Wikipedia

2016 Kerala Blasters FC season

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.

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
← 2015
2017-18 →

Background

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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

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Squad

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

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

Source: Indian Super League 2016

Transfers

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

Retained

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New signings

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

Pre-season

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

Indian Super League

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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

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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

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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

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

See also

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References

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  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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