The 2014 season was the first ever season in Kerala Blasters Football Club's existence after its establishment in May 2014, as well as their first season in the inaugural season of

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

. The club managed to secure qualification for the Indian Super League finals on 9 December 2014, after finishing the regular season in fourth position. They managed to make it to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, but were defeated by

Atlético de Kolkata ATK (formerly Atlético de Kolkata) was an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competed in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football and were the league champions during the inaugural ...

through a stoppage time goal. The Blasters signed the former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international, David James, as their first ever coach in August. They also drafted in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

internationals such as

Mehtab Hossain Mehtab Hossain (born 5 September 1985) is an Indian professional footballer and coach who last played for Madan Maharaj as a defensive midfielder. During his career, Hossain has played for both of the Kolkata football giants, Mohun Bagan and ...

Sandip Nandy Sandip Nandy (born 15 January 1975) is a former indian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeping coach of I-League club Mohammedan. Nandy also appeared with West Bengal team in the 46th edition ( 2009� ...

Chinadorai Sabeeth C. S. Sabeeth is an Indian football player who plays as a striker for ASOS Rainbow in the CFL Premier B. He represents Karnataka football team in the Santosh Trophy. Career Early career Sabeeth was born in The Nilgiris District of Gudalu ...

Renedy Singh Potsangbam Renedy Singh, simply known as Renedy Singh (born 20 June 1979), is a former Indian football player and football pundit, who was the interim manager of Indian Super League club East Bengal for 2021–22 season. He is also the former ...

Ishfaq Ahmed Ishfaq Ahmed (born 17 March 1983) is a former Indian footballer who currently works as the assistant coach of Kerala Blasters FC in Indian Super League. He is also a member of the AIFF technical committee. Ishfaq is one among the two professi ...

, and

Nirmal Chettri Nirmal Chettri (born 21 October 1990 in Melli, Sikkim) is an Indian footballer who plays mainly as a defender and last played for Southern Samity in the Calcutta Football League. Career Early career Chettri began his footballing career in ...

. The Blasters have selected an international foreign player,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

international

Iain Hume Iain Edward Hume (born 30 October 1983) is a Canadian football manager and former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He began his career at Tranmere Rovers in 2000, and six years later moved to Leicester City for an initial £5 ...

, before signing on former Scottish internationals

Jamie McAllister James Reynolds McAllister (born 26 April 1978 in Glasgow) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, who is currently an assistant manager at Hibernian. McAllister played as a defender. McAllister played for Queen of the Sou ...

and

Stephen Pearson Stephen Paul Pearson (born 2 October 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career at Motherwell and joined Celtic in 2004, where he won domestic honours including two Scottish Premier League ...

outside the draft. After starting the season with five straight away games, the Blasters found themselves with only four points. Once the team started playing home games they gained 11 points from the next five games. Another 4 points from their final four games were enough for the team to qualify for the finals. The finals started off very well for Kerala Blasters as they defeated

Chennaiyin Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded in Au ...

3–0 away from home in the first leg of the semi-finals. Despite giving up that lead in the second-leg, an extra-time goal from Stephen Pearson ensured that the Blasters qualified for the final. In the final, the club were defeated 1–0 by Atlético de Kolkata through a last-minute strike by Mohammed Rafique.

Background

In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and

IMG img or IMG is an abbreviation for image. img or IMG may also refer to: * IMG (company), global sports and media business headquartered in New York City but with its main offices in Cleveland, originally known as the "International Management Group ...

– Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of the nine selected cities for the inaugural

(ISL), a franchise tournament modelled along the lines of the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

for cricket. On 13 April 2014 it was announced that the rights to the Kerala franchise were won by former

India cricket India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

captain,

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-scor ...

, and

serial entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, philanthropist, and

educationalist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

, Prasad V Potluri. Then, on 27 May 2014, the team's official name was unveiled as 'Kerala Blasters FC' which is based on the nickname of co-owner Sachin Tendular, 'Master Blaster'. Selection of the players for the first season started on 22 July when the Blasters, along with the other seven franchises, took part in the domestic draft to select the first fourteen Indian players in each team.

international

was the first draft pick made by Kerala Blasters and thus the first player in Kerala Blasters history. At the end of the draft, the Blasters were composed of fourteen players, including Hossain:

Avinabo Bag Avinabo Bag (born 8 September 1989 in West Bengal) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Mohammedan SC in the I-League. Career Pailan Arrows During the summer of 2011 Bag joined Pailan Arrows of the I-League from Kalighat MS ...

Luis Barreto Luis Xavier Barreto (born 14 October 1980) is an Indian association football, footballer who used to play as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for East Bengal FC in the I-League. Career Mumbai (loan) Singh made his debut for Chu ...

Milagres Gonsalves Milagres Gonsalves (born 24 January 1987) is an Indian footballer who last played for Dempo in the I-League 2nd Division. Career Growing up in the then quiet village of Agassim, Milagres had to go through a lot of hardship spending hours trav ...

, Ramandeep Singh,

Gurwinder Singh Gurwinder Singh (born 16 April 1986) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender. Career Gurwinder started his senior career with JCT in 2005 after passing out from their youth academy, where he spent a year. Gurwinder left JCT to joi ...

, Sushanth Mathew, and

Godwin Franco Godwin Diogo Franco (16 February 1985) is an Indian people, Indian professional association football, footballer. Early life Godwin Diogo Franco comes from the Parish of Saint Diogo's (Saint Didacus) Catholic Church, Goa. He played academy ...

. On 13 August 2014, former

international goalkeeper, David James was announced as the first head coach of the club and the first marquee player in team history, thus coming in as a player-head coach. Then, on 21 August 2014, the team participated in the international draft in which each team selected seven foreign players to join their team. Former Newcastle United forward

Michael Chopra Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a striker for West Allotment Celtic. A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to se ...

was the first foreign player drafted by the Blasters.

Signings

Indian draft

International draft

Other signings

Pre-season

Indian Super League

Kerala Blasters began their first ever season away from home against

NorthEast United NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Sup ...

on 13 October. A goal from Koke lead to the Blasters losing that match 1–0 to open the season. Their second match was no better as the Blasters lost their second match of the season to

2–1. Despite Canadian international

scoring the first goal in Blasters history, Chennaiyin managed to grab the victory through goals from

Elano Elano Blumer (born 14 June 1981), known as Elano, is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his accurate passing and precise set pieces, Elano started his senior career at Santos, and sp ...

and

Bernard Mendy Bernard Mendy (born 20 August 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He was known for his blistering pace and constant overlapping runs. He most recently served as the assistant manager of Paris Saint-Germain ...

. The winless streak continued for Kerala Blasters as they headed into their third match against

. An equalizer from Iain Hume meant that the Blasters managed to draw the match 1–1 and thus earn their first ever point. The draw helped propel the momentum for the Blasters as they ended their first month of competitive football with their first ever victory against

Pune City Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. The Blasters fell behind in the match early through a

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth sys ...

goal in the 15th minute but

managed to level the score in the 41st minute, becoming the first Indian player to score for the team ever. It was then

Penn Orji Penn Ikechukwu Orji (born 4 April 1991) is a Nigerian football player who plays for Vasco S.C. in the Goa Professional League as a central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may pl ...

who scored the winning goal in the 65th minute as Kerala Blasters won 2–1. The team then began what would be a long month of November for the team as they would have to play eight matches. Their first match came on 2 November against

Mumbai City Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. The Blasters fell in the match 1–0 after

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

scored for Mumbai City from a free-kick. The team then returned to Kerala to play their first home game of the season of a three-game home stand against

FC Goa Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014. Nicknamed as '' Gaurs'', the club plays their h ...

on 6 November. After a goalless first half, it was

who came up with the winning goal for Kerala Blasters in the 64th minute as the Blasters won 1–0. Despite the opening home victory, the Blasters were unable to do more than achieve 0–0 in their next two matches against the

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

and Mumbai City respectively. After their three-match home stand, Kerala Blasters returned to the road as the took on the Delhi Dynamos in Delhi. A 61st-minute goal from

was enough as the Blasters won the away tie 1–0. Five days later, the Blasters returned home to take on Atlético de Kolkata. Early goals from Iain Hume and

Pedro Gusmão Pedro Adriano Veloso Gusmão, also known as Pedro Gusmao is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Moto Clube. Teams Pedro saw many transfers in his career. Bacabal Pedro played on his hometown's team called Bacabal Esporte Clube ...

helped lead the Blasters to a 2–1 victory of the Kolkata side. The joy from the victory was short-lived though as Kerala Blasters ended the month losing two matches in a row. Their first defeat occurred away from home to FC Goa on 26 November. A brace from

Miroslav Slepička Miroslav Slepička (born 10 November 1981) is a Czech Republic, Czech former professional mixed martial artist and professional football player who lastly played for 1. FK Příbram as a forward. Football career He is a forward who wore th ...

and another goal from

André Santos André Clarindo dos Santos (born 8 March 1983) is a Brazilian footballer who most recently played for Figueirense. Santos is a left-back, who can also be deployed as a left winger. On 15 June 2009, he made his first international appearance ...

lead to the Blasters losing 3–0. That defeat was followed with a 1–0 defeat at home to Chennaiyin. With just two matches left before the finals entering December, Kerala Blasters knew the two matches would be crucial for their season. Their first match occurred on 4 December against NorthEast United. Despite creating many chances upfront, the Blasters were held to a 0–0 result. That result meant that the final match of the regular season, at home to Pune City, would prove to be the decider between the two sides to see who qualifies for the finals. Due to a free-kick goal from Iain Hume and a fantastic performance from

in goal, the Blasters came out victorious 1–0 and thus qualified for the finals.

Table

Results summary

Indian Super League finals

Final

The Kerala Blasters entered the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

as the fourth seed from the regular season and thus had to face the first seed,

in the semi-finals. The first leg of the semi-final turned out to be the Blasters' best offensive performance of the season as they came away with the 3–0 advantage.

scored the first goal for Kerala in the 27th minute before

doubled the lead in the 29th minute. The match was set to finish 2–0 before Sushanth Mathew fired home the third goal for the Kerala Blasters. Despite having the advantage, the Blasters found themselves giving it away in Chennai. Strikes from

Mikaël Silvestre Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born 9 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. Silvestre began his career at Rennes in 1996, before moving to Italian club Inter Milan in 1998. He joined Manchester United in 19 ...

and

Jeje Lalpekhlua Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai (born 7 January 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker, and last appeared with Indian Super League club East Bengal. Between 2011 and 2019, he scored 23 goals in 56 international matches represe ...

, as well as an own goal from

Sandesh Jhingan Sandesh Jhingan (born 21 July 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the Indian national team. He won the AIFF emerging player of the year award in 2014 and made ...

saw the match end 3–0 to Chennaiyin and thus require extra-time to decide the tie. The match looked set to be going to penalties but it was

who broke the deadlock in the 117th minute and send the Kerala Blasters into the final.

Final

The final of the Indian Super League took place at the DY Patil Stadium in

against

. The match remained at 0–0 until the very final minute of second stoppage time when Mohammed Rafique scored for Kolkata and thus take the title away from the Kerala Blasters.

Player statistics

References

{{2014–15 in Indian football Kerala Blasters FC seasons

Kerala Blasters FC Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established ...

Background

Signings

Indian draft

International draft

Other signings

Pre-season

Indian Super League

Table

Results summary

Indian Super League finals

Final

Final

Player statistics

See also

References