Tag: Stephen Constantine

Iran Will be a Difficult Game for Us: India Coach Stephen Constantine

Reported By Press Trust of India

Bengaluru: As the beleaguered Indian football team gets ready to face Iran in what is touted to be its most difficult outing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, chief coach Stephen Constantine says he wants to “give fans “something to cheer about”.

A 23-member Indian team arrived here today for the September 8 preliminary joint qualification match against the Asian giant.

Stunned by lower-ranked Guam in their previous outing, Indian players had been training at DSK Shivajians in Pune since August 24.

Besides, India also played an international friendly against Nepal on August 31, which ended in a goalless draw.

“We have great support here. The fans are really behind the national team. I appreciate that and so do the players,” Constantine said.

“I hope we can give the fans something to cheer about. It will be very difficult match for us but that’s the time when you can discover on whom you can depend upon.” (Indian Football Season Can’t be Dictated by Television: Constantine)

As per the current raking, Iran are placed 40 in the ladder with India at 155.

The boys were given a break in the afternoon and practice would resume from Saturday morning.

Reflecting back on the training stint in Pune, the coach said, “The huge advantage that the DSK campus has is that you have everything in one place. You have your medical facilities, the pool, the gym, rooms for screening and analysis in one campus besides the two wonderful training grounds,” he stated.

“You have everything that you should have as a club never mind a national team.

“Furthermore, the willingness of the authorities who were immensely proud to serve the national team was awesome indeed. I need to thank Mr. Shirish Kulkarni and his team and look forward to continuing the relationship with them in the future,” he affirmed.

Stephen Constantine: Iran are the giants of Asia

With just more than a month left for the Indian National Team to play Iran, the ‘Giants of Asia’, in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualifier in Bengaluru, AIFF Media caught up with National Coach Stephen Constantine on a number of issues pertaining to Indian football.

 

INTERVIEW

How much is the road ahead tough?
The road for us is as tough as I had expected it to be. Many may have thought that this was going to be a quick transition given that we beat Nepal and qualified. Many may have also severely underestimated Guam, and possibly overestimated the level that we are at the moment, which I personally feel cannot change within a short time.

Have there been changes to the squad?
I have made many changes to the philosophy of the team to the type of training that we do including introducing many bright new prospects into the squad.
But at the same time, they also need time to adjust to the pace and the level of international football. There is a huge difference between the standard of the domestic leagues to international football.

How is our team shaping up prior to the Iran match?
It’s Iran, the 41st ranked team in the world, the Giants of Asia. I feel that says it all.
The International Friendly against Nepal is the sole competitive match that our boys would have played before taking on the Asian superpowers. You need to remember that prior to the match against Nepal, most of the National Team players have not played a competitive game since June 2015 (against Guam) while the others have not played since May 31, 2015, i.e., the completion of the Hero I-League. So for some players, its more than two months while for the rest, it’s almost or even more than three months. The National Team is at a huge disadvantage.

We are playing Nepal on August 31st in an International Friendly? Is there any specific reason to play Nepal?
There were options playing against higher ranked teams but seeing that we are playing a home game, we wanted to play at home while those teams wanted to play at their home. So it didn’t materialize. Under such circumstance, it’s good we played some close to our ranking.
I know the sentiment of people wanting us to play more but none wants to play more than me.

(Interview & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

Indian announces squad for Iran match.

New Delhi: National coach Stephen Constantine on Thursday announced a list of 28 probables for India’s forthcoming 2018 World Cup preliminary joint qualification match against Iran.

Iran, as per the July 2015 FIFA rankings, stay the highest Asian team on 38.

The match is slated to be played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on September 8, 2015 and would be telecast live on Sony Six.

The 28 probables would be assembling for a preparatory camp in Pune on August 23.

The match against Iran will be preceded by an international friendly against Nepal on August 31, which will be played at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

Probables:

Goalkeepers: Subrata Paul, Karanjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Arindam Bhattacharya, Sanjiban Ghosh.

Defenders: Arnab Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Aiborlang Khongjee, Dhanachandra Singh, Lalchhuanmawia, Narayan Das, Rino Anto, Pritam Kotal.

Midfielders: Dhanapal Ganesh, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Cavin Lobo, Sehnaj Singh, Jackichand Singh, Pronoy Halder, Brandon Fernandes, Francis Fernandes, CK Vineeth, Rowlin Borges, Romeo Fernandes.

Forwards: Holicharan Narzary, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri.