Kerala team for Santosh Trophy 2011

The Kerala team for the 64th edition of the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy that will be held at Assam from May 6, 2011 has been announced by the Kerala Football Association (KFA) on Wednesday.

The final team comprising twenty Kerala players, will be captained by Central Excise midfielder Bijesh Ben and coached by M Rajeev Kumar. The team has twelve fresh faces that are yet to debut for the state in the national championships.The team are currently practicing at the Udyogmandal FACT Ground, Kochi.

In the last two editions of the Santosh Trophy, the Kerala team were knocked out in the pre-quarter final stage. Last year it was Mizoram who nicked a 1-0 win against Kerala and advanced into the quarters. It was West Bengal who lifted the coveted trophy in theprevious edition. Kannur born Denson Devdas scored a brace to help Bengal defeat Punjab in the final.

Kerala Team List:

Goal Keepers: Joby Joseph ( Travancore Titanium XI), Shabeer PM (Josco FC), Noufal (Kozhikode Dist.)
Defenders: BT Sarath, Johnson N (both State Bank of Travancore), Sajith T, Nawaz (both Josco FC), Surjith VV (Kerala State Electricity Board), Satheesh (Kollam Dist.)
Midfielders: Martin John, Sumesh N (both State Bank of Travancore), Bijesh Ben (Central Excise), Muhammed Rasi (Kerala State Electricity Board), Rahul P (Kerala Police), Vinod ( Travancore Titanium XI)
Forwards: Kannan R (AGS), Sumesh AM (Eagles FC), Firoz K (Kerala Police), Rakesh K (Kerala State Electricity Board), V Usman (Malabar United FC)

Head Coach: M Rajeev Kumar
Assistant Coach: Solly Xavier
Team Captain: Bijesh Ben
Physio: Sajan Fasil

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Wednesday 27 April 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.