Perinthalmanna all set for soccer feast

MALAPPURAM: Football lovers in Malabar will get a chance to watch an international team playing in their backyard after a long gap. The match between Ansan Hallelujah FC, Korea, and a Kerala All-time XI will be played at Nehru Stadium in Perinthalmanna on Sunday.    The match, organised as part of Ansan FC’s India tour, is their third tie here.Earlier, they had beatenMumbai Customs and Santosh Trophy probable XI of Goa.Based in Ansan City in Korea, Ansan Hallelujah FC are a second-division team in the Korean National League.  The team, under the leadership of Jae Pil Shin, will take on the Kerala XI, headed by former Indian striker I M Vijayan.N P Pradeep of Mohun Began, Binish Balan of Churchill Brothers, and former Santosh Trophy players Asif Sahir, Noushad and Rinil are expected to find a  place in the final XI of the Kerala team.Since Ansan FC, the first winners of the K-League, have come to India with young talents like Jae Yoon Jung, Dong Hun Yoon, Jun Sung Kim, Jin Woong and Kijai Oh, Kerala XI will have to fight it out to stop their opponents. “Indian players are very strong and fast. The only problem is that they lag behind in the technical side of the game,” said Ansan Hallelujah FC coach Chang Soo In. After the Perinthalmanna match, the club will conduct a clinic in a local school and will leave for Bangalore on Jan 30, where they will play an 8-team inter-continental futsal tournament.After which they fly to Thailand, on February 2, for another tournament