Now into his second stint with the Indian football team, head coach Stephen Constantine faces a discussion surrounding his future prior to India testing themselves against the Asian elite at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup to be held in UAE.
Constantine’s reign has been a reflection of Indian football in a microcosm; a mixture of highs and lows, with the odd weird result thrown in. On the rankings scale, it has been a success with India hitting a two-decade high and not having lost a match since March 2016.
Prior to the All India Football Federation taking a call on a contract extension on Constantine’s future on February 7, we look back at his 38-month journey so far.
Disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign
India’s first official matches came against Nepal in the first round of FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying as they had to start at the very beginning due to their dismal state in the FIFA rankings.
Having beat out Ricki Herbert for the post, Constantine’s men took a 2-0 victory in Guwahati before a 0-0 draw in Kathmandu sealed their progress to the next round of qualifiers.
What followed was catastrophical, as India lost the first five of their eight qualifiers as the Blue Tigers went down 1-2 to Oman in Bengaluru and Guam away in the space of five days, as the then 52-year-old fumed about not being able to include all players of Indian origin, due to a law which states that players with dual nationalities are ineligible to represent the national team.
The team’s troubles did not let up as they were forced to forfeit the home match to Iran, anyway having lost by the same scoreline. Eugeneson Lyngdoh was ineligible on account of consecutive yellow cards, but Constantine and his deputy Shanmugham Venkatesh were unaware of it and fielded the playmaker, thus earning a sanction from FIFA.
Their only victory, a 1-0 win over Guam, meant that they finished the group with 3 points, losing all but one of their eight games. The SAFF Championship provided some relief for Constantine’s men as two goals by Sunil Chhetri and three by Jeje Lalpekhlua in the semis and the finals meant that India clinched their seventh title.
Increased fitness and consistency
Having been knocked out of World Cup contention, the team set their sights on qualifying for the Asian Cup after having missed out on the 2015 edition. Two victories over Laos, including a 6-1 thumping in Guwahati and a 4-1 friendly win over Puerto Rico in Mumbai followed as India ended 2016 on a high note.
India proceeded to the final round of the Asian Cup qualifiers, where they were handed a relatively easier draw, grouped along with Kyrgyzstan, Macau and Myanmar. 2017 was India’s most successful in a long time, as they drew only two of their games, winning seven.
A 4-1 win against Macau in Bengaluru sealed qualification for UAE 2019 with two games to go as friendly victories over Cambodia, Nepal and Mauritius drove India to a two-decade high rank of 97.
The 1-1 draw against St Kitts and Nevis at the Tri-Nation tournament in Mumbai was the sole black spot on an otherwise blemish-free year as increased fitness levels have resulted in a consistency in results against smaller teams. India have been prone to slip-ups in the past, against these teams.
The slow starts of the team to games have been overcome almost every time, but it is an area of concern for the team, as sluggishness follows kick-offs.
Allegations in book and other controversies
If the 2-1 loss to Guam was the low point of Stephen’s second stint, the real spark arrived when Constantine’s new book, ‘From Delhi to the Den’ came out, shedding important details on the conflicts with the ISL.
“It wasn’t the last time the ISL would affect my team,” wrote Constantine, suggesting that the ISL medicals to be held two days after the team’s return from Guam, had an effect on the game.
If his book was explosive, so were the reports which spoke about the some of the players being unhappy with the Englishman and his big-game tactics. Heading into a major tournament, the last thing the AIFF will want is to have a disjointed dressing room.
If the AIFF’s executive committee does decide that the team needs a new head coach, it can only be due to the tensions between the players and Constantine. Anything else, and the team’s record of 11 wins in 13 games is enough to absolve the Englishman of any existing tactical inflexibilities.