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Kerala Blasters

2016 season
Head Coach	Steve Coppell
Stadium	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Indian Super League	2nd
Finals	Runners-Up
Top goalscorer	League: C.K. Vineeth (5 goals) All: C.K. Vineeth (5 goals)
Highest home attendance	80,294
Average home league attendance	55,535
Home colours Away colours
← 20152017-18 →

The 2016 season was the third season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their third season in Indian Super League. After finishing second position in the league stage, the club managed to make it to the final. In the finals, they were again defeated by Atlético de Kolkata, this time through the penalty shoot-out.

Background

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. A week later, the club announced the signing of Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes as their marquee player for the season. 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.

The season began where the previous left off, with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United. After the first month of the season, the Blasters had one of the best defenses statistically in the league but struggled in attack. 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. They achieved this by defeating Delhi Dynamos 3–0 in a penalty shootout during the semi-final. 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.

Players

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. 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  GRN 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

Retained

Foreign players Position Player MF Josu FW Antonio German

Indian players Position Player GK Sandip Nandy DF Gurwinder Singh DF Sandesh Jhingan MF C.K. Vineeth MF Ishfaq Ahmed MF Mehtab Hossain FW Mohammed Rafi

New signings

Position	Player	Last club	Date	Ref
FW	Thongkhosiem Haokip	Goa	7 July 2016
DF	Pratik Chowdhary	Mumbai	13 July 2016
DF	Aaron Hughes	Melbourne City	28 July 2016
GK	Graham Stack	Barnet	3 August 2016
FW	Michael Chopra	Alloa Athletic	7 August 2016
DF	Elhadji Ndoye	Kyzylzhar	9 August 2016
FW	Kervens Belfort	1461 Trabzon	12 August 2016
DF	Cédric Hengbart	NorthEast United	16 August 2016
MF	Mohammed Rafique	Atlético de Kolkata	22 August 2016
MF	Azrack Mahamat	Levadiakos	23 August 2016
DF	Rino Anto	Atlético de Kolkata	26 August 2016
MF	Didier Kadio	Zhetysu	30 August 2016
MF	Vinit Rai	Dempo	2 September 2016
FW	Duckens Nazon	Tondela	6 September 2016
GK	Kunal Sawant	Mumbai	7 September 2016
GK	Mohammad Ansari	Pune	7 September 2016
FW	Prasanth Karuthadathkuni	AIFF Elite Academy	7 September 2016
FW	Farukh Choudhary	Lonestar Kashmir	7 September 2016

Pre-season

12 September 2016 (2016-09-12) Friendly	BBCU	1–2	Kerala Blasters	Bangkok
		Report

15 September 2016 (2016-09-15) Friendly	Bangkok United	0–0	Kerala Blasters	Bangkok
		Report

24 September 2016 (2016-09-24) Friendly	Southern Samity	1–1	Kerala Blasters	Kolkata
		Report

Indian Super League

Results summary

Source: https://int.soccerway.com/teams/india/kerala-blasters/31407/matches/

Results

1 October 2016 (2016-10-01) 1	NorthEast United	1–0	Kerala Blasters	Guwahati
19:00 IST	Yusa 55'	Report		Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Attendance: 27,629 Referee: Pranjal Banerji

5 October 2016 (2016-10-05) 2	Kerala Blasters	0–1	Atlético de Kolkata	Kochi
19:00 IST		Report	Lara 53'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 54,900 Referee: Umesh Bora

14 October 2016 (2016-10-14) 4	Kerala Blasters	1–0	Mumbai City	Kochi
19:00 IST	Chopra 58'	Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 40,013 Referee: Ajit Dutta

17 October 2016 (2016-10-17) 5	Pune City	1–1	Kerala Blasters	Pune
19:00 IST	Sissoko 68'	Report	Hengbart 3'	Stadium: Balewadi Stadium Attendance: 8,556 Referee: Ajit Meetei

24 October 2016 (2016-10-24) 6	Goa	1–2	Kerala Blasters	Margao
19:00 IST	César 24'	Report	Rafi 46' Belfort 84'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 18,157 Referee: C. R. Srikrishna

4 November 2014 (2014-11-04) 8	Delhi Dynamos	2–0	Kerala Blasters	Delhi
19:00 IST	Lewis 56' Marcelinho 60'	Report		Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 15,471 Referee: Nick Waldron

8 November 2016 (2016-11-08) 9	Kerala Blasters	2–1	Goa	Kochi
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) 10	Kerala Blasters	3–1	Chennaiyin	Kochi
19:00 IST	Kadio 66' Vineeth 85', 89'	Report	Mendy 22'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 53,152 Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini

19 November 2016 (2016-11-19) 11	Mumbai City	5–0	Kerala Blasters	Mumbai
19:00 IST	Forlán 5', 14', 63' Alves 69' Goian 73'	Report		Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena Attendance: 7583

25 November 2016 (2016-11-25) 12	Kerala Blasters	2–1	Pune City	Kochi
19:00 IST	Nazon 7' Hughes 57'	Report	Zurdo 90+5'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 51341

29 November 2016 (2016-11-29) 13	Atlético de Kolkata	1–1	Kerala Blasters	Kolkata
19:00 IST	Stephen Pearson 18'		C.K. Vineeth 8'	Stadium: Rabindra Sarobar Stadium

4 December 2016 (2016-12-04) 14	Kerala Blasters	1–0	NorthEast United	Kochi
19:00 IST	C.K. Vineeth 66'			Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 53000

Player statistics

Season stats

#	Position	Player	GP	G
1	GK	Graham Stack	6	0
2	DF	Pratik Chowdhary	8	0
5	DF	Cédric Hengbart	17	1
6	DF	Aaron Hughes	9	1
7	MF	Mohammed Rafique	10	0
8	MF	Vinit Rai	2	0
9	FW	Kervens Belfort	13	3
10	FW	Antonio German	11	0
11	MF	Ishfaq Ahmed	6	0
12	FW	Thongkhosiem Haokip	1	0
13	FW	C.K. Vineeth	9	5
14	MF	Mehtab Hossain	16	0
16	DF	Gurwinder Singh	1	0
17	FW	Farukh Choudhary	2	0
19	DF	Elhadji Ndoye	4	0
20	FW	Mohammed Rafi	13	2
21	DF	Sandesh Jhingan	17	0
22	FW	Prasanth Karuthadathkuni	0	0
23	GK	Kunal Sawant	0	0
24	GK	Sandip Nandy	10	0
27	FW	Michael Chopra	10	1
30	GK	Mohammad Ansari	0	0
31	DF	Rino Anto	3	0
57	MF	Didier Kadio	11	1
78	FW	Duckens Nazon	11	2
88	MF	Azrack Mahamat	11	0
99	DF	Josu	15	0

See also

• 2016–17 in Indian football

References

1. "Kerala Blasters announce Steve Coppell as manager for ISL 2016". FirstPost. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
2. "Kerala Blasters bags Aaron Hughes as marquee player". Times of India. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
3. "Indian Super League 2016 Team Profile - Kerala Blasters". Goal.com. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
4. "NorthEast United 1-0 Kerala Blasters - Katsumi Yusa wins it for Highlanders". Goal.com. 1 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
5. Bali, Rahul (26 October 2016). "Kerala Blasters' invoke defensive rally as FC Goa continue to crumble". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
6. "CK Vineeth - If I prove myself, I'll get selected in the national team". Goal.com. 10 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
7. Puri, Rohan (15 December 2016). "Delhi Dynamos fumble at the post". Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. 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. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. 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. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
10. "CK Vineeth retained". Kerala Blasters FC (Twitter). Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
11. "Kerala Blasters sign 22-year old forward Thongkhosiem Haokip for ISL season three". Firstpost. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
12. "Kerala Blasters sign defender Pratik Chaudhari". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
13. "Indian Super League Live Football Scores, News, Stats, Schedules, Results, Highlights, Photos, Videos – NDTV Sports". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
14. "Kerala Blasters sign former Arsenal stopper Graham Stack". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
15. "Kerala Blasters bring back English striker Michael Chopra". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
16. Maitra, Sayantan (9 August 2016). "After Michael Chopra, top Senegalese defender joins Kerala Blasters ahead of ISL 2016". www.ibtimes.co.in. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
17. "ISL 2017: Kervens Belfort - Kochi is my home, Kerala is my family | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
18. "Kerala Blasters defender Cedric Hengbart signs for Maltese club Mosta FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
19. "Mohammed Rafique: Kolkata's loss, Kerala's gain in ISL3?". Hindustan Times. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
20. "Kerala Blasters bolster midfield with signing of Azrack Mahamat". ANI News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
21. "Rino Anto signs for Kerala Blasters". Kerala Blasters (Twitter). 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
22. Bharali, Abhijit (21 August 2017). "ISL 2017: Ex-Kerala Blasters star slams rumours linking him to other ISL clubs". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
23. Reporter, Sports (15 September 2010). "Vinit Rai signs for Kerala Blasters". assamtribune.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
24. "Kerala Blasters strengthen their attack with Haitian footballer Duckens Nazon for Indian Super League 2016". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
25. ^ "Kerala Blasters announces final squad for Indian Super League 2016". Indian Super League. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2016.

v t e Kerala Blasters FC
Kochi, Kerala
The club	History Players Managers Results Current season All articles
Home stadium	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi
Other teams	Reserve and Youth Teams Kerala Blasters FC Reserves and Academy Women's Team Kerala Blasters FC Women
Key personnel	Owners Magnum Sports Private Limited Sporting Director Karolis Skinkys Head Coach Mikael Stahre
Fan group	Manjappada
Rivalries	South Indian Derby
Related articles	Yennum Yellow
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Category • Commons

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