The 2020–21 season was the seventh season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their seventh season in Indian Super League. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all the matches in the seventh season of ISL were played behind closed doors in three venues at Goa. GMC Athletic Stadium was chosen as the home venue for the Blasters.
Season overview
Background On 15 March 2020, Kerala Blasters appointed Karolis Skinkys as their new Sporting director ahead of the new season. On 22 April, the club officially announced the signing of Kibu Vicuña as their new manager. The most surprising move was the departure of Sandesh Jhingan: he departed the club on 21 May in a mutual consent thus ending his six years association with the club. The CEO, Viren D'Silva, also left the club on the same day.
July On 1 July 2020, Kerala Blasters officially announced that they had extended the contract of Jessel Carneiro until 2023
On 8 July, the club announced the signing of goalkeeper Albino Gomes on a free transfer from Odisha FC.
On 15 July, it was announced that the young midfielder Ritwik Das has joined the club from Real Kashmir.
The signing of Nishu Kumar was finally confirmed by the club on 22 July. The four-year deal made Nishu the highest paid Indian defender.
On 29 July, the club announced the contract extension of Abdul Hakku until 2023.
August On 5 August, Kerala Blasters completed the signing of left back Denechandra Meitei from TRAU F.C.
On 12 August, it was announced that Sahal has extended his contract for three more years with the Blasters which made him to stay at the club until 2025.
On 19 August, the club announced the signing of Indian Under 19 midfielder Givson Singh from Indian Arrows.
On 22 August, Blasters announced the signing of Sandeep Singh from TRAU F.C.
On 26 August, the club completed the signing of Rohit Kumar from Hyderabad FC.
On 28 August, the departure of captain Bartholomew Ogbeche was officially announced by the club.
September On 2 September, Kerala Blasters announced the signing of Facundo Pereyra as their first foreign signing of the season. He became the first Argentine to sign for the club.
On 9 September, the club announced the signing of India National Under 20 goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill on a two-year deal.
On 12 September, Kerala Blasters announced the contract extension of local boy Prasanth Karuthadathkuni until 2021.
On 16 September, the club announced the signing of young midfielder Puitea from NorthEast United FC on a three-year deal.
On 19 September, Blasters extended the contract of Seityasen Singh until 2022.
On 23 September, Blasters announced the signing of Spanish Midfielder Vicente Gómez Umpiérrez on a three-year deal.
On 30 September, Blasters announced the contract extension of Rahul KP until 2025.
October On 5 October, the Blasters announced the signing of Gary Hooper on a one-year deal.
On 8 October, the Blasters started their pre-season training camp under the assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed.
On 9 October, the Blasters announced the signing of Costa Nhamoinesu. After this deal, Nhamoinesu became the first Zimbabwean to play for the club.
On 21 October, the Blasters announced the signing of Burkina Faso international defender Bakary Koné as their sixth foreign signing of the season.
On 24 October, the Blasters announced the signing of Australian forward Jordan Murray as their AFC affiliated player and final foreign signing of the season.
November On 7 November, the Blasters announced its association with BYJU'S, the world's largest Ed-Tech company, as their new title sponsor with an option to extend the sponsorship.
On 18 November, the Blasters announced Costa Nhamoinesu, Sergio Cidoncha, and Jessel Carneiro as the captains ahead of the new season with Nhamoinesu being the first choice captain.
On 20 November, the Blasters lost 1–0 to ATK Mohun Bagan in the 2020–21 ISL season opener.
On 26 November, the Blasters drew 2–2 against NorthEast United FC.
On 29 November, the Blasters had a goalless draw against Chennaiyin FC in the South Indian Derby.
December On 6 December, the Blasters lost 3–1 against FC Goa.
On 8 December, the Blasters confirmed that the club captain Sergio Cidoncha, who tore his right ankle ligament during the match against Chennaiyin has left for Spain to recover from the injury and will miss the remainder of the season.
On 12 December, the Blasters extended the contract of Jeakson Singh until 2023.
On 13 December, the Blasters lost 4–2 against Bengaluru in the South Indian Derby.
On 20 December, the Blasters drew 1–1 against SC East Bengal.
On 27 December, the Blasters won 2–0 against Hyderabad FC, registering their first victory of the season.
On 28 December, the Blasters announced the signing of Juande as an injury replacement of Cido for the remainder of the season.
On 29 December, the Blasters announced that they have signed Subha Ghosh from ATK Mohun Bagan on a three-year contract; a swap deal with Nongdamba Naorem for whom the Blasters received an undisclosed transfer fee.
January On 2 January 2021, the Blasters lost 2–0 against Mumbai City FC.
On 7 January, the Blasters lost 4–2 against Odisha FC.
On 9 January, the Blasters extended the contract of Prasanth K until 2023.
On 10 January, the Blasters won 3–2 against Jamshedpur FC. After this game, Sahal Abdul Samad became the player with second most appearances for the Blasters.
On 15 January, the Blasters drew 1–1 against SC East Bengal. The game saw Albino Gomes becoming the first Indian goalkeeper and only second goalkeeper overall to provide an assist in Indian Super League.
On 20 January, the Blasters defeated Bengaluru FC 2–1 in the Southern Derby.
On 23 January, the Blasters drew 1–1 against FC Goa.
On 27 January, the Blasters had a goalless draw against Jamshedpur FC.
On 29 January, the Blasters confirmed that Facundo Pereyra has suffered a broken nose before the match against Jamshedpur FC.
On 31 January, the Blasters lost 3–2 against ATK Mohun Bagan FC.
February On 4 February, the Blasters lost 1–2 against Mumbai City FC.
On 11 February, the Blasters drew 2–2 against Odisha FC.
On 16 February, the Blasters lost 4–0 to Hyderabad FC.
On 17 February, the club parted ways with their head coach Kibu Vicuna on mutual consent. Ishfaq Ahmed was appointed as the interim head coach for the remainder of season.
On 20 February, the club extended the contract of defender Sandeep Singh until 2022.
On 21 February, the Blasters drew 1–1 against Chennaiyin FC in the Southern Derby.
On 26 February, the Blasters lost 2–0 against NorthEast United FC in their final match of the league.
Players Note: The list contains all the players who were registered by the club for the 2020-21 season
No.NameNationalityPosition(s)Date of Birth (Age)Goalkeepers1Bilal KhanGK13Prabhsukhan Singh GillGK32Albino GomesGK77Muheet ShabirGKDefenders3Sandeep SinghCB4 Bakary KonéCB5 Nishu KumarRB/LB14Jessel Carneiro (Captain)LB24 Abdul HakkuCB26 Costa Nhamoinesu (vice-captain)CB39 LalruattharaCB/LB45 Denechandra MeiteiLBMidfielders6Prasanth Karuthadathkuni RW/RM/RB7Seityasen Singh RW8Rohit Kumar CDM10Facundo Pereyra LW/RW/AM11Givson Singh CM15Jeakson Singh CDM17Rahul K P RW18Sahal CM/AM31Juande CDM/CB20Ayush Adhikari CM25Vicente Gómez DM/CM27Ritwik Das CM/RW47Puitea CM/RW99Muktasana Sharma CMForwards9Jordan Murray FW49Subha Ghosh FW88Gary Hooper FW
Other players under contract Note: Player was deregistered from Indian Super League squad due to an injury. No.NameNationalityPosition(s)Date of Birth (Age)22Sergio Cidoncha CM/AM
Contract Extensions
No Player PositionContract TillRef.14 Jessel CarneiroLeft Back202318 Sahal Abdul SamadCentral/Attacking Midfielder202524 Abdul HakkuCentre-back202317 Rahul Kannoly PraveenWinger20257 Seityasen SinghRight Midfielder/Right Winger202211 Prasanth KWinger202315Jeakson SinghDefensive midfielder20233Sandeep SinghCentre back/ Right back2022
Transfers
Transfers In Date Player PositionNo.Last ClubFee Ref. 8 July 2020 Albino Gomes GK 32 Odisha FC Free transfer 15 July 2020 Ritwik Das CM 23 Real Kashmir FC Free transfer 22 July 2020 Nishu Kumar LB/RB 22 Bengaluru FC Free transfer5 August 2020 Denechandra MeiteiLB45 TRAU F.C.Free transfer19 August 2020 Givson SinghAM27 Indian Arrows22 August 2020 Sandeep SinghCB/RB5 TRAU F.C.Free transfer26 August 2020 Rohit KumarCM/DM13 Hyderabad FCFree transfer2 September 2020 Facundo Pereyra AM/SS7Apollon Limassol FCFree transfer9 September 2020 Prabhsukhan Singh Gill GK47 Bengaluru FCFree transfer16 September 2020 Puitea MF/RW30 Northeast United FCFree transfer23 September 2020 Vicente Gómez Umpiérrez DM 4 Deportivo de La CoruñaFree transfer5 October 2020 Gary Hooper FW 9 Wellington Phoenix FC Free transfer 10 October 2020 Costa NhamoinesuCB/LB 26 AC Sparta PragueFree transfer21 October 2020 Bakary KonéCB 3 Free agent Free transfer 24 October 2020 Jordan Murray FW 25 Central Coast Mariners FC Free transfer 28 December 2020 Juande DM/CM 19 Perth Glory FC Free transfer 29 December 2020 Subha Ghosh FW 49 ATK Mohun Bagan FC Free transfer
Promotion from reserves and youth Date Player PositionNo.Promoted FromRef. 9 October 2020 Naorem Mahesh Singh FW– Kerala Blasters B (U21) 9 October 2020 Nongdamba Naorem MF– Kerala Blasters B 9 October 2020 Shaiborlang Kharpan FW– Kerala Blasters B 9 October 2020 Ayush Adhikari MF– Kerala Blasters B 9 October 2020 Gotimayum Muktasana Sharma MF– Kerala Blasters B 9 October 2020 Muheet Shabir Khan GK– Kerala Blasters B (U18)
Loan Returns Position No. Player From LW 19 Nongdamba Naorem Mohun Bagan A.C. FW 10 Matej Poplatnik Kaposvári Rákóczi FC
Loan Outs Position No. Player To FW 23 Naorem Mahesh Singh Sudeva Delhi FC FW 19 Shaiborlang Kharpan Sudeva Delhi FC
Transfers Out
Exit Date Player PositionNo.ToFee Ref.21 May 2020 Sandesh JhinganDF 21 ATK Mohun Bagan FCFree transfer22 May 2020 Samuel LalmuanpuiaMF 27 Odisha FCFree Transfer27 June 2020 Pritam Kumar SinghDF 23 East Bengal FCFree Transfer4 July 2020 Slaviša Stojanovic FW 8 OFK Bačka Free Transfer 8 July 2020 Matej Poplatnik FW10Livingston FCUndisclosed13 August 2020 Halicharan NarzaryLW 19 Hyderabad FCFree Transfer28 August 2020 Bartholomew OgbecheFW10 Mumbai City FCFree transfer8 September 2020 TP ReheneshGK13 Jamshedpur FCFree transfer24 September 2020 Raphaël Messi Bouli FW 28 Heilongjiang Lava Spring FC Free transfer25 September 2020 Shibinraj KunniyilGK42 Churchill Brothers S.C.Free transfer4 October 2020 Darren CaldeiraMF15 Retired–4 October 2020 Mario ArquésMF6 Kelantan FCFree transfer27 October 2020 Vlatko DrobarovDF33 PFC Cherno More Varna Free transfer4 October 2020 Moustapha GningMF7 SD EjeaFree transfer20 October 2020 Mohammad RakipDF2 Mumbai City FCFree transfer5 November 2020 Gianni ZuiverloonDF51 ADO Den Haag Free transfer4 October 2020 Mohammed RafiFW20 Free agent4 October 2020 Raju GaikwadDF5 SC East Bengal Free transfer27 October 2020 Jairo RodriguesDF3 G.D. Fabril Free transfer4 December 2020 Arjun JayarajMF30 Kerala United FCFree transfer29 December 2020Nongdamba NaoremLW16ATK Mohun Bagan FCUndisclosed fee + player
Management
Role Name Head Coach/Manager Kibu Vicuna (18 games) Ishfaq Ahmed (interim) (2 games) Assistant Coach Tomasz Tchórz Sporting Director Karolis Skinkys Physical Trainer Paulius Ragauskas Goalkeeping Coach Yusuf Ansari Tactical & Analytical Coach David Ochoa
Pre-season and friendlies
Owing the COVID-19 pandemic, all the clubs including Kerala Blasters FC couldn't have a proper preseason. The preseason time was cut short this season. The Blasters began their preseason against one of their fellow Indian Super League opponent, Hyderabad FC on 25 October 2020. Both squads had fielded Indian players only as the foreign players were on quarantine. In the end, the Blasters beat Hyderabad 2–0 with Rahul K.P. netting both the goals.
Competitions
Indian Super League
League table
League Results by round
Matches
Statistics