About Stephen Constantine

Stephen Constantine first discovered his passion for coaching at age 26, whilst still a professional player, when he helped train the New York Freedoms’ youth team: "I instantly realised that once I stopped playing, the only thing I wanted was to go into coaching full-time" explained Stephen. The following year a serious knee injury ended his professional playing career, although by then he’d already gained his USSF ‘C’ Licence.
The hallmark of Stephen’s coaching career has been his insatiable thirst for knowledge relating to anything that would improve the chances for success of the teams he’s managed. This saw him collect qualifications in psychology, nutrition and coach education.

Stephens’ growing reputation as an innovative and talented coach was recognised with his appointment aged just 38 to the Panel of FIFA Coach Instructors, one of the youngest to be granted this honour. He gained his UEFA Professional Licence in 2004; the same year he was one of 16 coaches FIFA invited to a seminar to launch the new Futuro iii coaching courses in Germany.

Not only is Stephen a highly capable coach but time and again he has proved his ability to develop teams and lead them to success, despite taking appointments in some of the most challenging football environments in world football. This proven ability has seen him move progressively up the FIFA Ranking ladder in terms of the national teams he’s coached. Now, a new chapter begins with the Sudan – here we look back over the earlier challenges and successes that have brought Stephen to where he is today.

Quick links

• Malawi: National Coach 2006-2008
• Millwall Football Club, 2005-2006
• India, 2002-2005
• Nepal, 1999-2001
• Cyprus, 1992-1999

Malawi: National Coach 2006-2008

At Malawi Stephen inherited an ageing and underperforming team – expectations were unrealistically high given the evident need to rebuild. Stephen set about the task by identifying a number of young players that he felt could take the team forward and remained resolute despite fierce opposition from some quarters.
As he anticipated, the initial results were disappointing, however, as Stephen explains, subsequent performances proved him right: “I knew we’d struggle to begin with because it takes time for new players to settle in to the team, and it takes time for the team to understand and get used to a different way of playing. But I knew what had to be done and I was determined to see it through.”

“We lost the first five games but I could see things were beginning to come together and we were moving in the right direction. As a Coach you’re always aware that you’re in the results business so of course I was under pressure – some people, former players, journalists, and  some officials, made it harder than it needed to be to be honest.”

Stephen was vindicated however when, for the first time in its history, Malawi won three consecutive matches, including an impressive away win in Namibia. The team went on to qualify for the final stages of the African World Cup Qualifiers with wins over Egypt and DR Congo on the way……………..

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Millwall Football Club, 2005-2006

Stephen has long had a dream to coach in England. His chance came when struggling Championship side Millwall asked him to come in as First Team Coach. Although Stephen thoroughly enjoyed his time there he found it frustrating at times in that his wasn’t the final say. He would prepare the players and the team, but the Manager picked the team and decided the tactics.

“My season in the English Championship was a huge experience, but I would be lying if I said that all of it was positive. It was mid September when I got the call to become Millwall's first team coach. The role was new to me. I had up to this point always been the one calling the shots and not being able to do so was at times difficult. Millwall were struggling and had not managed to win after seven league games.”

“With several key players leaving, and many others wanting to leave, it really was an uphill task trying to keep them afloat. They were already onto their second manager of the season by the time I arrived. The first, lasted all of 32 days and was sacked without taking charge of a single competitive game. After going seven games without a win, his replacement , decided he needed some help and I got the call.”

“I had ten days before my first game. We focused on defending and getting behind the ball. During that period we also managed to bring in a few new players on loan, and in my first game away to Wolves we won 2-1. That was followed by another 2-1 at Sheffield Wednesday. It was the start of a seven game unbeaten run. It was a terrific turnaround, and the players responded magnificently. But it was then that the problems surrounding the club started to emerge. The chairman resigned, while the manager decided he wanted to leave. By Christmas, the manager got his wish, as he was sacked, and we were onto our third manager of the season.”

“In the second half of the season, results improved, but we lacked any real quality, especially up front, which was to prove our downfall. Relegation was inevitable. However, I would like to say that the Millwall fans were terrific, and I will never forget the way they treated me. It was a great disappointment that I could not have done more for them.”

“It was also a fascinating experience, one from which I learned a great deal, and one which I'm sure will, in its own way, prove invaluable to me in future.”

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India, 2002-2005

As National Manager of India, Stephen strengthened the football organisation by concentrating on developing the youth teams and rousing a stagnating senior side. He was instrumental in improving facilities, physical training methods and the mental approach to the game from the moment he joined the team in 2002.
"When I arrived...things needed shaking up. There was also a culture of complacency -- once you were in the squad, you were safe for five years. I've been happy to drop some of the old guard and not afraid to pick 17-year-olds if they are good enough." (When Saturday Comes, Aug 2003).

The results speak for themselves. In his first tournament, Stephen guided the U-23s to victory in the 2002 LG Cup Final against Vietnam's full national side. It was India's first trophy of any significance outside of South Asia in more than 40 years and the start of a three-year commitment to taking the national squad to the next level in every aspect.

The improvements were again apparent at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, where India were only denied a place in the last eight by a single goal. Stephen then took the U-18s to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland and on to Wales to compete for the Ian Rush trophy, which they won by upsetting Botafogo of Brazil 3-0 in the final.

Although India failed to qualify for the 2004 Asian Cup, the senior team shone in a silver medal-winning performance in the inaugural Afro Asian Games, with victories over Rwanda and Zimbabwe (then 85 places ahead of India in the world rankings) along the way, losing the final by just 1-0 to Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, both the U-17 and U-20 teams reached the AFC Youth Championships in 2004.

As a result, Indian football has steadily earned greater recognition and respect, both within the country and abroad. In November 2003, Stephen was named AFC Manager of the Month, an award he dedicated to his players.

While not every contest ends favourably -- losses to Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 2003 SAF Cup and defeats in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers (after an initial win against Singapore and a 0-0 draw in their last match with Oman, Japan ultimately winning the group) among the more disappointing -- there is little doubt within the squad of the progress made during his tenure.

"Where was Indian football three years ago? He has come in and given us confidence, spirit and the will to win. We owe him a lot. It will be a disaster should he leave." -- S. Venkatesh, Mahindra United Midfielder.

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Nepal, 1999-2001

This sentiment is echoed by players and staff of previous teams as well. Prior to his India appointment, Stephen made his mark, and his reputation, by turning a Nepali national side that had not won two consecutive matches in the previous five years into a football "fairytale". With only seven weeks to get the team into shape for the regional Olympiad, the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games of 1999/2000, he had his work cut out for him.

"There was a rabble of 35 players training on a field with a terrible pitch and no nets in the goals," recalls Stephen. "And each of the 35 players was wearing different coloured shirts and socks. There was no physio or doctor, the diet...was rice and dhal (lentils) three times a day. There was no organisation, no planning. It was like Hackney Marshes -- but this was the national team." (Four Four Two, Sept 2000).

Nevertheless, with just under two months' preparation, the team managed to qualify from their group. To reinforce his players' growing sense of unity as they continued to perform well, and to demonstrate solidarity with the team, Stephen wore the Himalayan kingdom's traditional costume for the semi-final. The gesture was not lost on them or their countrymen, who were by now ecstatic over their national team's success. The Nepalese, beyond all expectations, went on to reach the final where they lost to Bangladesh 1-0.

"Everybody was very happy when we saw him in the national dress...Our boys' performance in the SAF Games was excellent. They played very well, even in the final. This is really a great honour and a great moment in their lives." -- Ganesh Thapa, President, All Nepal Football Association, (Football Asia, Mar 2000)
For their history-making efforts, the entire squad and staff were recognised by the late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev at the royal palace, where Stephen was awarded the Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Baahu (the Nepalese equivalent of the British OBE), the highest honour the country may bestow on a foreigner.

As if that wasn't enough, Stephen went on to lead the U-16s to the finals of the Asian Youth Championship in Vietnam that September, the first time that any Nepalese national side, at any level, had ever qualified for the finals of any such competition.

After his decision to leave Nepal in 2001, due to a political power struggle within the ANFA that was hurting the game, he returned to the UK accepting the assistant directorship of Bournemouth AFC's youth academy, and enjoying a successful stint in charge of the Cherries' U-16s.

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Cyprus, 1992-1999

While his time in Nepal may sound the stuff of fairytales, the triumphs were not isolated. Similar successes can be seen in his early coaching years in Cyprus, where he spent part of his childhood.

In mid-1992, Stephen left the US to become assistant coach for Apollon Limassol's U-21s, guiding them to second place in the league and runners-up in the cup. Several of the youngsters he worked with went on to represent Cyprus at senior national level.

But it was during the 1994-95 season as manager/coach for struggling 4th-division side Achilleas that Stephen first demonstrated his skill in changing a team's fortunes. Achilleas, sitting one off the bottom of the table, went unbeaten in  their first nine games under him and avoided relegation in the last match of the season. Not content to rest on that success, he helped the club knock out 1st and 2nd division opponents in the Cyprus Cup the following year, a first for Cypriot football.

Stephen then steered 2nd-division Apep FC back into the 1st division, after starting off as reserve team/manager coach then being named first-team manager eight games into the season.
By 1996, he was with 1st-division outfit Ael FC where, as Director of Youth, he coached the U-16s to win the Youth Championship and the National Cup, going unbeaten in both campaigns. It was the first double in the club's history.

"His determination and sheer persistence working with our Youth sides provided the players with an invaluable education that will stay with them throughout their careers. The fact that a number of these players went on to represent the first team and their national side speaks volumes abou Stephen's qualities as a coach." Dimitris Solomonides, President, AEL FC.

Coaching in Cyprus gave Stephen the opportunity to work alongside some excellent coaches as well as the chance to watch some of Europe's top sides play in UEFA competitions. During those years he earned the FA Advanced and UEFA A Licences. Then in 1999, in order to obtain the USSF A Licence, he returned to the US, the place where he first caught the coaching bug ten years earlier.

His first major position, in 1989, was as assistant coach at Post University in Long Island, New York. While still in that job, and just 29, he earned his USSF B Licence and also became Director of Youth for the New York Freedoms, taking their U-16s to a divisional title and winning a trophy that would be the first of many

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