Kerala Blasters FC will play their first friendly under new manager Ivan Vukamanovic against Kerala United FC on Friday.
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Kerala Blasters FC will play their first pre-season friendly against Kerala United FC on August 20. The match will take place at the Panampilly Nagar Stadium in Ernakulam at 4 pm, Friday. Meanwhile, the Blasters’ training camp under the new head coach Ivan Vukomanovic is well and truly underway and it will be their first friendly under the Serbian. The pre-season camp has been going on at the Panampilly ground adhering to the COVID-19 protocols and all the players are in the bio-bubble. The Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 will start from November 19 in Goa.
Kerala United FC is an I-League second division club based in Edavanna, Malappuram, Kerala and is coached by former Gokulam Kerala FC boss Bino George.
Meanwhile, the Blasters will once again play Bino George’s side on August 27 before taking on Jammu and Kashmir Bank FC on September 3.
The Serbian was appointed as the head coach of the Kochi based team in June for the ISL 2021-22 season. The 43-year-old began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Belgian club Standard Liege in the 2013-14 season and got promoted in the next term. Under his guidance, the team secured qualification for the UEFA Europa League group stage on two consecutive seasons.
He then went on to coach SK Slovan Bratislava and led them to a Slovakia National Cup triumph. This was followed by Vukomanovic taking charge of Apollo Limassol in the Cypriot First Division before joining the Blasters.
The last few seasons have been a disappointment for the Kerala club. After finishing 10th in the 11-team tournament last season, they will be hoping to rejuvenate themselves under the new boss.
The squad assembled in Kochi primarily consists of Indian players. The likes of Harmanjot Khabra, Sanjeev Stalin and Vincey Barretto are the newcomers in the squad. All three are expected to take part in the friendlies.
Meanwhile, centre-back Enes Sipovic and attacking midfielder Adrian Luna are the two foreigners signed so far. However, they are unlikely to take any major part in the game on Friday.
“We are excited to get on the ground and showcase our talented players in the land of such enthusiastic football fans,” said Vukomanovic.
“We are excited to train this pre-season in God’s own country. All of us are thrilled and well-set to let the flame rise. We look forward to an enthusiastic and rigorous training this season. We are also building the opportunities for organizing the best team for ISL 2021-22,” he added.
Kerala Blasters have one of the largest and most vociferous fan bases in the world but unfortunately, the club hasn’t been able to do justice to their massive fan following. Therefore Vukomanovic will be hoping to bring some joy to the football fanatics in Kerala.
Givson Singh has signed a contract extension that will keep him at Kerala Blasters till 2024. The 19-year-old Indian midfielder is an exciting prospect who has represented the national team at different age-group levels. The Manipuri footballer who was part of the Indian Arrows team joined the Blasters last season.
