Since Serbian coach Ivan Vukomanovic took over, Kerala Blasters FC seem to have a strong sense of who they are. But despite their ambitions of lifting ISL have yet been unfulfilled. Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters will square off on September 21 to open the ISL 2023–24 season. Coach Ivan Vukomanovic thinks his team has a good chance of winning the prized trophy in the tenth season of the Indian Super League.
“In ISL you cannot predict how far you can go. The beauty of this tournament is that any team can reach the knockouts. One can start badly, and then from nowhere can get into the top half of the league by winning a few matches. It is always challenging, and we are trying to prepare the best team so that it is ready to take on any opponent.” stated Ivan Vukomanovic when asked in this regard.
After a heartbreaking setback in the final of the 2021-22 season, it appeared like the only way forward was up. During Vukomanovic’s tenure, however, they struggled to attain those heights. In the last nine years, KBFC has reached three finals. The most recent was in 2022, when they were eliminated in penalties by Hyderabad FC. Speaking on the note of narrowly missing out on the title Ivan Vukomanovic said
“Once you reach the final, it is about one game and 90 or 120 minutes and then the tie-breaker, where it is more about luck or some individual motivation. We have so many teams around the world who have lost the final many times. It is part of the sport and we have to deal with it.”
Kerala Blasters have made some big changes to their team for the ISL 2023-24 season. Kerala Blasters have retained Dimitrios Diamantakos, who enjoyed an outstanding debut season in India. They have also signed Ishan Pandita on a free transfer from Jamshedpur FC, who will significantly improve.
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Ivan expressed his thoughts on Pandita’s involvement, stating that the club has always nurtured homegrown players in key positions. He also slammed other clubs for not trusting Indian players to play No. 9.
“Many coaches have the tendency of not preferring Indian forwards because of some fake pressure to find results. Most of the teams sign foreign strikers for that. And because of this fake pressure most of the coaches were not allowing Indian forwards with good profiles enough minutes on the ground,” Ivan vukomanovic asserted.
Given the club’s reputation and supporter base, winning the league is always the ultimate objective in terms of expectations. A top-four finish is certainly the main goal for the upcoming season, though, given the circumstances and the inclusion of several new players.
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