January 4, 2018 was an important date for the Kerala Blasters FC. They were playing table toppers FC Pune City for the first time after parting ways with their much-acclaimed former Manchester United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen, who managed just one win in seven games.
The figures undoubtedly didn’t support Meulensteen but he also was never able to field a first XI of his choice free of injuries till he was asked to leave. Fighting to inject logic in modern-day professionalism, when the numbers do not support you, can be very tough. But numbers are numbers, and they went against Meulensteen – and he will also agree to that.
Whatever churned out of the rumour mills thereafter about Meulensteen’s equation with the Indian players in the team, especially his disliking for CK Vineeth or his soft corner for Dimitar Berbatov is something that will continue for some time if the losing trend doesn’t change.
So, Thursday, January 4, 2018 was an important day for KBFC. And the man in charge now was England’s former goalkeeper David James, who also played for the Kochi-based franchise in the inaugural season.
A win would give KBFC a faint hope of a fightback in a season where they have remained in the bottom half. But it could also bring the wonderful Kerala crowd back to the stadium, which was something that two Germans – Rupprecht Sebastian and Friedrich Strasse – had come all the way from Dubai to witness.
“The crowd here during their last game against Bengaluru FC pulled us here,” said Friedrich who has traveled to few other countries and watched football, but “never saw something like this”.
‘How can you support a losing team?’
But the sparse yellow T-shirts on the streets outside the stadium just three hours before kick-off sent wrong signals that the venue – which was packed five hours before the whistle on the inaugural day and which has been witnessing record turnaround in almost all ISL games in all seasons – is now banking on complimentary tickets.
The stadium has a capacity of 60,000 and on any given day, one can expect anything in excess of 45,000 and an atmosphere that drew people like Steve Coppell and Teddy Sheringham to India. The atmosphere always has been electric, and goosebumps are a common thing when you are at the venue.
“Only 6,000 tickets have been sold today,” remarked an official in a somber mood just when there was an announcement in his walkie that the teams have left the hotel and will arrive in the stadium soon.
“How much can you support a losing team,” remarked the sports editor of a leading Malayalam newspaper in the city.
But there are few others who believed that “today will be different”.
“Watch the team play today”, said another.
“Can one person really create a miracle?” asked another referring to James. Maybe not, is perhaps the right answer. And though the sounds of the chenda, maddalam and kurumkuzhal (local musical instruments) were missing, there was something in the air around James that gave hope against that feeling of unwilling expectations that KBFC fans have slowly started to resign themselves to these days.
James was the first one to get down from the team bus. As he walked past the by-standers, he smiled and shook hands with whoever extended their arms on the way. There was a small cheer from the few hundred fans that had gathered in the stadium by then as James popped up on the giant screen in the stadium.
The Englishman is no foreigner here and the people poured out their heart to him. The locals are soft-spoken and gentle, but in James’s case the love of the people is coupled with an expectation to see their team winning and to go back home smiling.
Soon after the FC Pune City team arrived. Normally ahead of ISL games, both teams make their way to the ground after arriving at the stadium and exchange pleasantries. But the Pune team went for a stroll in the park for some time and waved to the 200-strong Orange Army that had gathered in the stadium, before heading for the dressing room.
The Kerala team came out for the first time only during the warm-up session 45 minutes before the game. And while the team was busy doing their drills, James was in serious conversation with his support staff.
When the team later walked out to the playing arena, the loudest cheer was there not for Sandesh, Vineeth, Berbatov or Hume, it was for James. By then, the odd hundreds had turned into odd thousands, but still much less than what a Kerala Blasters encounter witnesses.
Just before kick off, Sandesh went around to almost everybody in the Kerala half. The goalkeeper Roy was first; the captain then went to Brown, Rino Anto, Lalruatthara, Siam Hanghal and even Berba, who was walking to his position from the back. Anybody who had seen Sandesh walk away from his guard when Bengaluru had scored their third goal in the previous match will certainly vouch for the captain’s change of heart that day.
The Blasters conceded early and then simply looked to stand firm, absorb pressure and cling on. James, for the most part stayed put, sitting on the right side of the dug out even as the team went on doing almost everything wrong. The crowd sprang to their feet once in a while but that was too few and far between to come. And, by half time, when both teams walked through the tunnel, Pune were leading by a solitary goal.
Miraculous turn
What transpired after that was nothing less than a miracle. The big man Berbatov was replaced by 19-year-old Ugandan Keziron Kizito and Kerala crackled sporadically into life after the Uganda international started displaying his dribbling skills. It brought the crowd back to life, which by then had swelled close to 20,000.
The roaring music continued and like a symphony orchestra went up and down with the moves on the field. It reached a crescendo as Kerala outplayed the favourites with a skilful, attractive and attacking brand of football never seen from this bunch here.
That they even got the equaliser became irrelevant because, for once, although match ended in a draw, the Blasters won this contest by miles, along with the hearts and minds of Kerala fans and many footballer lovers around the world. For the first time this season, Kerala Blasters had instilled a sense that everyone had seen this game before, and would see it again and again in the weeks and months to come, as long as James is in charge.
When he was asked by a reporter at the end of the game about what he told the boys during the break, James smiled and said, “It’s a secret.” Let it stay that way, as long as the beautiful game creates beautiful memories.
Disclaimer: Ajit Bezbaruah works for Perfect Relations, which manages public relations for the Indian Super League.