014. They qualified twice for the final in 2014 and 2016 and ended up falling short to ATK (now merged with Mohun Bagan to become ATK Mohun Bagan) on both occasions.
However, since the 2017/18 season, KBFC have chased the shadows of their glorious years. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs in four years and would like to make amends this season.
How do things stack up for KBFC this time?
On 17 June 2021, Kerala announced Serbian manager Ivan Vukomanovic as their new head coach. Vukomanovic has managed three clubs before: Standard Liege in Belgium, Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia, and Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, although the last one was an interim role and he managed just four games in charge.
Slovan Bratislava is where Vukomanovic spent the most time at, and he managed to win 34 of the 56 games in which he led the side. He had a winning record of 60.71% and Kerala Blasters fans will be hoping that the Serbian brings that level of efficiency in the ISL this season.
Kerala Blasters FC didn’t have a major squad overhaul in the summer. They have a strong foreign contingent and a promising attack. The likes of Adrian Luna, Alvaro Vazquez and Chencho Gyeltshen are expected to have a good campaign for KBFC. The club also brought in Harmanjot Khabra, who has plenty of experience playing at the top level for the likes of Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC.
The Yellow Army lack reliable options in central defence, and they will have to depend heavily upon Enes Sipovic and Marco Leskovic. They also do not have a quality Indian striker upfront and will have to depend on the foreign contingent for goals as well. The Blasters have been threatened with fitness issues and concerns over the past few seasons, and that might prove to be a dicey area this season as well.
KBFC transfers for 2021/22
Kerala Blasters FC made quite a few additions this summer, although the Indian core is relatively unchanged. They brought in Adrian Luna from Melbourne City with the hopes of him flourishing their creativity in the middle of the park. Alvaro Vazquez was brought in from Spanish second division side Sporting Gijon whereas Argentine Jorge Pereyra Diaz arrives on loan from Platense. Vazquez and Diaz will be responsible for goal-scoring for KBFC.
Centre-back Enes Sipovic was acquired from Chennaiyin FC, while Round Glass left-winger Chencho Gyeltshen arrived on a free. Harmanjot Khabra also joined the side from Bengaluru FC.
Kerala Blasters ended up releasing all of their overseas signings from the previous season. Included among them were Jordan Murray and Facundo Pereyra. They also loaned out Subha Ghosh and Naorem Mahesh Singh to East Bengal.
Arrivals
| Name | Position | Grom |
| Adrian Luna | ATM | Melbourne City FC |
| Jorge Pereyra Diaz | CF | Platense (loan) |
| Alvaro Vazquez | CF | Sporting Gijon |
| Enes Sipovic | CB | Chennaiyin FC |
| Chencho Gyeltshen | LW | RoundGlass |
| Harmanjot Khabra | CM | Bengaluru FC |
| Hormipam R | CB | RoundGlass |
| Vincy Barretto | RW | Gokulam FC |
Departures
| Name | Position | From |
| Gary Hooper | CF | Wellington Phoenix |
| Vicente Gomez | DM | AO Xanthi |
| Jordan Murray | CF | Jamshedpur FC |
| Sergio Cidoncha | CM | Gimnastica Segoviana |
| Costa Nhamoinesu | CB | Podbeskidzie |
| Shaiborlang Kharpan | CF | Sudeva Dehli |
| Shahjas T | DF | Gokulam FC |
| Noarem Mahesh Singh | CF | East Bengal (loan) |
| Subha Ghosh | CF | East Bengal (loan) |
KBFC squad for 2021/22
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Muheet Shabir Khan, Sachin Suresh.
Defenders: Nishu Kumar, Sandeep Singh, Marko Leskovic, Enes Sipovic, Abdul Hakku Nediyodeth, Ruivah Hormipam, Bijoy Varghese, Jessel Carneiro, Denechandra Meitei, Sanjeev Stalin.
Midfielders: Rahul KP, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Adrian Luna, Jeakson Singh, Harmanjot Khabra, Lalthathanga ‘Puitea’ Khawlhring, Givson Singh, Ayush Adhikari, Sahal Abdul Samad.
Forwards: Alvaro Vazquez, Jorge Pereira Diaz, Chencho Gyeltshen, Seityasen Singh, Vincy Barretto.
Prediction
Kerala Blasters have struggled consistently for several seasons now. To expect dramatic changes and success overnight would be foolish. The challenge for the Yellow Army this season will be to gun down a position in the top four spots and advance to the playoffs. The chances of that happening are pretty unlikely, though.
Given their squad and how they’ve suffered in recent seasons, KBFC might finish mid-table. However, football on paper and football on the pitch are two entirely different concepts, and Kerala Blasters might just have a trick or two up their sleeves.
