2016 Kerala Blasters FC season

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Kerala Blasters
2016 season
Head CoachSteve Coppell
StadiumJawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Indian Super League2nd
FinalsRunners-Up
Top goalscorerLeague: C.K. Vineeth
(5 goals)
All: C.K. Vineeth
(5 goals)
Highest home attendance80,294
Average home league attendance55,535
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2017-18 →

The 2016 season was the third season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their third season in Indian Super League. After finishing second position in the league stage, the club managed to make it to the final. In the finals, they were again defeated by Atlético de Kolkata, this time through the penalty shoot-out.

Background

In 2016, in an effort to rebuild after failing to qualify for the finals the previous season, Kerala Blasters announced the signing of former Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell as head coach on 21 June 2016.[1] A week later, the club announced the signing of Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes as their marquee player for the season.[2] 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.[3]

The season began where the previous left off, with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United.[4] After the first month of the season, the Blasters had one of the best defenses statistically in the league but struggled in attack.[5] 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.[6] They achieved this by defeating Delhi Dynamos 3–0 in a penalty shootout during the semi-final.[7] 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.[8]

Players

Squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Graham Stack
2 DF India IND Pratik Chowdhary
5 DF France FRA Cédric Hengbart
6 DF Northern Ireland NIR Aaron Hughes
7 MF India IND Mohammed Rafique
8 MF India IND Vinit Rai
9 FW Haiti HAI Kervens Belfort
10 FW Grenada GRN Antonio German
11 MF India IND Ishfaq Ahmed
12 FW India IND Thongkhosiem Haokip
13 FW India IND C.K. Vineeth
14 MF India IND Mehtab Hossain
16 DF India IND Gurwinder Singh
17 FW India IND Farukh Choudhary
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF Senegal SEN Elhadji Ndoye
20 FW India IND Mohammed Rafi
21 DF India IND Sandesh Jhingan
22 FW India IND Prasanth Karuthadathkuni
23 GK India IND Kunal Sawant
24 GK India IND Sandip Nandy
27 FW England ENG Michael Chopra
30 GK India IND Mohammad Ansari
31 DF India IND Rino Anto
57 MF Ivory Coast CIV Didier Kadio
78 FW Haiti HAI Duckens Nazon
88 MF Chad CHA Azrack Mahamat
99 DF Spain ESP Josu

Source: Indian Super League 2016

Transfers

Main article: List of 2016 Indian Super League season roster changes

Retained

New signings

Position Player Last club Date Ref
FW India Thongkhosiem Haokip India Goa 7 July 2016 [11]
DF India Pratik Chowdhary India Mumbai 13 July 2016 [12]
DF Northern Ireland Aaron Hughes Australia Melbourne City 28 July 2016 [13]
GK Republic of Ireland Graham Stack England Barnet 3 August 2016 [14]
FW England Michael Chopra Scotland Alloa Athletic 7 August 2016 [15]
DF Senegal Elhadji Ndoye Kazakhstan Kyzylzhar 9 August 2016 [16]
FW Haiti Kervens Belfort Turkey 1461 Trabzon 12 August 2016 [17]
DF France Cédric Hengbart India NorthEast United 16 August 2016 [18]
MF India Mohammed Rafique India Atlético de Kolkata 22 August 2016 [19]
MF Chad Azrack Mahamat Greece Levadiakos 23 August 2016 [20]
DF India Rino Anto India Atlético de Kolkata 26 August 2016 [21]
MF Ivory Coast Didier Kadio Kazakhstan Zhetysu 30 August 2016 [22]
MF India Vinit Rai India Dempo 2 September 2016 [23]
FW Haiti Duckens Nazon Portugal Tondela 6 September 2016 [24]
GK India Kunal Sawant India Mumbai 7 September 2016 [25]
GK India Mohammad Ansari India Pune 7 September 2016 [25]
FW India Prasanth Karuthadathkuni India AIFF Elite Academy 7 September 2016 [25]
FW India Farukh Choudhary India Lonestar Kashmir 7 September 2016 [25]

Pre-season

12 September 2016 (2016-09-12) Friendly BBCU Thailand 1–2 India Kerala Blasters Bangkok
Report
15 September 2016 (2016-09-15) Friendly Bangkok United Thailand 0–0 India Kerala Blasters Bangkok
Report
24 September 2016 (2016-09-24) Friendly Southern Samity India 1–1 India Kerala Blasters Kolkata
Report

Indian Super League

Main article: 2016 Indian Super League season
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Mumbai City 14 6 5 3 16 8 +8 23 Advance to ISL Play-offs
2 Kerala Blasters 14 6 4 4 12 14 −2 22
3 Delhi Dynamos 14 5 6 3 27 17 +10 21
4 Atlético de Kolkata (C) 14 4 8 2 16 14 +2 20
5 NorthEast United 14 5 3 6 14 14 0 18
Source: Indian Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
14 6 4 4 13 15  −2 22 5 1 1 9 4  +5 1 3 3 4 11  −7

Results

1 October 2016 (2016-10-01) 1 NorthEast United 1–0 Kerala Blasters Guwahati
19:00 IST Yusa 55' Report Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 27,629
Referee: Pranjal Banerji
5 October 2016 (2016-10-05) 2 Kerala Blasters 0–1 Atlético de Kolkata Kochi
19:00 IST Report Lara 53' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 54,900
Referee: Umesh Bora
9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) 3 Kerala Blasters 0–0 Delhi Dynamos Kochi
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 54,913
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar
14 October 2016 (2016-10-14) 4 Kerala Blasters 1–0 Mumbai City Kochi
19:00 IST Chopra 58' Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 40,013
Referee: Ajit Dutta
17 October 2016 (2016-10-17) 5 Pune City 1–1 Kerala Blasters Pune
19:00 IST Sissoko 68' Report Hengbart 3' Stadium: Balewadi Stadium
Attendance: 8,556
Referee: Ajit Meetei
24 October 2016 (2016-10-24) 6 Goa 1–2 Kerala Blasters Margao
19:00 IST César 24' Report Rafi 46'
Belfort 84'		 Stadium: Fatorda Stadium
Attendance: 18,157
Referee: C. R. Srikrishna
29 October 2016 (2016-10-29) 7 Chennaiyin 0–0 Kerala Blasters Chennai
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 23,163
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
4 November 2014 (2014-11-04) 8 Delhi Dynamos 2–0 Kerala Blasters Delhi
19:00 IST Lewis 56'
Marcelinho 60'		 Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 15,471
Referee: Nick Waldron
8 November 2016 (2016-11-08) 9 Kerala Blasters 2–1 Goa Kochi
19:00 IST Belfort 48' (pen)
Vineeth 90+9'		 Report Coelho 9' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 34,196
Referee: Nick Waldron
12 November 2016 (2016-11-12) 10 Kerala Blasters 3–1 Chennaiyin Kochi
19:00 IST Kadio 66'
Vineeth 85', 89'		 Report Mendy 22' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 53,152
Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini
19 November 2016 (2016-11-19) 11 Mumbai City 5–0 Kerala Blasters Mumbai
19:00 IST Forlán 5', 14', 63'
Alves 69'
Goian 73'		 Report Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena
Attendance: 7583
25 November 2016 (2016-11-25) 12 Kerala Blasters 2–1 Pune City Kochi
19:00 IST Nazon 7'
Hughes 57'		 Report Zurdo 90+5' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 51341
29 November 2016 (2016-11-29) 13 Atlético de Kolkata 1–1 Kerala Blasters Kolkata
19:00 IST Stephen Pearson 18' C.K. Vineeth 8' Stadium: Rabindra Sarobar Stadium
4 December 2016 (2016-12-04) 14 Kerala Blasters 1–0 NorthEast United Kochi
19:00 IST C.K. Vineeth 66' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 53000

Player statistics

Season stats
# Position Player GP G
1 GK Republic of Ireland Graham Stack 6 0
2 DF India Pratik Chowdhary 8 0
5 DF France Cédric Hengbart 17 1
6 DF Northern Ireland Aaron Hughes 9 1
7 MF India Mohammed Rafique 10 0
8 MF India Vinit Rai 2 0
9 FW Haiti Kervens Belfort 13 3
10 FW England Antonio German 11 0
11 MF India Ishfaq Ahmed 6 0
12 FW India Thongkhosiem Haokip 1 0
13 FW India C.K. Vineeth 9 5
14 MF India Mehtab Hossain 16 0
16 DF India Gurwinder Singh 1 0
17 FW India Farukh Choudhary 2 0
19 DF Senegal Elhadji Ndoye 4 0
20 FW India Mohammed Rafi 13 2
21 DF India Sandesh Jhingan 17 0
22 FW India Prasanth Karuthadathkuni 0 0
23 GK India Kunal Sawant 0 0
24 GK India Sandip Nandy 10 0
27 FW England Michael Chopra 10 1
30 GK India Mohammad Ansari 0 0
31 DF India Rino Anto 3 0
57 MF Ivory Coast Didier Kadio 11 1
78 FW Haiti Duckens Nazon 11 2
88 MF Chad Azrack Mahamat 11 0
99 DF Spain Josu 15 0

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kerala Blasters announce Steve Coppell as manager for ISL 2016". FirstPost. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Kerala Blasters bags Aaron Hughes as marquee player". Times of India. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Indian Super League 2016 Team Profile - Kerala Blasters". Goal.com. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  4. ^ "NorthEast United 1-0 Kerala Blasters - Katsumi Yusa wins it for Highlanders". Goal.com. 1 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. ^ Bali, Rahul (26 October 2016). "Kerala Blasters' invoke defensive rally as FC Goa continue to crumble". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  6. ^ "CK Vineeth - If I prove myself, I'll get selected in the national team". Goal.com. 10 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  7. ^ Puri, Rohan (15 December 2016). "Delhi Dynamos fumble at the post". Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  8. ^ Ghosh, Sayan (19 December 2016). "Atletico de Kolkata beat Kerala Blasters 4-3 on penalties to win ISL 2016". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "Antonio German and Josué Currais Prieto return to don the Yellow Jersey for Kerala Blasters in ISL Season 3". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  10. ^ "CK Vineeth retained". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter). Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Kerala Blasters sign 22-year old forward Thongkhosiem Haokip for ISL season three". Firstpost. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Kerala Blasters sign defender Pratik Chaudhari". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Indian Super League Live Football Scores, News, Stats, Schedules, Results, Highlights, Photos, Videos – NDTV Sports". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Kerala Blasters sign former Arsenal stopper Graham Stack". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Kerala Blasters bring back English striker Michael Chopra". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  16. ^ Maitra, Sayantan (9 August 2016). "After Michael Chopra, top Senegalese defender joins Kerala Blasters ahead of ISL 2016". www.ibtimes.co.in. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  17. ^ "ISL 2017: Kervens Belfort - Kochi is my home, Kerala is my family | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Kerala Blasters defender Cedric Hengbart signs for Maltese club Mosta FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Mohammed Rafique: Kolkata's loss, Kerala's gain in ISL3?". Hindustan Times. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Kerala Blasters bolster midfield with signing of Azrack Mahamat". ANI News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Rino Anto signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters (Twitter). 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  22. ^ Bharali, Abhijit (21 August 2017). "ISL 2017: Ex-Kerala Blasters star slams rumours linking him to other ISL clubs". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  23. ^ Reporter, Sports (15 September 2010). "Vinit Rai signs for Kerala Blasters". assamtribune.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Kerala Blasters strengthen their attack with Haitian footballer Duckens Nazon for Indian Super League 2016". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  25. ^ a b c d "Kerala Blasters announces final squad for Indian Super League 2016". Indian Super League. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
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