Stephen Constantine is back for a second stint with the Indian National football team. He had coached the national football team earlier from 2002 until 2005. This time he will have the added responsibility of leading U-23 team too. He is expected to start in the second week of February. Constantine succeeds Dutchman Wim Koevermans, who was at the helm from 2012 till October last year. At the time of Koevermans’ resignation, India found themselves languishing at an all-time low 171 in the FIFA rankings.
Constantine has always been known as a ‘man who can get results’ and based on his achievements and experience, the appointment seems to be in the right direction. During his previous run with the ‘Blue Tigers’, India won the lG Cup in Vietnam, finished runners-up at the Afro-Asian Games and carried the team to a respectable 129th from a poor 168th in rankings.
This time around, however, he has a monumental task at hand but the Englishman is confident of reciprocating his achievements. “I approach my job like I’m going to be there forever. I am happy to be back here after 10 long years and I will try to reciprocate what I did a decade ago. I am looking forward to the job ahead,” he said on his appointment.
The recently concluded Indian Super league which saw experienced players such as Robert Pires, Alessandro Del Piero etc. play alongside Indian players, is considered to be a revolutionary concept for the betterment of the sport in the country — especially in honing the talent. Constantine expected the ISl to produce more quality players for him to use.
“It’s a great tournament and the players will surely benefit (from it). There will be no negative impact from the ISl. These kinds of tournaments are good for the overall growth of players,” he said. There will be a lot of expectations from the Englishman. Stephen always has a long term plan and vision for his team which he executes slowly but gradually. His tenure with Rwanda is a great example of that. Before Constantine took over at Rwanda, their FIFA ranking was 132 but in less than six months he took them to an all time high of 68.
All India Football Federation’s technical committee had shortlisted Constantine and NorthEast United coach Ricki Herbert for the top job but eventually the former’s experience with India, knowledge of Indian football and reduced salary demands compared to Koevermans might have hinged the balance in his favour. While Koevermans demanded a monthly salary of $25,000, AIFF set a limit of $20,000 for the new coach. Speaking about the salary, Constantine said: “I’ve not discussed it with the authorities and at this time I’m not sure about it. It is up to them of what they decide.”
A former player himself, Constantine has been involved in a wide array of jobs panning around the globe with clubs and national sides alike. During his spell with Nepal, Constantine — a qualified FIFA instructor — got noticed by the Indian authorities for the work he had done previously and was appointed for the post in June 2002. This appointment was arguably made keeping in mind South Korea’s brilliant run under Gus Hiddink at the 2002 World Cup. Many speculated that a foreign coach could bring about the change in training methods and game that the country needed to improve — and AIFF obliged.
After quitting India, Stephen was the coach of English football club Millwall during the 2005-06 season. He then held multiple jobs with Malawi, Sudan, where he stayed for a year each. In 2010, he came back to Cyprus and managed domestic league club APEP and Nea Salamis Famagusta. He stayed in Cyprus until 2013.