Stephen Constantine's impact on India's World Cup campaign
In January 2015, Stephen Constantine made a return to India as the manager of the Indian Football team for a second time. Having initially managed the national team from 2002-2005, he kept India in the 120s in the FIFA rankings during his three-year tenure.
Having being hired for a second time replacing Wim Koevermans, his appointment was received with mixed reviews by fans. His first task was to guide India to the World Cup qualifier group stage. India were drawn against Nepal, who although 30 places below India in the FIFA rankings, were a dangerous opponent.
In the qualifying games against Nepal, Constantine chose a mixture of youth and experience to get the desired result. Pritam Kotal and Sukhen Dey were selected as full-backs with Lenny Rodrigues, Lalrindika Ralte and Francis Fernandes making up three-quarters of the midfield. Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh led the attack against Nepal.
Along with these regulars, the manager handed out first team debuts to Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who was having a stellar campaign with Bengaluru FC and Sandesh Jhingan, who had won the 2014 Emerging Player of the Year for the I-League and the ISL as well. A Sunil Chhetri double was enough to secure a first win for Constantine in his first game back in charge. He played out a 0-0 draw in the second leg to complete the immediate task at hand.
Constantine chooses youth over experience
After the qualification to the second round of the qualification campaign, Constantine had a big decision to make – Should he stick with the players already available to him or should he start building for the future? He was handed a difficult group in the qualifiers with Iran and Oman being ranked above them in the group with potentially tricky trips to Turkmenistan and Guam.
In his 26 man squad, the 52-year-old manager chose only six players who had represented the country in 10 matches or more. Out of the remaining 20 players, 12 have never represented the country at the highest level. Constantine did not consider highly rated youngster, Romeo Fernandes, who had just become the first player to play for a top division Brazillian team.
Constantine explained his decision saying, “Romeo was in my probables list for my first two games against Nepal. I allowed him to play there because if I kept him in the team, it meant I would force him to come back failing which he would face possible FIFA sanctions. Besides, Romeo has just played 18 minutes during his four-month stint in Brazil. How can one expect to play for the national team after just playing 18 minutes?”
He showed great character by choosing players based on form and performances this season rather than opt for the easy option. In an interview he said, “I would love to have a settled side. We have had a group of players for the last 3-4 years who have been playing and let us not kid ourselves we have not got the results so obviously something is wrong and something needs to change.”
“That's what I am doing, I am bringing in new players and building for the future as I always do wherever I go. Sometimes you don't get recognition for that because you are long gone.”
Players look to be responding well to the new methods
He also arranged an army training program with the Indian Army as a team spirit building technique. He was one of the first people to begin with the training session. Sandesh Jhingan recently said that Constantine’s team talks give him goosebumps.
Having said this, leaving out Gouramangi Singh and Lalrindika Ralte were huge risks that the manager has taken.
Now whether Constantine’s risk pays off is a question for the future. It is a bold move and if it comes off, he will surely become one of the greatest managers to manage the Indian football team. However, there is the “IF” that stands in his way.
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