Three weeks after the controversial departure of its head coach Rene Meulensteen, Kerala Blasters’ problems got bigger as the club announced that Mark Sifneos, its joint top scorer with Iain Hume in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season, was leaving.
“Kerala Blasters and Sifneos have mutually agreed to part ways. We are grateful for all his contributions to the club. The club would like to wish him well for the future,” said a Blasters release on Tuesday evening, surprisingly without attributing the quote to the club’s CEO Varun Tripuraneni or anybody else.
Read: Rene Meulensteen quits Kerala Blasters
Attempts to talk to Tripuraneni, for more details, proved futile.
Dutch striker Sifneos, the youngest foreign player in the ISL, scored four goals, including the team’s opening strike, this season.
Dutchman Meulensteen’s arrival as the Blasters’ coach played a big role in Sifneos coming to India and his recent sacking probably is the reason for the young striker leaving the Kochi club too.
With its biggest star, former Manchester United great Dimitar Berbatov, and Keziron Kizito, the exciting new midfielder from Uganda, on the injured list, the Blasters, last year’s runner-up and the ISL team with the biggest fan base, had a tough season.
ISL: Kerala Blasters ropes in David James as coach
The arrival of former England goalkeeper David James as the head coach a few weeks ago, replacing Meulensteen, appeared to give the team the much-needed spark but the two consecutive recent losses have pulled curtains on their play-off chances.
The Blasters, which plays Delhi Dynamos next on Saturday, is currently in the seventh spot in the 10-team league table with 14 points from 12 matches.
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