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Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 20: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Saturday congratulated the Kerala Blasters team for putting up a "wonderful performance" to finish as runners-up in the first Indian Super League (ISL) tournament.
Atletico De Kolkata substitute Mohammad Rafique headed in an injury time goal as the Kolkata team clinched the inaugural ISL crown with a 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters at the D.Y. Patil stadium in Mumbai.
"The presence of cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar as the co-owner of the Kerala team was a great blessing and the wonderful performance of his team has really provided a great impetus to football in the state," said Chandy.
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The chief minister had announced the name of the football team back in May in the presence of Tendulkar.
Kerala State secretary of the Communist Party of India Paniyan Ravindran, a keen football enthusiast himself, said Kerala Blasters was the better team in the final, but they were "extremely unlucky".
"The Kolkata team's goalkeeper should be credited because he put up a good show and foiled few certain goals. Overall, football trumped and this tournament has made a very good beginning," said Ravindran, a former Lok Sabha member who has written many books on football.
