Football
Anuj Vignesh in Kochi 7y

All of Kochi awaits new heroes

On Friday morning, Alastair Cook won another important toss, as his England side opted to bat first against India in the Chennai Test. As has happened throughout the series, India drew first blood, with Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja striking early. England, though, counter attacked, as Moeen Ali stroked a timely century and Joe Root chipped in with a handy 88, leaving the contest fascinatingly poised going into day two.

On Friday in Kochi, none of that mattered. Here, there isn't one television that is tuned into cricket.

There are bigger fish to fry here.

Kochi has only one goal in its mind - perhaps one goal is all that it will take - and that is to celebrate a Kerala Blasters title win. For a state that prides itself on its football, a couple of Santosh Trophy wins remain its greatest achievements in the sport.

Kerala came close to changing that in 2014. They reached the final of the inaugural ISL season and pushed their opponents Atletico de Kolkata all the way till the very end. However, their night would end in heartbreak, as Mohammed Rafique struck deep into stoppage time to send the trophy Kolkata's way.

Two years on, Kerala have a chance for both revenge and redemption, as they gear up for a rematch of the 2014 showdown on their own turf, in front of 70000 fans, who have a new era of heroes to look up to after Sylvester Ignatius, VP Sathyan and IM Vijayan.

To say Kochi lives and breathes football would be a lie; it shouts and celebrates it as well. In Kochi, a ride in a cab is incomplete without the driver letting his awe of Steve Coppell's tactics be known. A meal at a fast-food joint is rare if the waiter does not bring up CK Vineeth or Sandesh Jhingan.

In fact, the only remains of cricket in Kochi are giant posters of Sachin Tendulkar plastered throughout the city, but even there, Kerala's co-owner is dressed in yellow, asking the "loudest fans in the country" to cheer their team on.

The fans will certainly be making themselves heard on Sunday afternoon. Manjappada, Kerala's biggest fan club with over a million members across the world, will be making sure of it.

"Kerala has one of the most passionate, football loving people in India, and our job is to make sure all these people come and cheer for our team," Somu Joseph, who runs the group, says.

"There will be thousands outside the stadium hours before kick-off. You can expect Kerala chants, as well as Icelandic viking claps. Smoke flares are not allowed inside the stadium, so we'll be painting the outside yellow."

The stadium was buzzing with activity on Friday evening as well, with labourers adding the final touches on the venue's entrance, located below a giant billboard containing Vineeth and Iain Hume, both sporting frowns. A few hundred supporters present did not spurn the opportunity to click selfies in front of the battleground, while a hundred more were whisked away by a TV crew which tried to capture all the action.

When in a group and pressed with a camera against your face to give a prediction for the final, it's understandable - sometimes even instinctive - to scream out big score-lines in favour of your team. These supporters, though, know their football, and they know that Sunday's game will be anything but easy.

"I think it will be a close one. Kerala's defence is really good, but Kolkata have the experience in these kind of big matches. Belfort and Vineeth need to be at their best and take what chances they get, otherwise Kolkata will capitalise", says Sundar, as his school friends all try their best to talk over him and get their chance with the mic.

Prince, a cab driver, is also banking on a Kerala win, though he believes the difference maker will be the head coach Steve Coppell.

"Coppell has completely transformed this Kerala side. His man-management of players, knowing when to introduce substitutes and when to bring off tiring strikers, they've all been spot on," he says.

"Like for instance, in the game against Chennaiyin, he brought on (Didier) Kadio and Antonio German, who both immediately made an impact as Kerala came from behind to win."

However, while Somu and his cavalcade of Kerala followers will be cheering the team on from the East Gallery on Sunday, others dressed in yellow will have to cope with the disappointment of watching the game just on TV. Among those are Suresh - a carpenter - and his son Srikanth, who both spent most of Friday evening approaching strangers for extra tickets.

"The ticket counters closed in no time and they said they were all sold out. It's unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to seeing the match with my son," Suresh said.

Prince is also without a ticket, but he reckons that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

"I saw the first two Kerala matches at the stadium, and we failed to score a single goal in them. Since then, I've been seeing the matches on TV, and Kerala have won the last six (home) matches. So I also need to do my bit for the team."

But, does he have a final score-line prediction in mind?

"I can't say. All I know is that we have god with us, so all will be fine."

God?

"Yes, Sachin the god, of course."

Prince had signed off with Indian sport's most used and tired line, but maybe, in just this instance, his statement had some merit.

After all, the ISL final will be played in god's own country.

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