Stephen and the Media

Times Online

September 15, 2003

The coach

Star of India fails to curry favour
By RUSSELL KEMPSON

STEPHEN CONSTANTINE SITS IN THE dining hall, awaiting the arrival of his players. A head pokes around the door and a voice meekly asks for permission to enter. “May I come in, sir?” Constantine answers in the affirmative. And again, and again. “I have to say ‘yes’ about 28 times,” he said. “They’re so respectful. They appreciate what you’re trying to do for them.”

Constantine is in Jamshedpur, a four-hour train journey west of Calcutta. He is in charge of the India Under-19 squad, preparing for an Asian youth qualifying tournament. The city is industrialised, traffic clogs the streets, cattle roam freely. “It’s well different,” Constantine said. But there are trees, gardens and lakes, too. Greenery abounds.

In his room at the guest house, he plans the evening’s entertainment for the lads: watching his DVDs at their hostel. Gangs of New York is a favourite. “They like a good action film,” he said. “But we get the Premiership live here as well. They really like that. Competing with cricket is tough, but the people love their football.”

On a night in, Constantine plans for the under-17, under-23 and senior sides — he is 14 months into a three-year contract with the All-India Football Federation — and answers e-mails from around the world. He has coached in Bangladesh, Nepal, Cyprus, Sudan, Bhutan and Kuwait, enhancing a hard-earned reputation for passion, discipline and attention to the finest detail. A sense of humour is essential.

In his quieter moments, he ponders long and hard about a job closer to home. He has his UEFA and USA A badges, the Full Badge Licence and is studying for the Pro Licence, the top level. He is a Fifa instructor, the only Englishman on the select panel of the sport’s governing body. “If I get the Pro Licence,” he said. “I suppose I couldn’t be any more qualified.”

Yet nobody in the Premiership, Nationwide League or Nationwide Conference appears to be interested in the East End boy made good in south Asia; the Arsenal fan of English and Greek Cypriot stock whose achievements with Nepal won him a medal from the mountain kingdom. Job applications are ignored, interviews but a dream. A friend sent his CV to West Ham United but it was tossed aside.

Constantine, 40, sighs. He knows why and cannot mask the irritation. He had trials for Chelsea and Millwall and played in the United States until the age of 28, when a knee injury ended his career. But because he is not a former full-time professional player, because the name Constantine raises only the merest of recognition, if any, in the Football League boardrooms, his letters go unanswered.

“Perhaps if I’d played for just ten minutes in the League I’d have had a bit more response,” he said. “But I’ve always felt that the decisions should not be based on what I did or didn’t do as a player. It’s not me who’s out there playing now. It’s about what I tell my players to do and how they react to what I tell them.

“Gérard Houllier and Arsène Wenger were no great shakes as players but they grew up in a country that recognised their expertise as coaches. In England, we don’t give enough respect to the coaching levels. It’s changing, it has to, because it’s absurd that some former players walk straight into a managerial job with no experience whatsoever.”

Purged of his angst, Constantine reflects on his lot. It is a nomadic existence, yet has proved hugely rewarding and, already, he has been credited with changing the face of football in India. “With a population of 1.4 billion, there is no place to hide,” he said. When the national side won the LG Cup, it was the first time that the trophy had gone to a team from outside South-East Asia in 32 years.”

“I wasn’t happy when you were appointed because I’d not heard of you,” an Indian living in Glasgow wrote in an e-mail. “But I’m delighted with the job you’re doing.” Constantine replies to all such missives. “I was touched by that one,” he said. His new website — stephenconstantine.co.uk — is now up and running, his do-it-yourself public relations circulating from Myanmar to Macclesfield.

Instilling pride in performance is his speciality. Breaking down barriers, too. The caste system in India survives, a racist tradition that has polluted previous attempts to make the senior side competitive. Constantine abhors political interference and has acted. “Some Indian coaches would not consider players because of their caste,” he said, “but I don’t care whether they’re Muslim, Hindi or Punjabi. I pick them because they’re good enough.”

For internationals, Constantine wears a tie, specially made in Bombay, in the national colours. “It’s about unity,” he said. “I want to show that I’m one of them.” And his team-talks rouse the most timid of teenagers. “I tell the players to play every game as if it’s their last,” he said, “because it might be their last. You should see the emotion in their eyes.”

When his contract expires, Constantine has one more move in him. Cambodia and Mongolia once beckoned but he declined their offers. Should they call again, who knows? Yet he wants to spend more time with his wife, Lucy, and daughters, Paula, 6, and Christiana, 3, who are based in Goa. Eventually, his wandering over, they may settle in England or Cyprus.

No more writing, though. The ink has run dry. His credentials are writ large across Asia and the League chairmen can come to him. “I’m not going to apply for any more jobs,” Constantine said, “but if someone in England is interested in me, I’d listen to them. At the moment, I’d rather be here, anyway. Exeter City? Up and down the M5? I don’t think so.”

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