'Kerala ready for a blast'

October 10, 2014 10:35 pm | Updated November 29, 2021 01:12 pm IST

He was very passionate about cricket during his playing days and now, Sachin Tendulkar is displaying a similar passion for football. With the cricket legend as its co-owner, a lot of eyes will be on Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League (ISL).

Kerala Blasters, named after the ‘Master Blaster’ himself, has a few players who are hungry to prove themselves. Striker Michael Chopra is a classic case. For many international stars, the ISL may just be a stop in their long journey, but for Chopra it is very different. A big-money buy, the England-born is keen to get into the Indian national team through a good showing in the ISL.

The team may not have any big names, but in former England goalkeeper David James, its marquee player and manager, the Blasters have a player who can inspire the others. And despite being 44, James is miles better than fellow ‘keepers Sandip Nandy and Luis Barretto.

The Kochi-based side also has defensive midfielder Mehtab Hossain, forward C.S. Sabeeth, defender Nirmal Chetri and goalkeeper Sandip Nandy, who are among the top three in the country. In Nigerian Penn Orji, an attacking midfielder, it has a player who is probably worth his weight in gold.

Assistant coach Trevor Morgan knows his players and has picked some of his best players from his East Bengal days, and that should work in Blasters’ favour. For there will be no walls between the coach and the majority of his players.

The team, which has its training base in Thrissur, tried three different formations during the practice games in Kerala, and according to those who saw it in action, it appeared sharp in 4-4-2 and 4-3-3. It won most of its matches in Kerala with convincing margins and is now in Goa for friendlies.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers: David James, Luis Barreto, Sandeep Nandy​.​

​​Defenders: Avinabo Bag, Cedric Hengbart, Colin Falvey, Erwin Spitzner, Gurwinder Singh, James McAllister, Nirmal Chettri, Ramandeep Singh, Raphael Romey, Sandesh Jhingam, Saumik Dey.

​​Midfielders: Ishfaq Ahmed, Mehtab Hossain, Penn Orji, Renedy Singh, Sushant Mathew, Victor Herrero Forcada, Godwin Franco, Duleep Menon.

Forwards: Andrew Barisic, C.S. Sabeeth, Iain Hume, Michael Chopra, Milagures Gonsalves, Pedro Gusmao.

​​Head coach / Marquee player: David James

​​Coach: Trevor Morgan. ​​Ass​istant​ coach: James McAllister.

​​Owners: Sachin Tendulkar and PVP Ventures

Watch out for:

​​Michael Chopra: In 2006, he had the distinction of having scored the fastest goal by a substitute in English Premier League history, finding the net after being on the field for just 15 seconds. He may not look lean and hungry​,​ but his touch is really good and the team will be looking at him to deliver the goods.

​​Penn Orji: ​T​he attacking midfielder from Nigeria was a regular face in the East Bengal team for three seasons, from 2010, and is a crucial member of the side.

​​C.S. Sabeeth: ​H​as consistently been one of the top three Indian goal​-​scorers in the I-League​ in​ the last three years. Sabeeth, born in Kerala​,​ but brought up in Tamil ​N​adu​, ​was​ in fine nick for the Blasters in ​the ​warm-up games by scoring goals and being in the right positions to ​score​ them.

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