Football is the most loved sport in Kerala:Inside Story

by Jobel Varghese March 24, 2018

Football is the most loved sport in Kerala and that is evident as they  scored a total of 11 goals in the two matches they played .In their  first match  against Chandigarh  they scored five amazing goals and in their  second against Manipur they scored a double hat trick of six goals thus knocking the north eastern side out of in the final round of the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy,2018.The Kerala have a good composition of players with the likes of  U-21 player Rahul KP and forward Jithin Gopalan who manage to score in every game. Their coach Mr.Satheevan Balan was elated by  his team’s performance but however had serious concerns about the availability of quality food in their area.

“There is no sincerer love, than love for food” .Since Keralites have a different cuisine as compared to the one in Bengal, the team found it difficult to get accustomed to it. On being told about a number of South Indian restaurants that prevailed in the city, he was of the opinion that that were not rich in quality as compared to the food in God’s own country ,Kerala.

Kerala found it difficult to penetrate the five man defense of Manipur that lead to a goalless first half. The Kerala team were psychologically pressurized  because of the prevailing  food conditions  which in a way affected their performance in the first half. Coach Balan had to revive their spirit by motivating them to perform better ,because he believed they could do so .He told them to forget about food ,as that was not the reason why they came here to participate in the tournament .Mr.Balan had watched the match between Maharashtra and Bengal, and believes that the western side is a young team with great potential to do wonders. He will think of strategies accordingly when his side will be facing Maharashtra on 25th March,2018.The coach roamed around his neighborhood  looking for quality South Indian food because the area his team resides in ,has abundance of biryani outlets and he believes its not the right food for players before a game. Good food choices are like good investments.

The Manipur team  were very quick with their attack in the  initial moments of the game that created trouble in the minds of the Kerala defenders leading to the South coach’s decision of bringing in super sub Afdal VK who scored the opening goal for his side in the second half .In the very next minute of him setting onto the field he made a quick rush into the Manipur side and scored for them, which boosted their confidence. The coach had plans of putting him in the first eleven but had later thought of reserving him for later moments owing to his confidence on the other players.

Since he saw that the Manipur side were not able to convert their passes into goals, he asked his players to let them continue the way they are doing and the second half would be in their hands. The weather did not affect much of their performance as the climate was worse in the southern state. The Keralites placed the ball in the right positions which were being anticipated  and cracked for a shot leading  to a number of goals .

They had their initial practice sessions at Calicut and they eventually moved to Kochi in the final stages. They know there being watched by a number of other teams and will change their attacks as they move ahead in their endeavor.