List of Kerala Blasters FC managers
Kerala Blasters Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala the club was established on 24 May 2014. The Blasters compete in the Indian Super League, one of the top leagues of Indian football. The Blasters play home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Managerial history
2014 season
On 13 August 2014, former England international goalkeeper, David James, was announced as the first head coach of the Blasters and the first marquee player in team history, thus coming in as a player-head coach. The Blasters finished at 4th position and qualify for semifinal. The Blasters won the first leg at home 3–0 through goals from Ishfaq Ahmed, Iain Hume, and Sushanth Mathew. During the second leg in Chennai, the Blasters suffered a massive scare. Despite entering the second leg with the three goal advantage, Chennaiyin managed to draw the tie level by winning in regular time 3–0 themselves. However, in extra-time, the Blasters managed to strike back and score the decisive goal in the 117th minute from Stephen Pearson to win the tie 4–3 and thus enter the final.
In the final, the Blasters took on Atlético de Kolkata at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Despite holding on for ninety minutes, it was Atlético de Kolkata that came out on top with a Mohammed Rafique goal in the 95th minute earning the Kolkata side the title with a 1–0 victory.
2015 season
After the 2014 season, it was announced that David James would not return to the club as head coach and marquee player. On 12 May 2015 it was announced that former England U20 head coach Peter Taylor would take over as the Blasters head coach.
The first match of the season was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with the Blasters hosting NorthEast United. The Blasters won 3–1 through goals from Josu, Mohammed Rafi, and Sanchez Watt. However, the Blasters followed that victory drawing their next match against Mumbai City and then losing their next four matches which eventually lead to the dismissal of Peter Taylor as head coach. Assistant coach Trevor Morgan was in charge for one match before Terry Phelan was named head coach for the rest of the season. Fortunes failed to change for the Kerala Blasters as the club ended their second season in last place, failing to qualify for the Indian Super League finals.
2016 season
In an effort to rebuild after failing to qualify for the finals the previous season, the Kerala Blasters announced the signing of former Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell as their head coach on 21 June 2016.he season began where the previous left off, with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United. After the first month of the season, the Blasters had one of the best defenses statistically in the league but struggled to find the back of the net. In the second half of the season, after the return of C.K. Vineeth from loan with Bengaluru FC, the Blasters managed to surge their way into the finals.
After finishing in second during the regular season, the Kerala Blasters took on third placed Delhi Dynamos in the first round of the finals. The first leg took place on 11 December in Kochi. The Blasters won the match 1–0 through Kervens Belfort's 65th-minute goal. During the second leg in Delhi, the Dynamos won in extra time 2–1 which meant that the tie went to penalties. The Kerala Blasters won the penalty shootout 3–0 to move into the final.
In the final, the Kerala Blasters would play host to Atlético de Kolkata. The Blasters took the lead early through Mohammed Rafi before Kolkata equalized soon after. The match went into a penalty shootout, Despite taking the lead early in the shootout, the Blasters lost 4–3 and thus were defeated in their second final in three seasons.
2017-18 season
On 14 July 2017, René Meulensteen was appointed as head coach of Kerala Blasters. Dimitar Berbatov signed with Blasters on 23 August 2017 on a one-year deal for a salary of ₹7.5 crore (approximately £900,000). On 2 January 2018, René Meulensteen step back from head coach position due to personal issues. David James was signed on 3 January 2018, for the rest of the season.
Statistics
Information correct as of 20 August 2017. Only competitive matches are counted.
- Table headers
- Nationality – If the manager played international football as a player, the country/countries he played for are shown. Otherwise, the manager's nationality is given as their country of birth.
- From – The year of the manager's first game for Kerala Blasters.
- To – The year of the manager's last game for Kerala Blasters.
- P – The number of games managed for Kerala Blasters.
- W – The number of games won as a manager.
- D – The number of games draw as a manager.
- L – The number of games lost as a manager.
- GF – The number of goals scored under his management.
- GA – The number of goals conceded under his management.
- Win% – The total winning percentage under his management.
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David James |  |
13 August 2014 | 20 December 2014 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 35.29 |
| Peter Taylor | |
12 May 2015 | 28 October 2015 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 16.67 |
| Trevor Morgan (caretaker) | |
28 October 2015 | 01 November 2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Terry Phelan |  |
01 November 2015 | 20 December 2015 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 28.57 |
| Steve Coppell | |
21 June 2016 | 12 July 2017 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 17 | 41.18 |
| René Meulensteen |  |
14 July 2017 | 02 January 2018 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 14.29 |
| David James | |
3 January 2018 | Present | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 45.45 |
Assistant Managers
References
- ↑ "Kerala Blasters FC assistant coach Trevor Morgan smiles in the post-match press conference". Goal.com. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Tennyson, Rayson (9 October 2014). "Can the Kerala Blasters explode in ISL?". Times of India. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Bali, Rahul (22 June 2015). "Ishfaq dons the hat of player-manager in ISL". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015.