Gokulam Kerala FC

Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kozhikode, Kerala. Founded in 2017, the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of Indian football. They are the current champions of Durand Cup.

Active departments of Gokulam Kerala FC
Football (Men's) Football (Women's)
This article is about the men's football club. For the women's football club, see Gokulam Kerala FC (women).

Gokulam Kerala FC
Full nameGokulam Kerala Football
Nickname(s)Malabarians
Short nameGKFC
FoundedJanuary 2017 (2017-01) (as Gokulam FC)
GroundEMS Corporation Stadium, Calicut
Capacity80,000
OwnerSree Gokulam Group
ChairmanGokulam Gopalan
ManagerVincenzo Alberto Annese
LeagueI-League
2019–205th
WebsiteClub website

History

On 20 September, after the second round of bidding invitations, the Bid Evaluation Committee decided to award the Sree Gokulam Group the right to field their team in the Hero I-League 2017–18 season onward from Kozhikode, Kerala. Although the club did not have a good beginning as it was their first I-league season, they went on to defeat big clubs in the I-league like East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Minerva Punjab by the end of the season. They came to be known as the giant killers of the season. Gokulam Kerala FC hired Spaniard Fernando Andres Santiago Valera as head coach in March 2018.[1]

On 15 March 2018, Gokulam played the Super Cup qualifiers against North East United FC and was qualified with a 2-goal victory.[2] In the pre-quarterfinals of the Super Cup on 1 April 2018, they were leading against Bengaluru FC by 0–1 until 60 minutes with a goal scored by the striker Henry Kisekka but Bengaluru scored a stoppage time goal which led to the defeat of 2–1.[3]

Stadium
Main article: EMS Stadium
EMS Stadium on a matchday

Gokulam Kerala FC played all its home matches in the EMS Stadium which was located in the heart of the Calicut city. The West stand was the largest and could accommodate the maximum 100,000 of people.

Support

Supporters

Fans supporting Gokulam Kerala in EMS Stadium, Kozhikode in I-League

Kerala is a state known for its passionate football fans. Football in Northern Kerala (known as Malabar Coastal Region) has arguably one of the most passionate fanbases in the state. Gokulam Kerala is a club based on Kozhikode in the Malabar Region. GKFC Battalia is the official supporters' group of Gokulam Kerala FC. Their support led them to be known as Malabarians.[4]

Rivalry

Rivalry with Kolkata Clubs

Gokulam kerala FC is known for pathbreaking both the dominant Kolkata clubs, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in some major matches in I-League and Durand Cup. Gokulam kerala FC won the Durand cup being the underdogs by defeating East Bengal in semi-final and Mohun Bagan in the final match. Both Kerala and West Bengal states are also two dominant powerhouses of Indian Football.

Crest and colours

Crest
Theyyam is a popular ritual form of worship in North Kerala

The club logo incorporates elements from historical Theyyam, a famous ritual art form that originated in North Kerala. It encompasses dance, mime and music.

Kit evolution
2017–2018
2018–2019
2019–2020

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2017—2018 Kaizen Sports Aachi Group
2018—2019 Aqualine PVC Pipes
2019—2020 Gokulam Group
2020— SEGA

Broadcasting

On 24 October 2018, Gokulam Kerala FC signed an exclusive deal with local television channel Flowers. Gokulam Kerala FC home matches are televised on Flowers Channel. Due to issues with Star Sports Network, the broadcast was halted. I-League live telecast is on 1Sports[5] and Fancode.[6]

Players
Main article: List of Gokulam Kerala F.C. players

First-team squad
As of 25 September 2020[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IND Ubaid CK (Vice-Captain)
2 DF  IND Naocha Singh
3 DF  IND Mohammed Jassim
4 DF  IND Alex Saji
4 DF  IND Rowilson Rodrigues
6 DF  IND Ashok Singh
10 FW  IND Ngangom Ronald Singh
11 FW  IND Emil Benny
12 MF  IND Muhammed Rashid
13 MF  IND Mayakkannan
14 DF  IND Zodingliana Ralte
15 DF  IND Mohamed Salah
16 FW  IND Salman K
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF  IND Thahir Zaman
18 FW  IND Jithin M S
21 MF  AFG Sharif Mukhammad
22 MF  IND Shibil Muhammed
24 DF  IND Jestin George
26 DF  IND Deepak Devrani
27 DF  IND Sebastian Thangmuansang
28 FW  IND Lalromawia
30 GK  IND Vicky
31 GK  IND Ajmal P. A.
33 FW  GHA Denny Antwi
47 FW  IND Vincy Barretto
49 DF  GHA Mohamed Awal (Captain)
50 FW  GHA Philip Adjah

Other players on contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
– DF  IND Muhammad Asif
– GK  IND Sayan Roy
– DF  IND Roshan Singh
— DF  IND Ajin Tom
— MF  IND Mahip Adhikari
— FW  IND Malemngamba Meitei
- MF  IND Shameel
- DF  IND Febin
- MF  IND Alphin
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF  IND Mahin
- FW  IND Shreyas Sathyan
- FW  MLI Saliou Guindo(injured)

Statistics and records
Daniel Addo is Gokulam Kerala all-time Most appearances In I league.

Most Appearances
Name Period I-League Super Cup Durand Cup/IFA Shield Sheikh Kamal Cup Appearances
Muhammed Rashid 2017– 30 01 06 04 41
Mohammed Irshad 2017–2018, 2019–2020 29 01 05 04 39
Daniel Addo 2017–2019 36 02 38
Arjun Jayaraj 2017–2019 30 02 32
Henry Kisekka 2019-2020 22 02 03 04 31
Naocha singh 2019- 14 00 08 04 26
Marcus Joseph 2019–2020 17 05 03 25

|}

Club captains
Period Name
2017–2018 Sushanth Mathew
2018–2019 Musa Mudde
2019 Daniel Addo
2019–2020 Marcus Joseph
2020- Mohamed Awal

Top scorers
  Still active team players are highlighted
Top scorers record
# Player Career I-League Super Cup Durand Cup Sheikh Kamal Cup Total
1 Marcus Joseph 2019–202012011124
2 Henry Kisekka 2017–2018, 2019–2020931316

Season Analysis
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GF GA Pts. Federation Cup/Super Cup Durand Cup AFC Champions League AFC Cup
2017–18 I League 7 18 6 3 9 17 23 21 Round 16 DNP DNQ DNQ
2018–19 I League 10 20 3 8 9 25 33 17 DNP DNP DNQ DNQ
2019–20 I League 5 15 6 4 5 20 19 22 Cancelled[note 1] Champions DNQ DNQ
2020–21 I League 12
  1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown the I-League matches were cancelled after 14 March 2020, and Gokulam Kerala were positioned 5th in the points table after 15 match. The Super Cup wasn't also held for the lockdown and Durand Cup was promoted to the de-facto league cup.

Honours and Titles
The Durand Cup trophy won by Gokulam Kerala for the first time in 2019

Cups
Champions (1) -2019

South Asia
Semi-finals(1) -2019

League
Champions (1) - 2017–18[8]
Runners-up(1) -2018–19
  • Kerala State Club Championship
Runners-up (1) - 2016–17[9]

Reserve team
  • Bodousa Cup
Champions (1) -2019[10]
  • Independence Day Cup
Champions (1) -2019[11]
  • Mayors Cup
Runners-up - 2019

Women's team
Champions - 2020[12]

Academy team

  • International cup of joy
Champions U-13(1) - 2018
  • Luca Soccer Cup
Champions -2019

Technical staff

Current technical staff
As of 19 June 2020 [13]
Head Coach Gokulam Kerala
Position Name
Head Coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese
Assistant Coach Sushanth Mathew
Technical Director Bino George
Goalkeeping Coach Mihir Sawant [14]
Fitness and conditioning Coach Djair Miranda Garcia
Reserve Team coach Najeeb
Academy Manager Joel Williams
Academy coach (under-18) Baiju
Academy coach (under-15) Suneer V P
Academy coach (under-13) Shareef khan

Head Coach's Record
As of 30 January 2021
NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%
Bino George  India 8 October 2017 26 February 2019 40 10 11 19 45 58 025.00
Gift Raikhan  India 26 February 2019 1 July 2019 3 1 0 2 4 6 033.33
Fernando Santiago Varela  Spain 1 July 2019 16 June 2020 20 11 4 5 25 10 055.00
Vincenzo Alberto Annese  Italy 19 August 2020 8 3 1 4 16 12 037.50

References
  1. "Spanish head coach for Gokulam Kerala FC". OnManorama.
  2. "Gokulam Kerala FC beat NorthEast United FC to enter Super Cup final round". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  3. "Bengaluru FC beat Gokulam Kerala FC to advance to Super Cup quarterfinals". Hindustan Times. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  4. ": Gokulam Kerala FC to honour former Indian football stars". Sports keeda. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. PTI (7 October 2020). "I-League: 1Sports roped in as I-League Qualifiers broadcaster". InsideSport. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  6. www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Hero I-League to exclusively live stream on FanCode - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  7. "9 Keralites in Gokulam Kerala FC squad for Durand Cup". Mathrubhumi.
  8. Sen, Debayen. "Kerala's Gokulam FC get direct entry into I-League". espn.in. ESPN India. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  9. Tennyson, Rayson (12 April 2017). "Future tense for state club champs, SBI Kerala". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  10. "11th Bodousa Cup: Durand Cup Winners Gokulam Kerala FC Beat Former I-League Champions Minerva Punjab In Nerve-Wrecking Final". outlookindia.com. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  11. "Gokulam Kerala lift 71st Independence Day Cup". assamtribune.com. Assam Tribune. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  12. "Gokulam Kerala crowned new Hero IWL champions after thrilling finale". AIFF. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  13. "I-League: Gokulam Kerala set to sign Italian Vincenzo Alberto Annese as new head coach | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  14. "I-League: Gokulam Kerala FC appoint new goalkeeping coach". Times of India. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
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