Stephen Constantine: I Should Have Been Coaching India

English manager Stephen Constantine, who guided India to a historic high in the FIFA rankings, is deeply disappointed by the country's current freefall and believes he should still be at the helm managing the team.

The 63-year-old English tactician was shortlisted to be the coach of Indian national team for a third tenure before Khalid Jamil was roped in and handed a full-time contract.

In an exclusive interview with PTI from Rwanda, where he manages the national team, he partly blamed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the downfall. He stated they should have done more to maintain stability after the ISL agreement ended.

Additionally, he called for wider structural reforms, including promotion and relegation, youth development, and a clear coaching pathway.

"I should have been in India, but I'm not. When you give seven years of your life to the national team, I have a personal interest, of course," he said.

His disappointment is understandable after being overlooked for the India job despite the AIFF technical committee recommending his name to replace Manolo Marquez last year.

Constantine argued that Jamil was handed the senior national team job despite "zero" international coaching experience.

"I was shortlisted for the Indian job this time. They put Khalid Jamil. OK, fair enough," continued Constantine, who now has coaching experience in six different countries including Nepal and Pakistan in his 25-plus years of experience.

"But Khalid Jamil has zero experience at international football. Now, if you are wanting an Indian coach, then put the Indian coach in a position where he can he can develop.

"Put him at under 23s, put him under 20, and then make him the Indian national team coach. You can't put somebody who has no experience at all just because you want an Indian coach. And that's exactly what happened." Constantine enjoyed two successful spells as India head coach, overseeing one of the most significant periods in the national team's recent history.

During his second tenure (2015–2019), he guided India to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, won the 2016 SAFF Championship and the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, while improving the team's FIFA ranking from 171 to a two-decade-best 96 in July 2017.

In his first stint (2002–2005), he led India to the 2002 LG Cup title in Vietnam, cementing his place among the country's most successful national team coaches.

"So it's very disappointing. Obviously, the decline has been there. But, you know, there's a lot of things wrong... You can't allow senior players to decide what happens in the national team. That has been happening since I've left.

"You have to have a proper league. You have to have promotion-relegation. We haven't had that for some time. There needs to be youth development. We need to have Indian coaches developing."

"Also, the AIFF, I don't know all the ins and outs, but you have an agreement with ISL that has ended. But you should have done a lot more to continue that relationship to make things right."

First dominate region

He further said India must first dominate their own region before realistically aspiring to qualify for the World Cup.

"When I came to India the second time and Mr. Patel (then AIFF president Praful Patel) said to me, coach, how do we go to the World Cup? And I said, sir, we are not dominating the SAAF region. How are we going to qualify for the World Cup?

"We haven't been to the Asian Cup on merit for a very long time. How are we going to qualify for the World Cup?

"I mean, at the moment Indian football is in freefall. Now, qualifying for the World Cup for India at this point, is not on the cards. First, you've got to qualify for the Asian Cup on a regular basis.

"You've got to dominate the SAFF region on a regular basis. If you're not doing those two things, you are not going to the World Cup even if they put 100 teams.

"It's very disappointing for me. Obviously, I spent seven years as national team coach. But I think the first time with Bhaichung Bhutia, Joe Paul Ancheri and many other players, we gave a very good account of ourselves.

"My work was there for everybody to see. I could have been the Indian coach for the third time, but I'm not. And that's fine. I'm here at Rwanda. We have a decent team," he said as they aim to qualify for 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

"We won the first two games that we played here in the FIFA series. We won the FIFA series. And now we have African Cup qualifiers coming up in September."

India are slated to play two friendlies against New Zealand this November, the team fresh from playing the World Cup where they finished last in Group G with one draw and two losses.

Constantine questioned the value of playing friendlies against teams like New Zealand and said India would benefit more from facing strong Asian opponents they are likely to encounter in competitive tournaments.

"You're not going to face New Zealand in the Asian Cup, SAFF Championship or World Cup qualifiers.

"If you want meaningful experience, play Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Japan, China -- teams you're likely to meet in competitive matches.

"It's nice to play New Zealand, but from a football perspective, it doesn't make much sense to me."

World Cup is not about charity

He said the 48-team World Cup has largely worked but is unconvinced that expanding to 64 teams would benefit the tournament, warning it could affect quality and create logistical problems.

"Look, I wasn't sure if 48 teams was going to be a little diluted. There were some results in the first group stages that suggested that some teams were out of their depth at this level.

"However, it's called the World Cup and the World Cup starts with the pre-qualifiers that we had in India a few years back. So everyone is involved in the World Cup at one level or another."

"Getting to the World Cup should be earned... It's not about charity. And I think 48 teams and this World Cup, it's been a good World Cup, very entertaining. But I don't know how 64 teams is going to look. How is that going to work logistically? So I don't know."