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With just over two months to go for the Indian Super League bandwagon to begin, all the 10 clubs have almost made up their respective squads for season four. Kerala Blasters, as always, are one of the teams who can be said as the favourites for the upcoming season even before a ball is kicked.
The Blasters have done some brilliant business on the transfer front, be it in the Indian players' draft pick or luring experienced foreign players to play in front of the vociferous Yellow Army. A new manager, plenty of new faces along with the same ferocious home support, Kerala Blasters will look to break the duck this time around and get their hands on the elusive ISL trophy. On that note, here are the five reasons why we'll see a stronger and a different Kerala Blasters side this season:
#5 A stronger defence than ever
The foundation of any successful football team depends on the strength of its backline. It has been their solid defence which has led the Blasters to two finals in the last three years. Their new head coach Rene Meulensteen identified that and managed to do a fine job in retaining Sandesh Jhingan and then going into the transfer market to splurge the cash on the needed recruitments.
Rino Anto became the club's costliest buy in the draft pick, with defenders like Lalruatthara and Pritam Singh following suit. Foreign signings like Nemanja Laki?-Peši? will shore up their back line along with the capture of one of their biggest overseas star - Wes Brown. A centre back pairing of Jhingan and Brown will be one of the most resolute pairings in the league with the new India captain set to receive an opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business.
#4 An experienced Indian contingent
With the league changing its perception from a showcase to a proper footballing league from this season, the onus on the Indian contingent of an ISL club has increased manifold. The winner of the elite competition this season will get an entry into the AFC Cup next year and the huge set of Indian players will be of utmost use in the five-month long tournament.
Sensing this, Kerala Blasters did a wonderful job of getting together a talented bunch of Indian players. Sandesh Jhingan, CK Vineeth and Prashant K were retained while the club spent over 3.5 crore rupees in signing as many as 13 players in the draft pick. The acquisition of Rino Anto, Milan Singh, Jackichand Singh and Arata Izumi stand out with the mentioned players being highly experienced in the Indian football circuit. Moreover, they have also roped in the hugely experienced Sandip Nandy, who is 42 years young and raring to go once again.
#3 Arrival of Rene Meulensteen
An experienced Dutch coach and manager, taking Rene Meulensteen on board was a huge coup by the Blasters. The 55-year-old is a highly rated coach with his biggest stint coming with Manchester United. He was the first team assistant coach at Old Trafford for 11 years where he took first team training and helped the Red Devils to numerous honours.
He then went on to manage teams like Anzhi Makhachkala, Fulham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Muelensteen has learned his tricks from Sir Alex Ferguson and bases his football philosophy along the same lines. Expect Kerala Blasters to play in a fearless manner which can hurt any team going forward with their blitzing counter attacks and creativity in the final third. Along with his tactics, his association with some of the biggest names in the game helped the club to sign marquee players like Dimitar Berbatov and Wes Brown.
#2 A change in transfer policy
A look at the Blasters' transfers in the past three seasons gives us a clear idea about their transfer policy. The Kochi-based side never spent big on marquee players and instead bought a number of low key players who effectively did the job for them. Following a policy of "less is more", Blasters reached the final twice but failed at the last hurdle.
With a new manager in place, Kerala Blasters ditched their old methods and have gone full throttle with their business this time around. Key foreign players arrived along with some quality Indian internationals to present Rene Meulensteen with a golden chance to strike big in his first season. This was not possible without a change of ideology at the club which has given the Blasters a renewed chance to fight for the top honours.
#1 A strike force which guarantees goals
Kerala Blasters, dare I say it, have the best attacking unit in the Indian Super League this season. Indian forwards like CK Vineeth and Jackichand Singh already make the Yellow Army a formidable side going forward. But the arrival of Iain Hume and the biggest signing of the season - Dimitar Berbatov - has elevated this lineup into a world class front line.
The troika of Hume, Berbatov and Vineeth guarantees goals. Berbatov with his glorious first touches and with a brilliant understanding of his teammates, Hume with his finishing and Vineeth with his speed, and voila, the Blasters have a perfect recipe for success!
