ISL 5: Kerala Blasters sign Nelo Vingada as new head coach

The 65-year-old from Portugal was the manager of NorthEast United in 2016-17

nelo_vingada_isl-kerala-blasters (File) Nelo Vingada

Kerala Blasters will kickstart the second phase of the ISL 2018-19 on January 25 under a new coach, Nelo Vingada. The 65-year-old Portuguese manager will replace Englishman David James, who parted ways with the Kerala outfit at the end of a disappointing first phase, which saw them win only one of 12 matches.

With the eighth-placed Kerala Blasters out of contention for a top-four finish, the 'Yellow Army' will be looking to end the season on a high. The Blasters took to social media to announce the signing.

'The Professor', as Vingada is known, was part of Iran's coaching staff in the ongoing AFC Asian Cup. He has coached Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Iran U-23 teams, apart from managing Iranian club, Persepolis in 2009.

In 2016, he took charge of the NorthEast United team and remained with them till 2017, when he was appointed the coach of the Malaysian national football team. But he resigned a few months later after Malaysia failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup.

Vingada is likely to have some new players at his disposal as there have been reports of Kerala Blasters parting ways with C.K. Vineeth, Halicharan Narzary and Sandesh Jhingan before the 'transfer window' ends this month. The team management, however, is yet to confirm it.

With over three decades of experience in managing football teams, Vingada might be the last roll of the dice from the Kerala Blasters management to bring in some semblance of respectability to their disappointing 2018-19 season.