In the first-ever Kerala Derby, on the national stage, Gokulam Kerala and Kerala Blasters face off in a crucial Group C game of the 132nd Durand Cup at the Mohun Bagan ground in Kolkata on Sunday.
The Kochi-based side and the Kozhikode-based team have faced each other multiple times in the Kerala Premier League but will meet in a national tournament for the first time.
The game between Indian Super League (ISL) side and former Durand champions will be the clash between the football-crazy fans of north and central Kerala, one of Indian football’s bastions.
The Durand Cup has a history of seeing winners from Kerala with FC Kochin being the first team to win the competition in 1997 before Gokulam Kerala repeated the feat in 2019. Being the most popular team in the state, the Kerala Blasters are due a trophy and will look at the Durand Cup as a good chance of ending the wait.
With the top spot in the group like gold dust in this edition of the Durand Cup, their clash assumes greater significance, given Bengaluru FC, the defending champions have chosen to field a young side. At the same time, the already once-vanquished Indian Air Force team makes up the fourth team in the group.
Given the context both managers, Serbian Ivan Vukomanovic of the Blasters and Spaniard Domingo Oramas of Gokulam would go all out to pocket three points from the game, which would in turn, make for an exciting game of football with the talent they have at their disposal.
The Malabarians would have the advantage of having played once in the tournament and will go into the game with the confidence of three points in their bag. Their two Spanish attackers Nili Pedromo and Alex Sanchez seemed to be getting into some rhythm and players like Sourav and Sreekuttan, who probably came up with the goal of the tournament with his second-half strike against the Airmen, were impressive in the first game.
The Manjappadas on the other hand are coming off their pre-season and with a new-look but strong squad. Coach Vukomanovic’s attacking philosophy will prevail with old-timers like Uruguayan star Adrian Luna and Rahul KP still shoring up their attack. The Blasters also have an experienced defence line with players like Pritam Kotal, Prabir Das, Hormipam and Naocha Singh in their ranks and they have a surprise upfront in 20-year-old Nigerian striker Emmanuel Justine.
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