Kochi, September 14
Kerala Blasters FC will kick off their Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 campaign against Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday at 7:30 pm IST. Both teams are set to usher in a new era under fresh leadership, as both sides have new head coaches aiming to guide their respective teams to greater success this season.
This fixture marks the third encounter between the two sides, with each team securing one win in their previous meetings. Kerala Blasters FC, known for their passionate fan base, are aiming to extend their perfect streak of opening-game wins to three consecutive seasons.
Punjab FC's maiden ISL campaign last season finished with an impressive 4-1 victory over East Bengal FC and will be looking to carry that momentum into the new campaign. A win against Kerala Blasters FC would give Punjab their first-ever back-to-back wins in ISL history, as they aim to build a strong foundation for the season ahead.
Kerala Blasters' new head coach Mikael Stahre has joined the club with a pedigree of guiding top teams across Europe and Asia before coming to Indian shores.
"They are a very eager group, always ready to put in maximum effort. We have a good mixture of youth and experience and also foreign players. But all of them have a huge drive, they want to improve themselves, and they want to achieve something for this club," Stahre said as quoted by ISL.
Punjab FC also have roped in a new coach in Panagiotis Dilmperis. This is his first assignment in Asia but the 49-year-old feels excited to be in India. He highlights how Punjab FC have progressed in the last couple of years with a focus on quality over quantity.
"Punjab FC are moving forward every year. They are taking quality steps forward and everyone at the club including the director (Nikolaos Topoliatis) is focused on quality more than quantity. This is a great challenge for me because for this season we have to do one step better than last season. The previous season was also good, especially in the second half," Dilmperis said.