| Stephen guiding Indian soccer to new heights |
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KUWAIT CITY: A coach, who has been dubbed 'Hitler' on the field for his no-nonsense approach but is gentle and mushy off the field, has been instrumental in guiding the Indian soccer side to a string of good performances of late - especially against some top teams. Meet Stephen Constantine, a UEFA PRO Licence holder and currently national coach of the Indian football team. Stephen's presence has rekindled the passion and confidence in the Indian players. Today, the Indian players are more aggressive and dynamic in their approach then they were a few years back.
Born and raised in England and Cyprus, Stephen has, for over a decade, enjoyed a successful coaching career. Stephen has conducted courses for Fifa in Sudan, Iran and Bhutan. As a Fifa Instructor Stephen travels worldwide conducting football coaching and education courses. Stephen spoke to the Arab Times after his side pulled off a sensational win over Kuwait on Friday. Stephen was all smiles after the match. Stephen said he was delighted with his team's performance against Kuwait, adding not many teams come to Kuwait and score three goals. 'All in all it was a good win.' Stephen rated the win as most memorable. 'We were up against a full strength Kuwaiti side, so this is a big win for us in many respects. The win against Uzbekistan and Vietnam are also close to my heart.' This match was important because we have a big match coming up against Oman. This win will do a world of good to the players' confidence, he continued. He added that the win comes at a time when the team was under fire after losing to Japan and Oman. Dismissing the criticism, he said 'I think it is unjust. They based my performance as a coach on two results. I think we have the talent in India but we need to do a lot more to improve the standard of soccer.' 'I don't like losing any game - friendly or World Cup qualifier. It hurts me more than it hurts most people.' Stephen holds an array of coaching qualifications gained via the FA, UEFA and Fifa and is also one of the youngest members of the Fifa Instructors' Panel, not to mention the only Englishman. Some of the Indian players told the Arab Times that the coach has been outstanding in instilling self belief in the team. 'He is very strict on the field, but off the field, we are as thick as thieves.' Stephen first started coaching at the age of 26 when he was asked to take a couple of training sessions for the New York Freedoms youth team. He immediately realised that, once he stopped playing, the only thing he wanted was to go into coaching full-time. Prior to taking on the Indian job in June 2002, he worked with a host of teams in the US, Cyprus and, more recently, Nepal, where he guided the national team through the most successful period in its history. He said the team had a couple of good performances of late, noting the only bad performance was against Oman when the team suffered an embarrassing 5-1 loss. 'Sometimes the players make silly mistakes for instance, the defensive lapses against Kuwait cost us two goals, you just can't afford to do that. You can't make mistakes when you are up against a good side like Kuwait. The players also goofed up against Oman.' Commenting on the domestic Indian football structure, Stephen said the structure needs to be changed. The structure is likely to be overhauled this year, he said. 'We are going to have only 10 teams this year in the national league instead of 12. This is a very sad scenario. We need to have more teams and must take football to all corners of India. I have already put forward my ideas before the Federation. Now it all depends on them. My job is to coach.' Stephen believes football is a popular sport in India but because it is not televised and not played in every state it is difficult for teams to get motivated. 'This is why I had suggested to include all the twenty eight states - split them into eight zones and these zones qualify to play in the national league every year.' 'Now in four or five years' time, the quality will be there and above all football will be played in every corner of India. For me this is the only way forward.' Asked whether Indian footballers have the talent to play abroad, Stephen was of the opinion that some of the players in the Indian side have the firepower to play in Asia. 'We have a lot of promising footballers but they need exposure.' Stephen went on to complete the USSF B License coaching course in North Carolina, and while still working for Post University, and still just 29, took up the position of Director of Youth for the New York Freedoms. Though juggling commitments with club and university, he still took the Freedoms' under-16s to the divisional title in the Cosmopolitan League. Asked whether the presence of foreign players in the national league helps in anyway to improve the overall standard of football, he said if there are quality players it can definitely benefit, saying Indian soccer is at a developmental stage. 'I am of the view that we do not need three or four foreign players because they take the positions of young Indian players.' The league is of pretty decent standard but there are some teams like Indian Bank and HAL which are not up to the mark, he said. He is of the view that the Indian government should do a lot more to improve Indian sports in general. The SAI sports complex is in a sorry state of affairs, the facilities are not good enough, he added. He pointed out that he recently read a lot of negative reports in the newspapers about him. Some reports claimed that he would be sacked after the Oman match, adding he had not received any official word to this end. 'I am not worried, I do my job as best I can. I have made many sacrifices.' Stephen's first major role was as assistant coach at Post University on Long Island in New York. He played a leading part in taking them to the E.C.A.C. finals where they finished runners-up. In July 1992, Stephen returned to Cyprus where he accepted the position of assistant coach for the under-21s at Apollon Limassol in Cyprus. Stephen guided the team to second place in the league and runners-up in the Cup. Stephen had the opportunity to work with some of the best youngsters to come out of Cypriot football several of whom went on to represent Cyprus at senior national team level. Stephen concluded by saying there is a future for Indian football but at the moment Stephen's future with the Indian team doesn't seem to be bright. - By Francis A. Clifford Cardozo; Arab Times Staff |
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