THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On a day when ISL defending champions Atletico de Kolkata registered a 9-0 win in friendlies against Spanish fourth division team Gimnástica Segoviana in Europe, the season one runner ups Kerala Blasters (KBFC) have started training at Kariavattom on city suburbs with a youthful squad.
The local favourite Rafi, the most talked about the acquisition of KBFC, has joined the team on Saturday.
Though the Kerala side has started the training late for the ISL that is scheduled to begin on October 3, they are upbeat about a healthy mix of mostly English foreign players and India youngsters who are already familiar with each other.
The team that has been residing in a hotel at Palayam has been secretive about the training session. Many a fans were not able to catch a glimpse of training, and the media were restricted around Kariavattom.
More KBFC players including Marquee player Carlos Marchena of Spain are expected to arrive in the city in the coming days while the team gets acclimatised to the weather in the Indian subcontinent.
After an early morning training session at Kariavattom on Saturday, the team took part in workouts sessions at the hotel gymnasium and had healthy cereal rich meals. Player cum assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed was one of the first to join the team in the city.
Young KBFC strikers including former Delhi Dynamos striker Manandeep Singh, 22, and former Arsenal player Sanches Watt, 24, were part of the practice sessions.
With former Queen Park Rangers Antonio German, 23, joining the squad, the team will probably be the most youthful in ISL 2.
KBFC senior defender Peter ‘Rambo’ Ramage was earlier spotted at the airport with KBFC coach Peter Taylor and goalkeeper Stephen Bywater, who used to guard West Ham net.Together with Ramandeep Singh, they will build the KBFC defence wall.
