Stephen Constantine

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For the Serbian King, see Stephen Constantine of Serbia.
Stephen Constantine
Personal information
Full nameStephen Phillip Constantine
Date of birth (1962-10-16) 16 October 1962
Place of birthLondon, England
Club information
Current clubApollon Smyrni (coach)
Teams managed
YearsTeam
1994–1995Achilleas FC
1995–1996APEP FC
1998–1999APEP FC
1999–2001Nepal
2002–2005India
2007–2008Malawi
2009–2010Sudan
2010APEP FC
2010–2012Nea Salamis
2013Ethnikos Achna

Stephen Phillip Constantine (born 16 October 1962[1]) is an English–Cypriot football manager, he is currently a coach at Superleague Greece side Apollon Smyrni.[2] He is best known for managing four national teams, and for a successful spell in charge of the Cypriot top division side, Nea Salamis Famagusta FC.

Biography

Stephen Constantine has managed the national sides of Nepal, India, Malawi, and Sudan, and has been first team coach of the English Championship side, Millwall. Most recently, he managed Nea Salamis Famagusta FC in the Cypriot First Division, after guiding them to promotion from the Cypriot Second Division. He holds the UEFA pro licence, and, as a member of FIFA's elite coaches’ panel, runs courses around the world for coaches and instructors. He is married with three daughters.[1]

USA

Constantine's playing career ended in the United States when he was 26, because of injury. He began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant coach at CW Post College, before moving onto being Academy Director of New York Freedom in 1990 where he led them to the Cosmopolitan Championship; he left in 1992. During 1991-1992, he was also an assistant coach for the New York State Select Team.[3]

Cyprus

In 1992, he moved to Cyprus and was assistant coach for two years at Apollon Limassol FC. During his time there the club were runners-up in the league, and qualified for the UEFA Cup. He also guided their U21 team to league and cup runners-up.

In 1994 Constantine became manager at Achilleas FC, saving them from relegation from the Fourth Division, and causing the cup upsets by knocking out Second Division and First Division clubs. A year later he took over at APEP FC whom he led in his first season to promotion to the First Division. In 1996 he moved onto AEL FC to take up a position as both goalkeeping coach and Director of Youth, winning the U16 League Championship and the Cyprus Youth Cup. He returned to APEP FC in 1998, leading the club to promotion to the First Division, and picking up the Football Writers' Manager of the Year Award.

Nepal

In 1999, Constantine was appointed manager of the Nepal national team, a position which he held until 2001. In his first season Constantine led the Nepal team to an unprcedented silver medal in the South Asian Games. This achievement was recognised through the award of the Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Baahu, the highest honour the country can bestow upon a foreigner. Constantine also led the U16s to the finals of the Asian Youth Championships.[4]

Bournemouth

In 2001, Constantine became Assistant Director of the Centre of Excellence of AFC Bournemouth. He stayed at the club until 2002.

India

In 2002, Constantine was appointed manager of the Indian national team, a position which he held until 2005. Constantine enjoyed some success in India.[5]

In his first tournament in charge, he won the LG Cup against Vietnam. 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. Constantine 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 in the final by just 1-0 to Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, both the U-17 and U-20 teams reached the AFC Youth Championships in 2004, while the U-19 team collected a Silver Medal in the BIMST Cup in Thailand. India also collected a Silver Medal in the SAF Games in Pakistan. In November 2003 the AFC named Constantine as Asia Manager/Coach of the Month.

Millwall

In September 2005, Constantine returned to England to become first-team coach at Millwall F.C..[6] He stayed at the club for the remainder of the 2005-2006 season, working under no fewer than three different managers as Millwall were relegated to League One.

Malawi

Constantine was appointed manager of the Malawi national team on 2 February 2007.[7] As he set about rebuilding an ageing side, Malawi lost their first six international matches under his management. However, his policies began to pay off with subsequent victories against the much higher ranked Swaziland and Namibia and a 2-1 victory over Mozambique in the African Nations Cup - the first time in their history that Malawi had won three consecutive matches. Constantine resigned in April 2008 after Malawi narrowly failed to qualify for the 2009 African Nations Championship, losing 1-0 to Mozambique in a first round, second leg qualifying match on Sunday 13 April 2008.[8][9]

In the games immediately following Constantine's resignation, the Malawi team that he had built beat DR Congo and Egypt, and reached the Qualification Group Stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Sudan

Constantine was appointed as the manager of Sudan on 15 February 2009.[10] While in charge of Sudan, he enforced strict discipline, and picked a number of younger players, saying it was his "personal mission" to help them find European or American clubs.[11] After they failed to qualify for either 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations he left his post on 25 January 2010 for personal reasons.

Cyprus

He returned to Cyprus in 2010 to manage APEP FC again and then Nea Salamis Famagusta FC. He won promotion in his first season, despite the club being bottom when he took over.[12] In his second season, the club finished seventh in the Cypriot First Division,[13] only five places below that year's Champions League quarter-finalists, APOEL F.C.. He left Nea Salamis in the summer of 2012, because of the club's financial problems.[14] In December 2012, he was appointed manager of Ethnikos Achna FC,[15] who were second bottom of the table, and hadn't won a league match in over eight months. Despite overseeing a four-match unbeaten run - including three wins in a row - he left the club in February after players and staff were unpaid [16]

Greece

On 21 November 2013, Constantine was appointed coach at Superleague Greece side Apollon Smyrni as part of new manager Lawrie Sanchez's coaching staff.[17]

Qualifications

He holds UEFA Pro Licence, an FA Psychology Award, FA Fitness Award, Diploma in Sports Nutrition, an FA Coach Educator's Certificate, and is also a FIFA Instructor.[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Constantine's official website, accessed 2nd February 2007
  2. ↑ "Announcement". Apollon Smyrni Official Website. Retrieved 2013-11-21. 
  3. ↑ "Ten Questions". ussoccerplayers.com. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 
  4. ↑ "Stephen Constantine interview". SoccerAgeNepal.com.np. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 
  5. ↑ Stuart Roach (2003-11-19). "Constantine's rising stock". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
  6. ↑ Ian Hughes (2005-12-14). "Passage from India". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
  7. ↑ Aubrey Sumbuleta (2007-02-02). "Constantine named as Malawi coach". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
  8. ↑ Aubrey Sumbuleta (2008-04-17). "Constantine dumps Malawi". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
  9. ↑ "Football: African Nations Championship". www.olympic.org. 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2008-04-17. 
  10. ↑ "Exclusive: Sudan Appoint Stephen Constantine As National Coach". Goal.com. 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  11. ↑ "Soccer's St Jude". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 
  12. ↑ "Stephen Constantine: How He Achieved a Mircale at Nea Salamina". cyprusfooty.com. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 
  13. ↑ "Cypriot First Division 2011-2012". footballdatabase.com. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 
  14. ↑ "It Was Time To Go". stephenconstantine.co.uk. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 
  15. ↑ "Back to Work". StephenConstantine.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-13. 
  16. ↑ "One Door Closes". stephenconstantine.co.uk. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-03-15. 
  17. ↑ "Announcement". Apollon Smyrni Official Website. Retrieved 2013-11-21. 
  18. ↑ "CV". stephenconstantine.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-28. 

External links

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