2016 Kerala Blasters FC season

The 2016 Kerala Blasters FC season is the third season in the history of the Kerala Blasters, a franchise in the Indian Super League.

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)
Average home league attendance55,535

Background
Main article: 2016 Kerala Blasters FC season

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

Retained

New signings
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
12 September 2016 (2016-09-12) FriendlyBBCU 1–2 Kerala BlastersBangkok
Report
15 September 2016 (2016-09-15) FriendlyBangkok United 0–0 Kerala BlastersBangkok
Report
24 September 2016 (2016-09-24) FriendlySouthern Samity 1–1 Kerala BlastersKolkata
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 2016 Indian Super League Semi-finals
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 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

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
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) 1NorthEast United1–0Kerala BlastersGuwahati
19:00 IST Yusa  55' Report Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
Attendance: 27,629
Referee: Pranjal Banerji
5 October 2016 (2016-10-05) 2Kerala Blasters0–1Atlético de KolkataKochi
19:00 IST Report Lara  53' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 54,900
Referee: Umesh Bora
9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) 3Kerala Blasters0–0Delhi DynamosKochi
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 54,913
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar
14 October 2016 (2016-10-14) 4Kerala Blasters1–0Mumbai CityKochi
19:00 IST Chopra  58' Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 40,013
Referee: Ajit Dutta
17 October 2016 (2016-10-17) 5Pune City1–1Kerala BlastersPune
19:00 IST Sissoko  68' Report Hengbart  3' Stadium: Balewadi Stadium
Attendance: 8,556
Referee: Ajit Meetei
24 October 2016 (2016-10-24) 6Goa1–2Kerala BlastersMargao
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) 7Chennaiyin0–0Kerala BlastersChennai
19:00 IST Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 23,163
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
4 November 2014 (2014-11-04) 8Delhi Dynamos2–0Kerala BlastersDelhi
19:00 IST Lewis  56'
Marcelinho  60'		 Report Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 15,471
Referee: Nick Waldron
8 November 2016 (2016-11-08) 9Kerala Blasters2–1GoaKochi
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) 10Kerala Blasters3–1ChennaiyinKochi
19:00 IST Kadio  66'
Vineeth  85', 89'		 Report Mendy  22' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 53,152
Referee: Robesh Gamini
19 November 2016 (2016-11-19) 11Mumbai City5-0Kerala BlastersMumbai
19:00 IST Forlán  5', 14', 63'
Alves  69'
Goian  73'		 Report Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena
Attendance: 7583
25 November 2016 (2016-11-25) 12Kerala Blasters2-1Pune CityKochi
19:00 IST Nazon  7'
Hughes  57'		 Report Zurdo  90+5' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 51341
29 November 2016 (2016-11-29) 13Atlético de Kolkata1-1Kerala BlastersKolkata
19:00 IST Stephen Pearson  18' C.K. Vineeth  8' Stadium: Rabindra Sarobar Stadium
4 December 2016 (2016-12-04) 14Kerala Blasters1-0NorthEast UnitedKochi
19:00 IST C.K. Vineeth  66' Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Attendance: 53000

Player statistics
Season stats
# Position Player GP G
1GK Graham Stack60
2DF Pratik Chowdhary80
5DF Cédric Hengbart171
6DF Aaron Hughes91
7MF Mohammed Rafique100
8MF Vinit Rai20
9FW Kervens Belfort133
10FW Antonio German110
11MF Ishfaq Ahmed60
12FW Thongkhosiem Haokip10
13FW C.K. Vineeth95
14MF Mehtab Hossain160
16DF Gurwinder Singh10
17FW Farukh Choudhary20
19DF Elhadji Ndoye40
20FW Mohammed Rafi132
21DF Sandesh Jhingan170
22FW Prasanth Karuthadathkuni00
23GK Kunal Sawant00
24GK Sandip Nandy100
27FW Michael Chopra101
30GK Mohammad Ansari00
31DF Rino Anto30
57MF Didier Kadio111
78FW Duckens Nazon112
88MF Azrack Mahamat110
99DF Josu150
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See also

References
  1. "Kerala Blasters announce Steve Coppell as manager for ISL 2016". FirstPost. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  2. "Kerala Blasters bags Aaron Hughes as marquee player". Times of India. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  3. "Indian Super League 2016 Team Profile - Kerala Blasters". Goal.com. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  4. "NorthEast United 1-0 Kerala Blasters - Katsumi Yusa wins it for Highlanders". Goal.com. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. Bali, Rahul (26 October 2016). "Kerala Blasters' invoke defensive rally as FC Goa continue to crumble". Goal.com. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  6. "CK Vineeth - If I prove myself, I'll get selected in the national team". Goal.com. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  7. Puri, Rohan (15 December 2016). "Delhi Dynamos fumble at the post". Times of India. 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. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  9. "Antonio German and Josué Currais Prieto return to don the Yellow Jersey for Kerala Blasters in ISL Season 3". Indian Super League.
  10. "CK Vineeth retained". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  11. "Haokip to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  12. "Pratik Choudhary signs". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  13. "Aaron Hughes signs as marquee for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  14. "Graham Stack signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  15. "Kerala Blasters sign Michael Chopra". Kerala Blasters (Twitter).
  16. "Elhadji Nodye signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  17. "Kervins Belfort signs". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  18. "Cedric Hengbart to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  19. "Mohammed Rafique signs with Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  20. "Azrack to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters (Twitter).
  21. "Rino Anto to Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  22. "Didier Kadio signs". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  23. "Vinit Rai signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  24. "Duckens Nazon signs". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter).
  25. "Kerala Blasters announces final squad for Indian Super League 2016". Indian Super League. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
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