Ivan Vukomanovic reveals where ISL final was won and lost

Kerala Blasters fell to a crushing 1-1 (1-3) loss to Hyderabad FC in the 2021/22 Indian Super League (ISL) final on Sunday. Rahul KP gave them the lead in the 68th minute, but Sahil Tavora equalized in the 88th minute to force extra-time.

The game was forced into a penalty shootout – where Hyderabad goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani made three impressive saves to help his side win the game.

Lady luck doesn’t favourr Kerala Blasters

Kerela Blasters’ head coach Ivan Vukomanovic was gutted at his side’s lack of luck in the final, as he remarked after the game, “Yes, that was hard luck. But, it’s always like that in penalties. Yes, I think maybe there could’ve been a red card for Hyderabad.

“I always look at this as a football game, a sport. For me it’s a pleasure to take part in finals, because it’s a big part of your career and your life. When those things come to you like that, you should embrace it with a smile. Of course, it’s not easy when you lose on penalties, you can call it bad luck or bad shooting or whatever, but in the end I’m very pleased – not only with today’s performance – we’re pleased with the whole season."

Penalty shootout order controversy

When asked about the peculiar decisions on the order of players to take the penalties for the Blasters, with Adrian Luna surprisingly not taking one early, the tactician explained, “Yes, in the last couple of days we practiced penalties and (Marko) Leskovic was the player who was scoring the penalties, so the decision was ours. Luna was the fifth one to take it. There are moments when you’re missing some players who were to take the penalties.

“As a coach you need players to ask that ‘I want to shoot the penalty’. We had many raised hands and very brave boys, so I’m really proud of them. You never know how you can come out of penalties,” he added.

Thoughts on change in tactics after first half

Kerala had a pretty entertaining first half, but switched their attacking tactics in the second half, causing frustration at times. Speaking about whether he changed things after half-time, Vukomanovic explained, “This is one of the aspects that we’re using in our game. It’s not like we’re using it all the time or that we’re just using all those teams. In the last 15-20 days, it became very difficult to play here in Goa because it has become really humid.

“We were the better side in the first, we played the ball around well with our passing and had couple of chances. But, you know when you play in such game, we knew it would be decided by one goal because in a final when you play against a strong team, one goal can decide everything. We tried some fresh things with substitutes, but it didn’t work,” he further quipped.

Message to the fans

When asked about his message to the fans, who traveled all the way from Kerala to support the boys, Vukomanovic said, “We were discussing before the game that it’s been more than two years since we played in front of fans. It was strange to come out and see fans after two-plus years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We were trying to remember when we were last in front of the fans and they were watching us. We couldn’t remember actually. We were so pleased, grateful and thankful that they arrived from Kerala and it was really great to see all this. We enjoyed every single one of them and a big thank you to all of them.”

How players can bounce back

Opening up about how he can console the players after such a crushing loss in the final, the Serbian boss explained, “This is a part of your career. I’m glad that this year they saw this way and felt the way they’re feeling right now. They know how it can be achieved.

"Hopefully, for most of them, this won’t be the first or only time they’ve played in a final. I hope they play in more finals. But, the good thing is when you work throughout the season, you see and go through all these things and you see it’s achievable, you know the recipe for success. We’ll go again by working hard and I hope these boys can play in more finals.”

Revelation on contract talks

Ivan Vukomanovic’s contract as head coach will expire as the season is over and when asked about whether he’s had any extension talks with the management, the manager revealed, “Yes, we’ve had a talk. We told each other that there is a big wish to continue together. I’ll now sit down and talk and fix all the details now that the season is done.

“We will use the next few days or next weeks to sit down for extension talks. We need to let emotions cool down, have to sit down, have a coffee, have a nice meal and then we’ll sit down and talk with a smile. Hopefully we’ll see each other again,” he further added.

Development of Indian youngsters must continue

The Blasters benefitted from the performances of their young Indian players this season because of the four foreigners' rule, with many excelling under Vukomanovic’s guidance. Speaking on the way forward for their development, the tactician remarked: “Well, for one side, it’s great for Indian football because it pushes you to produce more young talents. Even now if you see the rule of every season, you need to have at least four development players in your squad, at least two development players on the team-sheet. It pushes you as a club to invest more and develop younger players because they are the future of Indian football.

“When you develop those players in a certain or correct way, these players will grow up and be part of the Indian national team and the national team will become better. I have personally witnessed because I’ve lived in Belgium since 2005 and I have witnessed since 2006 that the problem of the Belgium football federation. I’ve seen how they’ve implemented new things, how they’ve changed things to create a platform for young players, how they work with the national team and everything. They realized that they might miss some tournaments, but that they’ll have top players from the 2014 World Cup and top national teams.

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