Sachin Tendulkar Parting Ways With Kerala Blasters a Shame: David James
Nov 21, 2018 at 6:07 PM
Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) head coach and former England goalkeeper David James on Friday lamented Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to part ways with the club. James also said he is still in touch with Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar had bought the Kochi-based franchise back in April 2014 along with entrepreneur Prasad V Potluri. In 2015, Potluri and his company PVP Ventures sold off their stakes and Tendulkar had then reportedly become 40 percent stake holder in the franchise. In 2016, Prasad along with the heavyweights of Southern film industry joined forces with Tendulkar.
However, Tendulkar decided to part ways with the franchise after the Blasters saw new owners come in. The new owners bought out shares from all stakeholders including Tendulkar.
But his parting ways with the club has made James disappointed who called it a “shame”
“In some sense of course it’s a shame because you want everything to remain the same. Evolution does take place, people will go but football club will always survive,” James told reporters on the eve of their Indian Super League (ISL) opener against ATK.
“He is one of the most wonderful men I’ve met in sporting world. We had a very honest conversation about principle and philosophies, human factor rather than just football. His name will always be linked with Kerala Blasters because this blasters is essentially his nickname,” he added.
“The (infrastructure) of the club is a thing of legacy that you leave behind not just the name. I’ve had conversations with him since he departed. I’ve had very good terms and wish him all the best,” said James.
James further said that the club is panning to give the state some surprise after the recent deadly floods.
“The one thing I have fallen in love with since my first trip to India in 2014 is the spirit of the people in Kerala. I have loved India as a whole but being positioned in Kerala, the spirit of the state and fans is important,” James said.
“It’s a very difficult thing to say that we are going to try harder because the thing about Kerala spirit is the amount they try. We are very conscious of what happened as a football club,” the 48-year old said. “There will be some evidence beyond people turning out for football matches.”
Meanwhile, the Blasters will be looking to do well this time after a disappointing sixth-place finish last season. Their struggles last year had seen coach Rene Muelensteen being removed with James taking over midway. The Kochi-based franchise finished runners-up twice, in 2014 and 2016.