ISL 2017/18: Dimitar Berbatov hits out at Kerala Blasters coach David James, hints Super Cup non-participation
Kerala Blasters marquee forward Dimitar Berbatov has seemingly hit out at manager David James after his side failed to qualify for the ISL semifinal during the ongoing season.
The Blasters had started the season as one of the favourites to win the league, not only because they had finished as runners-up last season, but also as they had accumulated a star-studded squad, consisting of former Manchester United players Berbatov and Wes Brown, along with ISL's highest scorer Iain Hume, and Indian stars CK Vineeth, Sandesh Jhingan, Jackichand Singh and Rino Anto.
To top that off, they had also signed Sir Alex Ferguson's former assistant coach Rene Meulensteen as their manager.
However the desired results did not come, and Meulensteen was soon sacked and replaced by former Liverpool and Blasters keeper David James as the manager.
Berbatov, being one of the biggest stars in the league, got a lot of criticism due to the lack of goals; he scored just one goal from nine appearances. Frequent injuries did not help him either, as he played a little over 500 minutes during the entire season.
Now, with the Blasters firmly cemented at the sixth spot in the league, and all their hopes of playing a semifinal over, Berbatov seems to have hit out at manager James' on-field tactics, seemingly calling him the "worst wannabe coach ever", in an Instagram story.
According to the ex-Manchester United striker, James' tactics seemed to be: "Chip the ball to the strikers, chest, and we take it from there."
Although the ISL may be over, the Indian season is yet to see some football action, with the Super Cup coming up. Kerala have finished in the top six spots, and have earned a direct entry into the Round of 16 stage of the tournament.
However, it doesn't seem like Berbatov will be a part of the Super Cup, as he also wrote "season over" and "time to go home" in his Instagram story.
The club, however, painted a different story. When contacted by Sportskeeda, Kerala Blasters refuted speculation about Berbatov's non-participation in the Super Cup, saying, "all the players are merely going back home for a few days".
While there's still some time to go for the Super Cup to get underway, it would be interesting to see whether the Blasters can convince Berbatov to come back, or how they fare in the tournament.