Kerala team for the 64th Santosh Trophy National Football Championship has reached their destination at Kolkata and will face their first opponents Uttarakhand on Thursday, 22nd July. The Kerala squad for the 2010 edition of the still-prestigious competition was picked a few days back.
The squad has 20 members in it with eight of them making it to the national tournament for the first time. Kerala State Electricity Board's Jaseer Karnath will lead the team at Kolkata. The team has an average age of 25. FootballKerala.com here tries to make you aware of the players who will represent us in the Santosh Trophy 2010.
Coach: MM Jacob MM Jacob has coached the Kerala team in the years 1999 and 2000 was the assistant coach when Kerala lifted the trophy in the year 1993. He has 35 years of experience as a player and coach at the Central Excise Football Team is now working as Export Claim Superintendent at Cochin.
Assistant Coach: VP Shaji VP Shaji is a former India International. He has vast experience of playing football for the State Bank of Travancore team (9 years) as well as the FC Kochin (4 years). He represented Kerala 9 times in the Santosh Trophy and captained the team in the 1998 edition. He was also part of the Indian team for SAFF Cup in 1994-95.
Captain: Jaseer Karnath - Age:35 - Club: Kerala State Electricity Board - District: Malappuram
The thirty-five year old Jaseer Karnath is a regular member of the Kerala's Santosh Trophy line-ups for a few years now. The KSEB player will be taking part in the 5th Santosh Trophy of his career and this time, he will be leading his state.
Vice Captain: Bijesh Ben - Age: 29 - Club: Central Excise - District: Thiruvananthapuram
Vice captain of the team, Bijesh, is on his sixth Santosh Trophy outing! The 29 year old player is the favorite to control the game in the midfield for Kerala along with the playmaker MP Sakeer. Bijesh can be stationed in the defense as well as the midfield.
Goal Keepers:
Sharath K - Age: 24 - Club: Viva Kerala - District: Kozhikode
Sharath was a regular presence under the bar for Viva Kerala in the I-League 2009-10 and impresses the Kerala fans with his solid performances against the mighty opponents. He is the youngest of the 3 keepers in the Kerala team.
Joby Joseph - Age: 31 - Club: Travancore Titanium XI - District: Pathanamthitta
Joby is the only player from the Titanium Xi to have made it into the final team of the Santosh Trophy this time.
Jinesh Thomas - Age: 30 - Club: Golden Threads - District: Ernakulam
Jinesh is the favourite to keep the goals for Kerala in this edition of the National Football Championships. He was a part of the last year's team too, but didn't feature in any of the matches as the then coach decided to go with year old custodian KT Navas.
Defenders:
Prince Poulose - Age: 28 - Club: Kerala State Electricity Board - District: Wayanad
The more experienced among the defenders in the squad, Prince Poulose began his football life with the Farook College Football Team and was a well known figure in the sevens football circuit in Kerala before signing for the KSEB.
Surjith VV - Age: 22 - Club: Kerala State Electricity Board - District: Thrissur
Surjith played a big role in the Viva Kerala FC's successful I-League campaign last season and enjoyed more I-League action than any other player in the Viva Kerala squad. The left back who can contribute well to the attack has joined the KSEB since then. He can also be used on the right side of the defense.
N Johnson - Age: 23 - Club: State Bank of Travancore - District: Thiruvananthapuram
The twenty three year old, N Johnson, is a surprise entry into the Kerala team. He is a talented defender and played for the State Bank of Travancore last season.
Justin Stephen - Age: 22 - Club: Chirag United - District: Kottayam
Former Mahindra United defender will be playing his second Santosh Trophy in a row. He was among the five outstation players called up for the last Santosh Trophy and he is one of them this time around too. The Kerala Footballer of the year for the year 2009 is from the Uzhavoor village of Kottayam district. Justin has signed a contract with Chirag United for the next season.
Anas Edathodika - Age: 23 - Club: Mumbai FC - District: Malappuram
A solid performance from Anas for Maharashtra in the last Santosh Trophy was a reason for Kerala's elimination from the tournament last year in the hands of Maharashtra. Buth this time, Anas will be pumped up to take Kerala as far as he can as he represent his state for the first time in his playing career.
BT Sarath - Age: 24 - Club: State Bank of Travancore - District: Kollam
BT Sharath is another SBT player in the team. He is from the southern district of Kollam and is aged 24. Even though a first team player at the bank team, Sharath might have to warm the bench a bit during this Santosh Trophy.
Midfielders:
Renil CJ - Age: 24 - Club: State Bank of Travancore - District: Thrissur
Renil joined the State Bank of Travancore at the start of the season from Viva Kerala. He has played a major role in SBT's performances in various tournaments like I-League Second Division, the Federation Cup 2010 Qualifiers and the GV Raja Trophy.
MP Sakeer - Age: 23 - Club: Musli Power Churchill Brothers - District: Malappuram
Ex-Viva Kerala captain, MP Sakeer, who has signed for the Goan club Churchill Brothers for the new season, will master the Kerala midfield in the tournament. Opponents better watch out for the defense splitting through balls and the thundering long rangers.
N Sumesh - Age: 23 - Club: Josco FC - District: Thrissur
Sumesh is the only representative of Josco FC in the Kerala team and is one of the three Thrissur players to be included. Sumesh is a gifted side midfielder who can play on the right as well as the left.
Martin John - Age: 26 - Club: State Bank of Travancore - District: Thiruvananthapuram
Martin John is an experienced midfielder having represented Kerala in the Santosh Trophy for more than two years. The midfielder is a member of the SBT team and is one among the six SBT players in the squad.
Forwards:
Jacken Sebastian - Age: 27 - Club: McDowell's Mohun Bagan - District: Thiruvananthapuram
The 27 year old Jacken Sebastian has matured himself as a top class striker and it is proved so, as he earned a big move to Kolkata when the Mohun Bagan officials opened their wallet to sign the former Malabar United star forward. Jacken was also named in the Santosh Trophy 2009 team, but didn't make much of an impact on the team. But this time, the goal scoring forward will be desperate to prove his worth.
OK Javed - Age: 25 - Club: Chandni FC - District: Malappuram
Javed who was a key in Chandni FC's heroics in the Kozhikode District Football League 2010 is from Malappuram.
KP Zubair - Age: 30 - Club: Chandni FC - District: Malappuram
The star of Kerala in the Santosh Trophy 2009 was Chandni FC’s striker KP Zubair. His goals took Kerala fromthe qualifying group stages to the knockouts. KP Zubair was born at Kottakal, Malapuram district of Kerala on 5th May, 1979.
Mohammed Aslam AG - Age: 27 - Club: State Bank of Travancore - District: Kasargod
Mohammed Aslam might be in the shadows of the more experienced forwards Asif Sahir and Abdul Hakkim in the SBT starting eleven, but you can't undermine the abilities of this forward from Kerala's northmost district of Kasargod.
Rakesh K - Age: 22 - Club: State Bank of Travancore - District: Kasargod
The youngest player in the Kerala team is striker Rakesh K. He is one among the new generation of players to have come from the Bank. He is also from Kasargod like Aslam.
You may find some big names missing in the above list, but let's hope that the team will make us proud at the 64th Santosh Trophy. Best wishes for the Kerala Team!
Adwaidh Rajan writes for FootballKerala.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Wednesday 21 July 2010, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.