Vibin: Midfield genius holding the key to unlocking Kerala Blasters' ISL dream

As Noah Sadaoui deservedly hogs the limelight with 4 out of 6 goal contributions for Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League thus far, his teammate Vibin Mohanan has stealthily played a pivotal role in the club's sturdy displays.

Sports commentator Pulasta Dhar, who tracks the development of ISL players, thinks Vibin's playmaking ability is rare among Indian midfielders. "Vibin is a commentator's dream. I haven't seen many players with his grace. He's so languid; he has that flair... you know, like Berbatov, he just glides across the pitch," Dhar said. The reference to Berbatov is as good a compliment as Vibin can get. The Manchester United legend, who had a brief stint with Kerala Blasters, is one of the silkiest footballers ever.

Vibin's head coach, Mikael Stahre, concurs. "He has had a huge impact on the team. He brings quality on the ball with passes, and quality in general," Stahre said ahead of the Blasters' first away match of the season in Guwahati.

The Swede's assessment of his No. 8 was spot on. Without Vibin, the Blasters would not have gone into the October international break on a three-match unbeaten run comprising a pair of away draws to NorthEast United in Guwahati and Odisha FC in Bhubaneswar. 

But it is hard to impress upon Vibin's relevance to the Blasters because he does not feature among goalscorers or assist-makers in any of their matches. His significant contributions are not always reflected in numbers that matter. Take, for instance, a few key moments during the matches in Guwahati and Bhubaneswar, which ended in 1-1 and 2-2 draws, respectively. But the results could have been 1-2 and 2-3 in favour of the Blasters. See below.

NorthEast United vs Kerala Blasters
(Guwahati, Sept 29, 2024)
The Blasters are losing 1-0 after goalkeeper Sachin Suresh gifts Ajaraie a goal in the 58th minute. The visitors are still in the game, but they need to break a resolute home defence. Nine minutes later, as Aimen collects the ball close to the centre circle and looks up to play a diagonal pass to Noah on the right, Vibin begins a lung-busting run down the middle from deep in his half (see image 1). 

Vibin's 50m sprint creates confusion in the NorthEast ranks, and a central midfielder, who should otherwise have closed in on Noah preparing to cut inside, goes with him into the box. By the time the home side realises that Vibin's run was a decoy, Noah takes up a brilliant position and fires away. Goal: Noah, Assist: Aimen. The fact is, without Vibin's run, Noah would probably never attempt that shot on goal. 

Later in the same match, NorthEast are down to 10 men, and the Blasters are going for the kill, but the clock is ticking down. Vibin is on the ball inside his half, scanning for an opening. He sees Aimen, on the shoulder of the NorthEast right-back, making a subtle movement. Whoosh! A 30-yard line-breaker releases Aimen (see image 2), and Stahre, on the touchline, senses a winner. Aimen gets hold of the ball with his pace and outfoxes the goalkeeper but fails to finish off the killer pass.

Odisha FC vs Kerala Blasters
(Bhubaneswar, Oct 3, 2024)
The Blasters are in the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, a venue that never gave them a win. After storming into a two-goal lead, they somehow squander it. After an hour, the match is evenly poised. In the 63rd minute, Vibin strides into space in the middle of the park when striker Jesus Jimenez lays it up with his back to the goal. Rahul shows himself into a void between the centre-backs. In a flash, without taking an extra touch, Vibin dinks a delightful long-range curler into that space (see image 3). The weight on the pass is almost perfect, and a player of Rahul's pace must definitely get there. Credit to an alert Amrinder for charging out of his goal. But had Rahul been braver, he could have got to the ball before the Odisha goalkeeper and drawn a potential red-card offence or even taken it around and finished it off. Neither happened. Just like with Aimen in Guwahati, another masterful pass from Vibin that could have turned a point into three faded into oblivion.

Pass master in 'Kroos' control
Vibin's passing range is as dynamic as one can find in any box-to-box midfielder. Browsing through social media comments from Blasters fans mentioning Vibin, one normally finds comparisons to retired German pass master Toni Kroos. That is quite a stretch, but it is hard to dispute the fact that Vibin is the closest the Blasters have ever come to a Krooseque midfielder.

After the first four rounds in the ISL, Vibin ranks highest among Indian players with a long pass accuracy of nearly 80 per cent. According to stats-keeper Opta, a long pass is one that measures 30 metres and beyond. In four matches, Vibin made 34 such passes, of which 27 were successful. 

His overall passing accuracy of 85.4 per cent is equally impressive and the best among Blasters players this season. Clearly, Vibin has carried on his passing form from last season, when despite injuries restricting his minutes, he made 652 passes, 205 more than the next midfielder, Danish Farooq. 

Despite missing the first 45 minutes of the Blasters' season opener against Punjab FC due to a lack of match fitness, Vibin dominates their passing stats. In total, he has made 135 passes at an average of 34 per game, which is higher than his outfield teammates, aside from defenders, who often pass between them in the build-up. Noah's 100 passes are the next-best figure among the Blasters' offensive players. Vibin has also made 43 forward passes and five key passes. 

Under former head coach Ivan Vukomanovic, Vibin was mostly used in a double pivot, but under Stahre, he often finds himself part of a three-man midfield. “Each coach has a different style. Last season (under Vukomanovic), I played a lot of games in a 4-4-2. Then I had the option to pick out two forward players. Now, it is a different system (under Stahre) where because we have our wide players cutting inside to join the striker, in a sense, I have the option to pass to four attacking players. It is a different challenge, and I take it as my responsibility to give my best as per the coach's demands,” Vibin said. 

Good luck getting Vibin to compare himself to Kroos or any international star. “I watch the Premier League, the Madrid derby and other major games. Naturally, I follow the movements of central midfielders, but there is no favourite or particular player whom I follow. I try to pick up elements from all top central midfielders.” 

Age: 21 years. Experience: 10 years
Dutch legend Ruud Gullit and Indian icon Jo Paul Ancheri are classic cases of players who have been used in multiple positions throughout their careers. As a boy, Gullit was used as a central defender, primarily due to his imposing figure. But when he started scoring goals, Gullit was deployed as a striker. Later, when there was competition up front, Gullit was moved onto the wings. But it was as a midfielder that he made his name. Ancheri's career graph was no different. 

Several players go through this experience of playing in multiple positions, often as instructed by their coaches. But Vibin has almost always played in central midfield, starting as young as 10-11 at a Kerala Police football academy in Thrissur. For some reason, the laborious task of distributing the ball, picking out teammates with a pass and trying to win it back from opponents enticed the boy from Mulamkunnathukavu in Thrissur more than scoring goals. "I don't know why; I guess I have always liked moving the ball around," Vibin said. 

He honed his skills as a central midfielder at the MSP Academy in Malappuram before joining the Kerala Blasters academy at 15. In six seasons with the Blasters, including the last three as part of the senior squad, Vibin elevated his game. He graduated to the first team in 2022-23 along with fellow reserves Mohammed Aimen, Mohammed Azhar, Mohammed Saheef and Nihal Sudheesh. Last season, he became a prominent member of the midfield under Vukomanovic. 

Last pre-season, Vibin went to Greece for a month-long training programme at top-division side OFI Crete. He says the stint gave him a different perspective on understanding the No. 8 position. “The most important thing I picked from there was decision-making. Often when a player concedes possession, people point fingers at him. No one stops to think whose fault it was that he lost the ball. Maybe the player who passed to him didn’t realise he was not in the right position to receive that type of pass. My European experience opened my eyes to that aspect,” Vibin said. 

It wasn’t surprising that Blasters management jumped at the first opportunity to extend his contract. At the time of writing, Vibin had the longest-running contract for any Blasters player, a deal that runs until 2029.

Senior India beckons
Kerala regularly supplies talented players to the Indian men’s football team. Sahal Abdul Samad plays centrally, but he is an attacking midfielder. The last Malayali with genuine central midfielder qualities to play for senior India was N P Pradeep, who retired more than a decade ago. And the veteran has closely monitored Vibin’s career. “He (Vibin) is an excellent central midfielder, and there is no doubt he will be an asset for senior India soon. In fact, he has played for India in various age groups, even as a captain. So, it is only a matter of time,” Pradeep said. 

Vibin was a key player in the India Colts set-up that lifted the SAFF U-20 Championships in 2022. He also captained the Indian Arrows outfit in the I-League. Now the question is, when will he get picked for senior India? Vibin did get a senior India call-up under the previous coach, Igor Stimac, but he couldn’t attend the national camp due to personal reasons. Ahead of the October international break, the current national coach, Manolo Marquez, said he couldn’t consider a few players because the one-off friendly against Vietnam (October 12) came sooner. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Vibin is one of those names on Marquez’s standby list. “To play for senior India is my dream. I really hope that wish comes true soon. I will continue to work hard,” Vibin said. 

His mantra to keep improving would certainly benefit him and the national team. But for the time being, it would certainly enhance the chances of Kerala Blasters in their pursuit of that elusive ISL title. Commentator Dhar doesn’t prefer speculating about what the future holds for Vibin and his team. But he gives some advice: “Vibin is so good that sometimes he even catches his teammates by surprise; as if they were not expecting a pass, like they're on a different wavelength. I think the next step in his development must be to be more effective and not just be a good player to watch. His teammates must challenge him with risky runs so he can play those telling passes.”

The Blasters have added firepower with the addition of Noah and the likes of Jesus Jimenez. Defensively, they need to shore up, and perhaps a change or two in the backline will bring rigidity. Regardless, in Vibin, the Blasters have a genius in the middle of the park who holds the key to unlocking their elusive title dreams.