Kerala Blasters FC sign Berbatov for ISL this year
Indian Super League’s Kerala Blasters have signed former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov ahead of the 2017-18 season, the player’s agent has said. The 36-year-old, who has signed a one-year contract, was a free agent after leaving the Greek side PAOK Salonika in June 2016. Berbatov, who is Bulgaria’s all-time leading scorer with 48 goals in 79 matches, joined United from Spurs in 2008 for a then clubrecord fee of $39 million.
India will look to win their 10th international encounter on the trot when they take on 125th ranked St Kitts and Nevis in the second round-robin tie of the tri-nation football tournament on Thursday. India won the first match against 160th ranked Mauritius 2-1 after trailing by a goal. Going with his youth policy, chief coach Stephen Constantine is expected to hand over senior team debut to a few more talented U-23 players after the trio of goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, Nikhil Pujary and Manvir Singh were blooded in the opening game.
Haryana’s Rani Rampal will lead the 18-member Indian women’s hockey team for a fortnight-long European tour starting Sept 5. The team will play a series of matches with the Netherlands. During the tour, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne also plans to try new combination to prepare the team for more challenging tasks ahead. The Dutch expert aims for a podium finish in the eighth women’s Asian Cup to be held in Japan from October 25 to November 5.