Kerala Blasters teamKerala Blasters will look to brush aside the disappointment of the previous season and start afresh under new coach Steve Coppell with their latest bunch of foreign recruits expected to provide some much-needed experience and solidity to their ranks in the third edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).
For Coppell, a former England international and Manchester United player who has also coached Manchester City among other clubs, it would be a formidable challenge to emulate or even go a step ahead of his fellow statesman David James who led and coached the Blasters to the final in 2014.
Coppell will also look to buck the trend of English coaches not finding their feet in the ISL. Peter Reid, Peter Taylor, David Platt and Terry Phelan, for different teams, have all flopped.
In marquee player Aaron Hughes, a veteran with rich experience of playing for English Premier League clubs like Newcastle United and Aston Villa, Coppell has a man who is more of a utility footballer.
Hughes was part of Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 squad and turned out against the Ukraine and Germany in the group stages and opposite Wales in the pre-quarterfinals where they were knocked out of the competition.
Aaron Hughes. Getty imagesProbably to push their cause this season, Blasters have signed a number of foreign players.
Besides Hughes, the Kochi-based franchise have roped in defender Cedric Hengbart, goalkeeper Graham Stack, Azrack Mahamat, Duckens Nazon, Kervens Belfort, Didier Boris Kadio and Elhadji Ousseynou Ndoye. They have also brought back English striker Michael Chopra who was with them in the first season.
Among the players retained, the yellow strips have rewarded English winger Antonio German and Spanish midfielder Currais Prieto for their good shows last season. Indian stars like Sandesh Jhingan, Mehtab Hossain, Sandip Nandy, Mohammad Rafi and Gurwinder Singh have also been given the thumbs up.
Blasters, the only team to not venture out for a pre-season last term, have been preparing in Thailand this season before coming to Kolkata.
The Sachin Tendulkar co-owned franchise, which lost the final of the inaugural season to Atletico de Kolkata, has had a change of ownership with Hyderabad-based media and entertainment house Prasad Group bagging 80 percent share of the franchise, while Tendulkar's share has been halved to 20 percent.
Blasters had a shambolic last season which was in complete contrast to their inaugural outing. Coached by former England U-21 coach Peter Taylor, who resigned midway due to poor performances, the yellow brigade conceded 27 goals, the worst record in the league and a sharp decline from their fantastic defensive record in 2014 (when they let in only 11 goals).
Injuries to crucial players marred their cause too. Marquee recruit Carlos Marchena picked up an injury early on in the season and had to fly back.
What hurt them more was in-form players Sanchez Watt and Antonio German missing important games due to niggling injuries. Gurwinder Singh was ruled out in the early stages of the tournament.
This time Blasters look a more settled unit with Hughes lending the experience at the back. India regulars Rino Anto, who along with fellow Keralite C. K. Vineeth will join the squad after Bengaluru FC's AFC Cup campaign, and Sandesh Jhinghan are expected to play to their potential.
In midfield, Mohammed Rafique should also come good along with Josue, who was one of the brighter Blasters players last season.
Thongkhosiem Haokip may emerge as Blasters' trump card. The Manipur striker had a fabulous run last season with FC Goa, scoring four goals in six appearances.
Keeper Stack, who coach Coppell has worked with at Reading, is also a seasoned campaigner.
By the first look of things, Coppell looks like building a team around his defense. Blasters can be a team who would want to hit on the counter and back their rearguard to bottle up rivals.
Blasters are up against Northeast United in the inaugural match at Guwahati on October 1.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Graham Stack, Sandip Nandy, Kunal Sawant and Mohammad Moniruzzaman Ansari.
Defenders: Aaron Hughes, Cedric Hengbart, Gurwinder Singh, Elhadji Ndoye, Pratik Chowdhary, Rino Anto and Sandesh Jhingan
Midfielders: Ishfaq Ahmed, Josue Currais, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Didier Boris Kadio, C.K. Vineeth, Azrack Mahamat and Vinit Rai
Forwards: Antonio German, Kevens Belfort, Michael Chopra, Mohammed Rafi, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Farukh Choudhary and Duckens Nazon.
(With agency inputs)
