Gokulam Kerala FC part ways with head coach Santiago Varela
Santiago Varela guided Gokulam Kerala FC to their first ever Durand Cup title in 2019
|GKFC
Gokulam Kerala FC have parted ways with coach Santiago Varela after the Spaniard's one-year stint at the South Indian club. It was under his tutelage that the club won the Durand Cup last year, becoming only the second club from Kerala to do so, having defeated Mohun Bagan by a 2-1 in the final.
Following a memorable debut I-League season, Gokulam Kerala FC was a force to reckon with in the I-League, with them vesting managerial power to veteran coach Gift Raikhan, following Bino George’s departure. It was for a brief-term in 2018 that Santiago Varela was appointed as the head coach, during which the team won the Kerala Premier League. His stay was short-lived, as he opted to resign from the post with communication issues the main concern.
In July 2019, the foreigner was appointed once again as the head coach of the side and the Malabarians created history by winning the 2019 Durand Cup title. They became only the second team to do so from Kerala as Varela’s side defeated heavyweights East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in the semi-final and the title clash. However, the club has again parted ways with the coach, as reported by Manorama online, which meant that his second stint at the club lasted a little over a year.
Gokulam Kerala FC’s had a mixed outing in the 2019-20 I-League, with them finishing at the fifth place in the league standings with 22 points from 15 matches before the league was called off owing to the Covid-19 outbreak. With no dates announced for the start of the next season, the club will get ample time to recruit a suitable replacement for the outgoing manager.
