Stephen Constantine

For the medieval Serbian ruler, see Stefan Konstantin.
Stephen Constantine
Personal information
Date of birth16 October 1962
Place of birthLondon, England
Club information
Current team
India (manager)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
Pennsylvania Stoners
New York Pancyprian-Freedoms
Teams managed
1999–2001Nepal
2002–2005India
2007–2008Malawi
2009–2010Sudan
2010APEP
2011–2012Nea Salamis
2012–2013Ethnikos Achna
2014–2015Rwanda
2015–India
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Stephen Constantine (born 16 October 1962) is an English professional football coach and former player, who currently manages the Indian national team.

Early and personal life

Constantine was born on 16 October 1962 in London.[1][2] He is of Greek-Cypriot descent.[2] He is a fan of English club Arsenal.[3] Constantine is married with three daughters; his family were living in Cyprus while he was coaching in Sudan.[4]

Playing career

Constantine played in the United States for the Pennsylvania Stoners and the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms.[5] He retired from playing at the age of 26, following a knee injury.[5]

Coaching career

After retiring from playing, Constantine spent his early coaching career in the United States and Cyprus.[5]

Constantine coached the Nepalese national team between 1999 and 2001, and was awarded a medal by the country's King.[5] Constantine was then manager of the Indian national team from 2002 to 2005.[6] After leaving India he was the first-team coach and reserve team manager for English club Millwall during the 2005–06 season.[3] He has also worked in England for Bournemouth.[2]

In January 2007 he was on a two-man shortlist, alongside Carlos Alberto da Luz, for the manager's job of the Malawi national team.[7] He was named as Malawi manager in February 2007, with the role beginning on 1 March 2007.[8] He resigned in April 2008.[9]

He became manager of the Sudan national team in February 2009.[10] After leaving Sudan he managed in the Cypriot domestic leagues with APEP and Nea Salamis Famagusta, the latter of which he guided to promotion in the Cypriot First Division.[11][12] He was also manager of Ethnikos Achna from December 2012 to February 2013.[1]

In July 2013 he was linked with the Jamaican national team vacancy.[13] He became the assistant manager of Greek club Apollon Smyrni in November 2013.[14] He set up the British Coaches Abroad Association in November 2013.[15]

He became manager of the Rwandan national team in May 2014,[12] taking charge of his first match in June.[16] He stated his aim was to build a team strong enough to challenge for the 2016 African Nations Championship, which Rwanda were due to host.[17] In December 2014 Rwanda attained their highest ever ranking, of 68th position. Constantine stated it was down to the hard work of his players and coaches.[18] Later that month he was linked with a return to India as their new national manager,[19][20] and in early January 2015 he was offered the position.[21]

In January 2015 it was confirmed that Constantine would return to manage the Indian national team, starting from the first week of February.[22]

FIFA

Constantine has worked as a FIFA Instructor,[23] and is a member of FIFA's elite coaching panel.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Brits abroad: Six coaches from these isles you’ve never heard of". Eurosport. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ian Hughes (14 December 2005). "Passage from India". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Jeff D. Opdyke (19 June 2009). "The Coach of Lost Causes". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Clemente Lisi (30 September 2010). "10 Questions With… Stephen Constantine". US Soccer Players. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Stuart Roach (19 November 2003). "Constantine's rising stock". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Aubrey Sumbuleta (19 January 2007). "Two in frame for Malawi job". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Aubrey Sumbuleta (2 February 2007). "Constantine named as Malawi coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Aubrey Sumbuleta (17 April 2008). "Constantine dumps Malawi". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Rahul Bali (15 February 2009). "Exclusive: Sudan Appoint Stephen Constantine As National Coach". Goal.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Sam Crocker (9 October 2014). "Stephen Constantine: I'm quite happy to do the jobs that nobody else wants". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Stephen Constantine appointed Rwanda coach". BBC Sport. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Howard Walker (16 July 2013). "Englishman Constantine front-runner for coaching job — source". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Ανακοίνωση" (in Greek). Apollon Smyrni F.C. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  15. ↑ Owen Amos (3 December 2014). "British Coaches Abroad: The First Year". Football365. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Constantine eyes Rwanda breakthrough". FIFA. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Ian Hughes (22 May 2014). "Rwanda coach Constantine targets 2016 CHAN success". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  18. ↑ Usher Komugisha (18 December 2014). "Rwanda achieve historic Fifa ranking". SuperSport.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Stephen Constantine to take charge as India football team's coach". The Times of India. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "Constantine poised for a second stint". The Hindu. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "AIFF offers Constantine Indian football coach's job". The Times of India. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "Stephen Constantine appointed as India Coach". All India Football Federation. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "Communiqué" (PDF) (20). The Football Association. 10 April 2013. p. 5. Retrieved 2 January 2015.

External links