Within a space of a fortnight, Kerala football demanded attention twice.
First, Kerala lifted the Santosh Trophy at home. At Manjeri in northern Kerala, what made the bigger news was not Kerala’s seventh title at the National football championship, though. It was the fans that got the country talking; some 27,000 of them were there to watch Kerala beating Bengal in a penalty shootout. Kerala’s victory was well deserved. It was easily the most dominant side in the tournament.
Gokulam Kerala had been just as dominant in the I-League. So much so, it had required only a draw in the last match, against Mohammedan Sporting, at Kolkata on Saturday; that too after suffering a shock loss to Sreenidi Deccan in its previous game.