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Nelo Vingada named as new Kerala Blasters coach

The Portuguese succeeds Englishman David James at the helm, who parted ways with the Blasters last month after a dismal start to the 2018-19 campaign.

Nelo Vingada

Bengaluru, January 19: Indian Super League (ISL) club Kerala Blasters have named former Malaysia boss Nelo Vingada as their new head coach.

The Portuguese succeeds Englishman David James, who parted ways with the Blasters last month after a dismal start to the 2018-19 campaign which ended with a 1-6 thrashing at the hands of Mumbai FC.

Nicknamed 'The Professor', Vingada has prior experience in the ISL. He was the head coach of NorthEast United during the 2016 season before leaving to take charge of the Malaysian national team at the end of the third season of ISL.

Aged 65, the Serpa-born Portuguese has an impressive repertoire and has worked with teams such as Portugal (senior team as well as Under-20), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, FC Seoul, Persepolis et and he was currently the assistant coach to Iran's Carlos Queiroz in the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in the UAE, a role which he did at Benfica as well

"We are happy to welcome Nelo Vingada to Kerala Blasters. With his impressive register of achievements and years of notable expertise, we are positive that his tenure will be successful not just for the remaining season of the ISL but also for the upcoming Super Cup. We wish Nelo all the best on his new assignment," said Blasters Sports Ventures Private Limited Director Nitin Kukreja.

"I am equally thrilled to join Kerala Blasters for the remaining season of the ISL. It has always been a pleasure to work with talented Indian boys and I hope to see good results for the team in their upcoming matches," said Vingada.

The ISL resumes after a one-and-a-half month break on January 25. Blasters are currently languishing eighth in the table with just nine points from 12 games.

ISL points table | Results

Vingada's first match in charge will be on January 25 when Blasters resume their ISL campaign at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi against former champions ATK. Later, Blasters are slated to take on Bengaluru FC in a high-voltage away contest at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on February 6.

Vingada is likely to have some new players at his disposal as rumour mill is strong that Blasters will do away with senior pros like CK Vineeth, Halicharan Narzary and Sandesh Jhingan.

The ISL transfer window ends on January 31.

Story first published: Saturday, January 19, 2019, 19:54 [IST]
Other articles published on Jan 19, 2019