Indian Super League: Marchena likely to miss Blasters’ opening tie
Carlos Marchena - Deportivo de la Coruña
The Kochi-based franchise suffered a massive blow as the Spaniard is unlikely to be available for the first game…
Kerala Blasters were the last team to kick-start their pre-season preparations for the second edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Also they are the only team not to have travelled abroad for their pre-season training. The finalists of last season had pinned down to John Arne Riise as their marquee signing before the Norwegian chose to join Delhi Dynamos instead.
In a last ditch attempt, the club roped in Carlos Marchena as their star signing but were dealt a massive blow as the former Valencia defender suffered an injury at their training camp in Trivandrum.
“He has travelled to Spain for treatment. We are awaiting to hear if he will be back for the first game against NorthEast United,” informed a source close to the club.
It must be noted that Riise switched to Dynamos after Blasters had signed all of their foreign players with coach Peter Taylor having made most of the signings keeping in mind that the former Liverpool full-back would be a part of his side.
“Obviously, that did hurt us bad as we had planned our team with him and we had to make some adjustments thereon. However, we were lucky to get Marchena who is a good player,” the coach explained.
Taylor stated that Blasters were lucky to make it into the final four of the competition last year as they scored the least number of goals.
“We scored nine goals in 14 games and were fortunate to be a part of the top four. Obviously, we had a lot of cleansheets which helps. But I would definitely like us to score more goals. Sanchez Watt can be unstoppable if he has his way,” Taylor mentioned.
Blasters face NorthEast United in their first game and Taylor highlighted the need to start the season on a positive note.
“Last year we didn’t start well and this season, playing in front of our fans, we want to do well as a good result will boost our confidence. I’m looking forward to the experience of playing in Kochi.
“I am expecting all teams to improve from last season and our aim is to at least reach the finals again. Our players are fit and nearly ready for the ISL. We have a lot of versatile players in our squad and that shall certainly help to beat the fatigue due to the schedule as we play games very soon,” he further explained.
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