Stephen in the Media

June 2004

taken from indianfootball.com
by Arunava Chaudhuri

Stephen Constantine has now completed two years in office as the Indian national football team's head coach but the last two results against Oman and Japan were depressing for the Indian fans.
IndianFootball.Com Editor-in-Chief Arunava Chaudhuri discusses with Stephen the last results of the India team, Stephen gives an outlook into the future and speaks his mind on a number of different issues.

First of all thank you Stephen for doing an eMail interview with IndianFootball.Com. How are you feeling personally after the loss against Japan?

For me losing by any score is hard to take for some reason I never expect to lose. To lose by such a margin was a nightmare and yet the boys fought for every ball until the last minute. Zico said to me he was amazed at the spirit and though we obviously are not on the same level as Japan we kept trying to play. There is a big gap and for me the best example is that in 1989 we beat Japan 4-1, they said after the game that this will not happen again and 14 years later you see the difference. What have we done since then or since the sixties regarding youth development?

What was the thinking behind giving talented youngsters Habibur Rehman Mondal and Debabrata Roy a debut in such a big game? As you missed Debjit Ghosh and Muttath Suresh, didn't you think about taking experienced NFL players like Covan Lawrence/Stanley Colaco/Surkumar Singh to Japan?

Right. Habibur and Debrata are both going to be very good players the thinking was and still is that realistically we are not going to qualify from this group so we need to start thinking about bringing on players who are going to be involved in the future. The 2006 Asian Games which is an Under-23 event and we need to start getting the youngsters the experience. To play Habibur was a forced situation against Japan as Mahesh Gawli was taken to hospital the night before the game and was in no fit state to play. Covan Lawrence was on standby and when Subhash Chakraborty pulled out at the last minute we were unable to get Covan Lawrence a visa, as for Surkumar Singh I don't feel he is a player that can help the national team for a variety of reasons, the main one being his complete disregard for team discipline, you will recall that his club fined him for not following the coaches instruction and this is a problem. Stanley Colaco is not good enough for the International arena. Debabrata came on as a substitute for Climax Lawrence and did very well wide left.

Although the odds were against us in the matches against Oman and Japan, we conceded 12 goals in 2 matches. Does that worry you?

Of course as there were a few goals there that we could have avoided with a bit more concentration, we also need to look at the amount of time we get together and this is also a problem. Prior to the Singapore game I had 5 days, and no games, with Oman 9 days and no games, With Japan we had ten days and got 2 games mainly as a result of my relationship with the Indonesia coach. The AIFF had been trying to get games against China, South Korea and well we didn't get a positive response so it was not through lack of effort on the AIFF part. The two games made a huge difference in mental and regarding acquainting the players with our system and each other it is very important that we play together. The two results in Indonesia restored confidence and we played some good football. The last time we played in Indonesia we lost 7-1! If it had been any other team then Japan after Indonesia we would have not been beaten like that.

You and your team has been heavy criticised in India by experts, coaches and fans? What do you say to them?

I accept people who have something constructive to say and of course we can all learn from others, the fans have every right to be disappointed but when the so called experts or coaches are saying things like why did he play Habibur in stead of Mahesh, or the coach doesn't know how to deliver tactics, or plan for the future it is just ridiculous. What greatly saddens me is that some of these experts and when I say experts you need to clarify who and what there qualifications are, There Indians who seem to take great pleasure in seeing there compatriots lose!!! I really can't understand an Indian wanting or hoping his team loses so he can say in the papers the coach is no good or the players are not good, incredible really. I know who these people are and there the same people who said we don't need a foreign coach, and what does he know about Indian football, and that was before I had even arrived so that shows you the attitude of some of these experts. Even when we did well they could not find anything good to say, so you need to look at there motives and the rational behind there comments. This for me is one of the reasons why we have not progressed further when your so called experts are telling the players there no good then what can you expect.

Although we lost 7-0 against the Japanese, do you see any positives from the match?

Well the fact that the boys showed a tremendous spirit even when it would have been easy to give in, had we played with that spirit we would not have lost to Oman the way we did.

Where do you see the differences between Japan and India?

Honestly there is no comparison in terms of infrastructure, organization, facilities and youth development. I have said for two years and still believe we have the ability but we need to concentrate on the grass roots levels - the clubs, the states need to develop their youth. Yes, the AIFF could do more and am sure will do more but I don't know of any national association who develops the youth for the clubs. It is the clubs who must go into the schools and set up programs so as to have a catchment area of players who in time will go on and play for the club. About 15 years ago the English FA started to question why England had failed to qualify for the 1994 world Cup and why they had not won anything since 1966, they went all over the world and saw what the rest of the world were doing and everywhere they went the answer was the same," Develop the youth" now at all clubs in England there is some form of youth development scheme, be it Academy as the Premier league clubs have or center of excellence program's as all the other clubs have, after all it is the club that will benefit. So now in England we see players like Rooney, King, Davis, Cole and many more coming through and making it to the international senior team. There are no secrets in football anymore just commitment and hard work.

What do you expect from your team against Japan in the home match in Calcutta?

A better performance in terms of keeping the ball and not making unnecessary mistakes.

When and where will the national team be in action again?

We go to Vietnam for the LG Cup in August.

Congratulation on completing two years in Indian football. How do you see your work when you look back? What do you see as highs and lows of your stay so far?

Thanks. It has been a great two years, the last two results aside and well for me there are a few high points. Winning the LG Cup, Asian Games, the performance and the winning of the Ian Rush Trophy but also the way we played in the Milk Cup. Seeing several of those players sign for NFL clubs and of course make the senior side. The setting up of the Sports Science program, though Dr Vece Paes arranged it all, it was partly my idea to have something like that done. Lows our U20 not getting through to the finals in Malaysia, losing any game with India hurts me. The biggest low is Indians putting Indians down, there are enough people in this world who want to put Indians down it should not be Indians who do it.

What are your aims for the coming years with India?

To improve on the last two years we have done well and things like Vision Asia are results of the last two years people can see we have the potential to do well as we have shown but we now need to do more to go to the next level. To do that we are all going to have to try and do more.

What are the three things about football in India that infuriate you the most?

1. Indians telling Indians they're no good.
2. People who talk but don't implement.
3. Journalists who report nonsense purely because they want to cause problems. I have never said no to speaking to anyone in the press, but when they call me at 11-12 pm at night or call the team Dr at 11:30 pm to ask him if there is any controversy it just doesn't make sense.

What do you think about the Vision India recommendations from the Asian Football Confederation?

I have just received the documents and am sure there will be some good suggestions and some no so good so will know more after reading it.

Among the proposed changes is the expansion of the NFL and change in format. What do you think about it?

Yes, I am all for it we need to take the show (NFL) to all corners of India, I had suggested that we use the State leagues as a way of qualifying for the NFL. In my plan we would make eight zones and each zone would play there own league with the winners or in the case of Bengal and Goa the top three teams would qualify for that years NFL. We would then get other states trying to develop the game and give opportunity to get a chance to play in the NFL.

What other changes would you say from your experience is needed at state and club level?

I find it hard to believe that the clubs do not have a youth policy or not much of one. It is the lifeline of every club in the world and it should be here. Some clubs are doing or trying but it should be by all. The states should also do more perhaps by going into schools they could generate more players.

What needs to be done to strengthen the national team setup?

Youth, we get the players from the clubs, though we have these junior competitions it is too late in terms of them being able to compete. What I am saying is if we get a 16 old for the U17 he should have had some coaching and know the basics, at the moment that is not happening and that's the difference between say an Indian player and a Japanese or Korean, they have had several years of coaching and are comfortable on the ball and know how to deal with certain situations. Sure you will say but we did well at U17/U18 last year and yes we did but we ultimately lost to the big teams and had our players been coached from the ages of ten perhaps we would have gone on and done better then finishing in the last eight.

You are away from India in the coming weeks in Iran and the UK. What are you going to do there?

Well in Iran I am conducting a course for the coaches of Iran for FIFA. I will be teaching the national coaches of Iran how to coach there players. In England I am being assessed for the UEFA Professional license which is the highest coaching qualification world wide. Some of my class mates are Mark Hughes (Wales coach) Steve McClaren (Middlesbrough & England coach), John Carver (Newcastle coach) and many more so am in good company. There about 30 coaches all told that hold this qualification in England so it will be a fantastic achievement if I get it.

I would just like to say , to all you Indians who in the past few weeks have sent me letters and emails wishing me and the team well and for your support on behalf of me and the players we thank you. I will say there have been so many and am sorry if I have not replied very quickly but I will reply.
Finally thank you all for the support and Jai Hind!!!

Good luck for your coming asignments, exams and also with the national team!
And thank you for your time for us.

the interview was done by Arunava Chaudhuri by eMail (June 2004)
[ indianfootball.com interviews ]

© indianfootball.com 2004
Reproduction in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.