Stephen and the Media

Arsenal FC Official Magazine, July 2003 by Dan Brennan - www.liberos.com

Gunning for glory in India

Stephen Constantine is one of the most qualified British-born coaches around. Yet he's never managed a club in the UK, and the chances are you've probably never heard of him.

However, his success as national team manager of Nepal won him that country's highest honour, and now he is looking for a repeat as head coach of India. Oh, and he's also a die-hard Arsenal fan.

During a rare week back home to complete the UEFA Pro Licence course he travelled down to Highbury to talk to Dan Brennan.

He might be virtually unknown in Britain, but in South Asia Stephen Constantine is something of a cult figure. Two years ago, as national coach of Nepal, his achievements earned him the Probal Gorkha Dakshin Baahu (the local equivalent of an OBE).

To the amazement of everyone in Asia, the Englishman steered the team to the South Asian Federation Cup Final - something akin to Liechtenstein reaching the European Championships final - where they lost out narrowly to the Maldives.

Last June, after a brief stint coaching the Bournemouth youth team, he returned to the sub-continent to take charge of India.

Already, he has won Asia's LG Cup - the first time the trophy has gone to a team from outside South East Asia in 32 years - and a feat made more impressive by the fact that, when he arrived, India hadn't played a
competitive game for two years.

So, in terms of silverware, you might say that he is the most successful English-born national team coach since Alf Ramsay. "I hadn't thought of it that way," laughs Constantine.

If the FA's decision to make the Pro Licence a mandatory qualification is set to send certain managers scrabbling for their revision notes, it's unlikely to faze Constantine. His managerial CV already includes the FIFA A Licence, and Full Badge Licence; and at 40, he's one of the youngest coaches to sit on the FIFA instructors' panel, and the only Englishman. Few could question Constantine's desire and commitment to further his chosen career. In order to attend last month's Pro Licence course, which was being run by
the FA in Warwick, he paid the £6,000 fee out of his own pocket, not to mention the not inconsiderable cost of a return airfare from his home in Goa. Among his fellow students were Arsenal old boys David O'Leary and Steve Walford (now first team coach at Celtic), as well as Wales manager Mark Hughes and Leicester's Micky Adams.

"Even though I'm not exactly new to the managerial game," says Constantine, it was still a bit of a thrill being there alongside O'Leary - he was always someone I really admired during his playing days here. And as for coming down to Highbury and getting the chance to hold the FA Cup - well, whatever you achieve in your life, and however old you get, that is going to be a special moment any football fan."

Obviously, location and workload mean that Constantine doesn't get to Highbury as much as he'd like these days, but he did manage to fit in one game last season - the 5-2 defeat of West Brom. And he brought the entire Indian team with him. "We were over for a three-game English tour, so I was desperate to make sure we saw an Arsenal game.

" Most of the boys seem have a thing for Manchester United, but I'm working on that. Bringing them to a game definitely helped my propaganda campaign - hopefully we'll be able to do it again some time."

Constantine is not a nomad entirely by choice. He has applied for a number of vacancies back home, but has so far failed to land a single interview. Given his credentials and the high turnover of managers in this country,
this seems somewhat startling.

Constantine, though, is no longer surprised. "With my qualifications and experience I should have no problems getting a job, but these things don't always count for as much as they should in England."

Instead he finds himself venturing into the Axis of Evil for tricky away fixtures. Constantine and his team recently returned from Pyongyang, where they faced the North Koreans in the Asian Cup qualifiers.

" It was certainly one of the odder places I've had to visit. There were 40,000 in the stadium - all dressed in Mao suits - and it was deathly quiet. The only time they made any noise was when the Koreans scored [which
happened twice - India lost 2-0]; even our winger on the other side of the pitch could hear every word I said, which was quite handy for me, but it didn't do much for the atmosphere. We were playing on Astroturf and they'd covered it in some sort of black sand, which meant every time the ball bounced there was a big cloud of dust."

Constantine believes that, as a football nation, India is a sleeping giant. While the game exists in the shadow of cricket, he has discovered huge passion at grassroots level. Derby matches in Bengal regularly attract
crowds of 120,000. But a mixture of bureaucracy political problems with Pakistan over Kashmir and what he describes as 'a general feeling that getting beat didn't matter' had all helped to push international football off the agenda. But money is starting to come into Indian football, and they now have a contract with Adidas."

Short of winning the World Cup with India, what does he think he has to do to get noticed back home? "Let's put it this way - if I had pulled on a shirt for a league side, even just for 10 minutes, and could say I had
played as a pro, it would be a lot easier. As soon as you can say that people look at you differently."

As it was, Constantine's playing career comprised stints with the youth teams at Millwall and Chelsea, and semi-professional football in Cyprus and then the States, where he first started out on the coaching trail.
After that he spent several years in Cyprus as a manager, winning promotion to the top division with Apep FC in his first season, and then the league and cup double with AEL a year later in 1997. Notable achievements, but none of which have helped him back home. "I recently ran into the chairman of an English first division club. He'd never heard of me but was curious, especially as, like him, I have some Greek blood." He seemed genuinely interested in what I'd achieved, but said he could never take a risk on me because nobody knew who I was - he was worried about how the fans would respond." Constantine has applied for vacancies at QPR, Tranmere, Wigan, Torquay and Barnet among others. In several cases - despite the fears expressed by said first division chairman - he came top of the fan polls.

Given he is hardly a well-known name, this might seem surprising. But then Constantine has become something of an expert in DIY public relations. He has a website flagging up his credentials and achievements, and has even agreed to go online with the fans for live Q&A sessions to argue his case - a prospect that many managers might baulk at.

There are, of course, signs that attitudes in the English game are changing top down. But it has taken arrival of two Frenchmen to challenge old prejudices - an irony which is not lost on Constantine. "Arsène Wenger and
Gerard Houllier were not top players - I don't think they would mind me saying that", says Constantine, "yet as coaches they have acquired guru status, and rightly so.

" They've got where they are by learning their trade over many years. Coaching is a very specific art. In France nobody criticised them for not playing at the highest level - because their skills are recognised and respected."
From 2006, coaching staff will need to have the Pro Licence to even sit on the bench - already the case in most of Europe.

" The Pro Licence is a good thing - but it's 10 years overdue. Of course, for the likes of Arsène Wenger it will be a formality. But a lot of managers could be in trouble. If they've not had 10 years professional managerial experience they'll have to go back to school and I suspect some may struggle.

" Without naming names, some of the managerial appointments made in England, where you see young guys with absolutely no experience walk straight into a job, verge on absurdity.

" I don't blame them for taking the jobs - but how often does it end in tears? What's really to blame is the prevailing culture and the attitude of many club chairmen. It's not enough to have charisma or the respect of your former peers, to be a good coach you need well honed tactical and management skills.

" Arsène Wenger is a great example. In fact I think his appointment at Highbury was one of the best things to happen in the English game in recent years in terms of challenging the old order. But the change in mindset lower down the leagues is still not that evident."

For the moment, Constantine will just have to make do with international management. In addition to the senior side, he also looks after the Indian Under-17s, 19s and 21s, and says there three or four very talented young players in the country.

" The icon here," says Stephan, "is Baichung Bathia [the Indian team captain, who spent three seasons at Bury and remains the only player from the Indian sub-continent to have played in England]. He is still by far the best player we have, and was hugely unlucky not to have had a better time of things in England - I think he'll be back in Europe next season. In terms of the youngsters - two to look out for are Asim Biswas, and Climax [yes, that's Climax] Lawrence - he's the nearest thing India has to Patrick Vieira!"

One problem he doesn't face in India is discipline. "There is a strong sense of collective responsibility and respect in Indian culture, which is a big advantage for a coach. Having said that, the other day they all went
shopping without telling me. I fined them 30 quid each - that's a lot of money there."

Beyond his managerial duties, Constantine has been given a major role in helping to restructure domestic football. "I've been asked to come up with a plan for a new league format from next season. The league system is very complicated and there are a lot of fixtures and a lot of travelling - trekking several thousand miles for an away game is no joke." I've proposed a scheme for streamlining the fixture schedule, and playing
the main cup - the Federation Cup - during two weeks at the end of the season - that would make things a lot better for the national team."

Constantine is still optimistic that his achievements and experience will eventually receive due recognition closer to home, but doesn't expect to be taking route one back to Britain. "I'm a firm believer that hard work pays off. I've still got plenty to learn, but if things continue to go well with India, then I think another opportunity in Asia might come along - maybe China, or even Japan or South Korea.

" Beyond that, given existing attitudes, western Europe remains a more realistic possibility than England."

But there are signs that people might be starting to take notice and he certainly made a positive impression on Les Reed, the FA's Technical Director, and coach of the England Under-20s, who was leading the Pro
Licence course. "Steve is a fine example of someone who, without having a high profile in the game has, through hard work, perseverance and study, achieved significant status in football as a national coach," said Reed. " We'll be keeping a close eye on his future progress."

The last word goes to Constantine. "My wife complains that I'm a total chameleon and that I'd change my skin colour and religion for the sake of my job. She's probably got a point - I love my family dearly, but football is
my life.

" The other month I turned up at a game wearing a tie in the Indian national colours that had been specially made for me. The crowd went wild. " Things like that make me realise how lucky I am. I might not be coaching a top European club...yet... but this kind of experience is unique."

Stephen Constantine will be bringing the Indian Under-19 side to Belfast in July to take on Preston, Dynamo Kiev and County Antrim in the Milk Cup. For more information on Stephen and Indian football in general check out
www.stephenconstantine.co.uk and www.indianfootball.com