# 2016 Kerala Blasters FC season

The 2016 season was the third season in Kerala Blasters FC's existence, as well as their third season in Indian Super League. After finishing second position in the league stage, the club managed to make it to the final. In the finals, they were again defeated by Atlético de Kolkata, this time through the penalty shoot-out.

## Background

In 2016, in an effort to rebuild after failing to qualify for the finals the previous season, Kerala Blasters announced the signing of former Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell as head coach on 21 June 2016. A week later, the club announced the signing of Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes as their marquee player for the season. Other moves made before the season included the signing of Graham Stack, Kervens Belfort, Duckens Nazon, and Mohammed Rafique and return of former players Michael Chopra and Cédric Hengbart.
The season began where the previous left off, with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United. After the first month of the season, the Blasters had one of the best defenses statistically in the league but struggled in attack. In the second half of the season, after the return of C.K. Vineeth from loan with Bengaluru FC, the Blasters managed to surge their way into the finals. They achieved this by defeating Delhi Dynamos 3–0 in a penalty shootout during the semi-final. In the final, the Kerala Blasters would play host to Atlético de Kolkata. The Blasters took the lead early through Mohammed Rafi before Kolkata equalized soon after. The match went into a penalty shootout, Despite taking the lead early in the shootout, the Kerala Blasters lost 4–3 and thus were defeated in their second final in three seasons.

## Players
### Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | IRL | Graham Stack |
| 2 | DF | IND | Pratik Chowdhary |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Cédric Hengbart |
| 6 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes |
| 7 | MF | IND | Mohammed Rafique |
| 8 | MF | IND | Vinit Rai |
| 9 | FW | HAI | Kervens Belfort |
| 10 | FW | GRN | Antonio German |
| 11 | MF | IND | Ishfaq Ahmed |
| 12 | FW | IND | Thongkhosiem Haokip |
| 13 | FW | IND | C.K. Vineeth |
| 14 | MF | IND | Mehtab Hossain |
| 16 | DF | IND | Gurwinder Singh |
| 17 | FW | IND | Farukh Choudhary |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | SEN | Elhadji Ndoye |
| 20 | FW | IND | Mohammed Rafi |
| 21 | DF | IND | Sandesh Jhingan |
| 22 | FW | IND | Prasanth Karuthadathkuni |
| 23 | GK | IND | Kunal Sawant |
| 24 | GK | IND | Sandip Nandy |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Michael Chopra |
| 30 | GK | IND | Mohammad Ansari |
| 31 | DF | IND | Rino Anto |
| 57 | MF | CIV | Didier Kadio |
| 78 | FW | HAI | Duckens Nazon |
| 88 | MF | CHA | Azrack Mahamat |
| 99 | DF | ESP | Josu |
Source: Indian Super League 2016

## Transfers
### New signings

| Position | Player | Last club | Date |
| FW | Thongkhosiem Haokip | Goa | 7 July 2016 |
| DF | Pratik Chowdhary | Mumbai | 13 July 2016 |
| DF | Aaron Hughes | Melbourne City | 28 July 2016 |
| GK | Graham Stack | Barnet | 3 August 2016 |
| FW | Michael Chopra | Alloa Athletic | 7 August 2016 |
| DF | Elhadji Ndoye | Kyzylzhar | 9 August 2016 |
| FW | Kervens Belfort | 1461 Trabzon | 12 August 2016 |
| DF | Cédric Hengbart | NorthEast United | 16 August 2016 |
| MF | Mohammed Rafique | Atlético de Kolkata | 22 August 2016 |
| MF | Azrack Mahamat | Levadiakos | 23 August 2016 |
| DF | Rino Anto | Atlético de Kolkata | 26 August 2016 |
| MF | Didier Kadio | Zhetysu | 30 August 2016 |
| MF | Vinit Rai | Dempo | 2 September 2016 |
| FW | Duckens Nazon | Tondela | 6 September 2016 |
| GK | Kunal Sawant | Mumbai | 7 September 2016 |
| GK | Mohammad Ansari | Pune | 7 September 2016 |
| FW | Prasanth Karuthadathkuni | AIFF Elite Academy | 7 September 2016 |
| FW | Farukh Choudhary | Lonestar Kashmir | 7 September 2016 |

## Indian Super League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mumbai City | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 23 | Advance to ISL Play-offs |
| 2 | Kerala Blasters | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 22 | Advance to ISL Play-offs |
| 3 | Delhi Dynamos | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 21 | Advance to ISL Play-offs |
| 4 | Atlético de Kolkata (C) | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 20 | Advance to ISL Play-offs |
| 5 | NorthEast United | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 18 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: https://int.soccerway.com/teams/india/kerala-blasters/31407/matches/

### Results
## Player statistics

Season stats :
| # | Position | Player | GP | G |
| 1 | GK | Graham Stack | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Pratik Chowdhary | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Cédric Hengbart | 17 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Aaron Hughes | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Mohammed Rafique | 10 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Vinit Rai | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Kervens Belfort | 13 | 3 |
| 10 | FW | Antonio German | 11 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Ishfaq Ahmed | 6 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Thongkhosiem Haokip | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | C.K. Vineeth | 9 | 5 |
| 14 | MF | Mehtab Hossain | 16 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Gurwinder Singh | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Farukh Choudhary | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Elhadji Ndoye | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Mohammed Rafi | 13 | 2 |
| 21 | DF | Sandesh Jhingan | 17 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Prasanth Karuthadathkuni | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | Kunal Sawant | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | Sandip Nandy | 10 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Michael Chopra | 10 | 1 |
| 30 | GK | Mohammad Ansari | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | Rino Anto | 3 | 0 |
| 57 | MF | Didier Kadio | 11 | 1 |
| 78 | FW | Duckens Nazon | 11 | 2 |
| 88 | MF | Azrack Mahamat | 11 | 0 |
| 99 | DF | Josu | 15 | 0 |