The coach’s explanation that Vineeth missed the high-profile encounter due to an injury could only be taken with a pinch of salt, says I M Vijayan.Why did Kerala Blasters’ head coach Rene Meulensteen exclude C K Vineeth from the squad for their Sunday’s home match against Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super league (ISL)?
The coach’s explanation that Vineeth missed the high-profile encounter due to an injury could only be taken with a pinch of salt. If he was fit enough till Saturday to take the field the next day, where did he pick that injury from?
Vineeth is a former player of Bengaluru FC. If the real reason for his exclusion was to avoid an emotional conflict, I would say it was a blunder on the part of the coach.
On current form, Vineeth is the best goal scorer in this Blasters side. As far as a professional player is concerned, the prospect of playing against your former club would not emotionally drain him, instead it would spur him on to do well. I had experienced it when I played for Mohun Bagan against my former employers Kerala Police in the 90s.
I had met Vineeth a couple of days ago and I found him to be very excited to play against Bengaluru FC.
Blasters had showed some improvements in their game in the last few matches, but against Bengaluru FC, they had a very disappointing outing. The team lost steam and could not match the tempo of their opponents, especially after conceding a goal in the second half. Their defense was caught napping when Bengaluru scored two back-to-back goals in the injury time.
The defenders appeared sloppy and sluggish in the added time, probably because they felt that they were going to lose 1-0. Bengaluru were quick to latch onto the opportunity and exploited the home team’s lethargic backline with two quick goals.
The coach will have his task cut out when Blasters take on strong sides like FC Pune City and Delhi Dynamos in the coming matches. Will he be able to put together a more confident and competent team? Let’s wait and see.
(The writer is a former captain of the Indian football team)
