Kerala Blasters FC

In early 2014 the All India Football Federation, the governing body of association football in India, and IMG–Reliance announced that they would accept bids for the ownership of eight of the selected cities for the inaugural season of Indian Super League (ISL), a franchise football tournament modelled along the lines of the Indian Premier League for cricket.[4] On 13 April 2014, it was announced that the rights to the Kochi franchise had been won by former India national cricket team captain Sachin Tendulkar, and entrepreneur Prasad V Potluri.[5] On 27 May 2014, the team's official name, Kerala Blasters FC was unveiled,[6] which was based on the nickname of co-owner Sachin Tendulkar who was known as Master Blaster during his playing days.[7]

Preparations for the first season started on 22 July when the Kerala Blasters took part in the first domestic draft to select fourteen Indian players.[8] India international Mehtab Hossain was the first draft pick made by Kerala Blasters.[9] Besides Hossain, the team management selected Avinabo Bag, Sandip Nandy, Chinadorai Sabeeth, Luis Barreto, Milagres Gonsalves, Ramandeep Singh, Renedy Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Ishfaq Ahmed, Gurwinder Singh, Nirmal Chettri, Sushanth Mathew, and Godwin Franco for the team.[10]

On 13 August 2014 former England international goalkeeper David James was chosen as the first head coach and marquee player of the team.[11] On 21 August 2014, the team participated in the international draft where the management selected seven foreign players.[12] Former Newcastle United forward Michael Chopra was the first foreign player drafted by the Kerala Blasters.[13]

The Kerala Blasters played their first match on 13 October 2014 against NorthEast United at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, losing 1–0 after Koke scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute.[14] The club's first goal was scored by Iain Hume during their second match against Chennaiyin on 21 October. Despite the Canadian's goal, the club could not prevent another defeat as they lost 2–1 in Chennai.[15] It took the Kerala Blasters till their fourth game to get their first victory, beating Pune City. Goals from Chinadorai Sabeeth and Penn Orji led the Blasters to a come from behind 2–1 victory.[16]

After having to play their first five matches away from home, the Kerala Blasters hosted their first home match on 6 November 2014 against Goa. A goal by Milagres Gonsalves led to a 1–0 victory in front of 49,517 fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.[17] The Kerala Blasters managed to book their spot into the finals on 9 December 2014. A 1–0 victory over Pune City ensured the Kerala Blasters of qualification.[18]

The Kerala Blasters played their first finals match on 13 December 2014 against southern rivals, Chennaiyin. Despite not being considered the favorite to win the two-legged tie, they won the first leg at home 3–0 through goals from Ishfaq Ahmed, Iain Hume, and Sushanth Mathew.[19] During the second leg in Chennai, the Kerala Blasters suffered a massive setback. Despite entering the second leg with the three-goal advantage, Chennaiyin managed to draw the tie level by winning in regular time 3–0 . However, in extra-time, the Kerala Blasters managed to score the decisive goal in the 117th minute from Stephen Pearson to win the tie 4–3 and thus enter the final.[20]

In the final, they took on Atlético de Kolkata at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Atlético de Kolkata won 1–0 after Mohammed Rafique scored in the 95th minute .[21]

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.[22] New foreign signings coming into the season included Peter Ramage, Stephen Bywater, Bruno Perone, Sanchez Watt, João Coimbra, and marquee signing Carlos Marchena.[23]

The first match of the season was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with the Kerala Blasters hosting NorthEast United. The Kerala Blasters won 3–1 through goals from Josu, Mohammed Rafi, and Sanchez Watt.[24] However, the Blasters followed that victory drawing their next match against Mumbai City and then losing their next four matches which eventually led to the dismissal of Peter Taylor as head coach.[25] Assistant coach Trevor Morgan was in charge for one match before Terry Phelan was named head coach for the rest of the season.[26] 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.[27]

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.[28] A week later, the club announced the signing of Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes as their marquee player for the season.[29] Other moves made before the season included the signing of Graham Stack, Kervens Belfort, Duckens Nazon, and Mohammed Rafique and return of former players Michael Chopra and Cédric Hengbart.[30]

The season began where the previous left off, with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United.[31] After the first month of the season, the Blasters had one of the best defenses statistically in the league but struggled to score goals.[32] 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.[33]

After finishing in second during the regular season, the Kerala Blasters took on third placed Delhi Dynamos in the first round of the finals.[34] The first leg took place on 11 December in Kochi. The Blasters won the match 1–0 through Kervens Belfort's 65th-minute goal.[35] 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.[36]

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 Kerala Blasters lost 4–3 and thus were defeated in their second final in three seasons.[37]

After losing in the previous season finals, Blasters appointed former Manchester United manager René Meulensteen as their new manager. Blasters released all their foreign players and signed new players including former Manchester United players Dimitar Berbatov, Wes Brown and Paul Rachubka.Sandesh Jhingan was appointed as captain and they brought back their leading goalscorer from the first season, Iain Hume. But they had only one victory in their first 8 games in the season, leading to the sacking of René Meulensteen. They brought back the fan favorite manager David James as their new manager. But James either could do much, Blasters managed 5 wins in the remaining 10 fixtures and finished 6th in the 2017-18 Indian Super League season. Blasters had little success in the Super Cup.

After failing to qualify for the playoffs last season, Blasters made a 3-year deal with manager David James. With a new roster Blasters looked to bounce back. But they had their worst season ever. They won only 1 and drawn 6 in their 12 fixtures leading to the sacking of David James. After the international break midway through the season Blasters appointed Nelo Vingada as their new manager for remaining 6 fixtures. But the team again managed only 1 win and drawn 3 in the remaining 6 fixtures and finished 9th in the league. The Super Cup also was disaster for the club as they were knocked out in the Qualification Round of the tournament.

After a disastrous previous season, the Blasters are looking for making a serious come back as they've appointed Dutch man Eelco Schattorie as their new manager. They've also released all the foreign players and signed a new roster of foreign players and Indians including Cameroon born Raphaël Messi Bouli and former Nigeria international Bartholomew Ogbeche as foreign forwards. Blasters beat their arch rivals ATK on the inaugural day of the season. Throughout the season Blasters was hit by injury concerns. Sandesh Jhingan who captained the club for the last 2 seasons were out of action due to an ACL injury along with newly signed Brazilian defender Jairo Rodrigues. Both the defenders missed the entire season, where Jairo played a few matches in the start. Dutchman, Gianni Zuiverloon, Mario Arqués and some other Indian players were also hit by minor injuries in the season resulting in them missing some of the crucial fixtures. Thus they finished the season at 7th place in the table

On 29 September 2014, it was announced that Muthoot Pappachan Group, a Kerala based business group, would be the title sponsor for the Kerala Blasters.[52] The original agreement with Muthoot Pappachan Group saw the company sponsor the Blasters for one season but with the option to extend the partnership further.[52] A month later, on 24 October, the Blasters officially announced that the German sports manufacturer Puma would be the kit sponsors for the 2014 season.[53] Both sponsorships continued in 2015 .Muthoot remained as title sponsor going into the 2016 season.[54] In June 2019, the Blasters signed a five year deal with Jain University to be the presenting sponsor of the club.[55] The Muthoot group still serves as the title sponsor of the club since its beginning.

As of 25 May 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Bilal Khan 2 DF Nishu Kumar 4 DF Sigitas Olberkis 5 DF Sandeep Singh 7 MF Rahul K.P. 8 MF Seityasen Singh 9 MF Arjun Jayaraj 10 FW Bartholomew Ogbeche (Captain) 11 MF Prashanth K 13 DF Victor Mongil 14 DF Jessel Carneiro 15 MF Darren Caldeira 16 MF Nongdamba Naorem 17 MF Rohit Kumar 18 MF Sahal Abdul Samad 19 FW V.P. Suhair

No. Position Player 20 MF Sergio Cidoncha (Vice-captain) 22 FW Ronaldo Oliveira 24 DF Abdul Hakku 26 FW Manvir Singh 27 MF Givson Singh 28 DF Denechandra Meitei 29 MF Joseba Beitia 30 MF Lalthathanga Khawlhring 31 GK Prabhsukhan Singh Gill 32 GK Albino Gomes 37 FW Shaiborlang Kharpan 39 DF Lalruatthara 50 MF Fran González 55 MF Jeakson Singh

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player FW Matej Poplatnik (at Kaposvári Rákóczi FC until 30 June 2020)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 33 DF Vlatko Drobarov (Contract Till 31 July 2020)

• David James
• Carlos Marchena
• Wes Brown
• Aaron Hughes
• Dimitar Berbatov
• Duckens Nazon

As of 23 February 2020

Season	League								Finals	Super Cup	Top Scorer
	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Position			Player	Goals
2014	14	5	4	5	9	11	19	4th	Runners-up	Did not exist	Iain Hume	5
2015	14	3	4	7	22	27	13	8th	DNQ		Antonio German, Chris Dagnall	6
2016	14	6	4	4	12	14	22	2nd	Runners-up		C.K. Vineeth	5
2017–18	18	6	7	5	20	22	25	6th	DNQ	Round of 16	Iain Hume	5
2018–19	18	2	9	7	18	28	15	9th	DNQ	Qualification Round	Slaviša Stojanović, Matej Poplatnik	4
2019–20	18	4	7	7	29	32	19	7th	DNQ	Tournament Suspended	Bartholomew Ogbeche	15

As of 20 February 2020

Most goals Rank Player Goals[63] 1 Bartholomew Ogbeche 15 2 C.K. Vineeth 11 3 Iain Hume 10 4 Raphaël Messi Bouli 8 5 Chris Dagnall 6 Antonio German 6 Mohammed Rafi 6

Most appearances Rank Player Appearances[64] 1 Sandesh Jhingan 78 2 C.K. Vineeth 43 3 Sahal Abdul Samad 38 4 Mehtab Hossain 38 5 Prasanth Karuthadathkuni 33

• Indian Super League

Runners-up: 2014, 2016

• Elite League (U18)

Runners-up: 2017–18

• Kerala Premier League

Winners: 2019–20