New Delhi, India

Kerala Blasters FC head coach Ivan Vukomanovic is into his third season in the Indian Super League (ISL) and he has naturally overseen the rise of multiple young players who have thrived under his watch and gone on to represent the national team.

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Vukomanovic believes that the progress that a player makes from the club level to play for his country is a validation of the efforts and performances that he has delivered for the former. The tactician understands that working regularly on skill sets for the club is a part of the daily routine of any professional. However, the national setup gives a stamp of authority to the same from a time to time basis, and that is a great driving factor for several promising stars. 

“National team call-up is a validation of your performances for the club”

The current Kerala Blasters FC squad has players such as Pritam Kotal, Ishan Pandita, Jeakson Singh, and Rahul KP who are or have been a part of the senior national Indian side in the recent past. Similarly, they have individuals like Hormipan Ruivah, Vibin Mohanan, and Mohammed Aimen who represent the India U-23 team. Vukomanovic states that he gets immense satisfaction when his players owe the success that they achieve on the international stage to the work that they put in on the training turf for the Yellow Army.

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“From one side, with difficulties, because they are recognising that these moments are not easy both from a physical and mental side, because you are playing for a club that is demanding from an expectations perspective. From the other side, I am really glad to see how they have developed because they become better by understanding a lot from technical and tactical sides, which is why they get national team call-ups, and for them, it’s further development. Your training process in a club is a daily process, but the national team is a confirmation of your efforts!” Vukomanovic says.

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The third season of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) is currently on and Vukomanovic spent considerable time reflecting on the benefits that the elite youth level tournament, bringing clubs from across the Indian football board, plays in shaping the careers of young professionals. He says that it is the perfect platform for players lacking adequate game time at the senior level to perform at.

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In fact, Vukomanovic appreciated the fact that it allows clubs to capitalise optimally on their total squad strength. For instance, if a team hosts multiple players for any key position, Vukomanovic explains that they deploy a few of those players to earn their stripes in the RFDL. It has multiple benefits in his viewpoint. For starters, the level of intensity that these concerned professionals train at with the ISL teams is of a significantly greater level than what’s required in youth level tournaments. That, in turn, helps produce closely fought encounters in the RFDL, thus bringing about an all-round, comprehensive growth in the Indian footballing landscape.