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Japanese forward Daisuke Sakai and Croatian defender Marko Leskovic have departed Kerala Blasters FC after their contracts expired on May 31, the club officially announced on Saturday, June 1. While Sakai joined the Men in Yellow from the Thailand-based club Customs United in 2023, Leskovic left Croatian outfit GNK Dinamo Zagreb in 2021 to make the switch to Kerala.
During his one-year stay at the club, 27-year-old Daiksuke Sakai became a crowd-favourite in Kochi. He finished the season with three goals and two assists in 24 appearances for his side across the ISL and Indian Super Cup.
Meanwhile, 33-year-old Marko Leskovic had a memorable three-year stint during which he featured in 53 matches for Kerala Blasters FC, registering a solitary goal to his name.
Third consecutive ISL playoff appearance for Kerala Blasters FC under Ivan Vukomanovic
Kerala Blasters FC reached their third successive ISL playoffs during the 2023-24 season under then-head coach Ivan Vukomanovic who has now been replaced by the 48-year-old Swedish manager, Mikael Stahre.
The three-time ISL runners-up qualified for the playoffs, having finished the league stages of the tenth edition in the fifth spot with 33 points from 22 matches. In fact, they were at the top of the table upon the completion of the first leg matches of the league back in December.
Unfortunately, things didn't go well for them as they eventually crashed out following their 2-1 defeat against hosts Odisha FC in the playoff knockout fixture which was held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Kerala Blasters FC finished third in Group B, which also included Jamshedpur FC, NorthEast United FC and Shillong Lajong, failing to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2024 Indian Super Cup.
The side also lost the opportunity to seal their knockout spot during the 2023 Durand Cup after finishing third in Group C against the likes of Gokulam Kerala FC, Bengaluru FC and Indian Air Force.
