Kolkata: Indian football has done quite well in the recent times. The players of course, deserve the bulk of the credit but if there’s one man who has continuously strove to make them bigger and better for the future, it’s coach Stephen Constantine.
He is now putting in the hard yards with the youngsters as his main prerogative seems to be qualifying for the AFC U-23 Championship, which is going to be held next year.
“Obviously our primary target is to qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship. There’s absolutely no second thought on that”, said a focused Constantine, at the Ambedhkar Stadium while coaching the U-22 national side in Delhi.
A believer of the concept of a, ‘team for the future’, he was quoted as saying by AIFF release, “I have always believed in building a ‘team for the future’. Eventually, in a few years, these guys will represent India National Team. My eventual goal is to unearth some talents who’ll be ready for the Senior National Team.”
While speaking of the upcoming trip to California, which would be a good exposure for the boys, he said, “Our aim is to get accustomed to the conditions of Qatar as much as possible. New Delhi is hot, California will be hot too which will be helpful for the boys during the Qualifiers. Playing against those sides will get us closer to our target.”
He further added, “We’ll play three or four matches against some quality club team, even a few senior teams. Who knows, they might pick someone (referring to the current U-22 boys who are in the camp now) and we might end up with the first Indian player to play in the USA.”
Constantine, who has worked hard ever since his appointment had a phenomenal last year with the team. But the Englishman knows how to respect his opponents as he once again showed that as he said, “We’re clubbed with very strong teams in the Qualifier and every match will be tough. Qatar will be the team to beat in their backyard. Syria and Turkmenistan will be testing us too.”
He emphasised on the fact that the ,”intensity of the National Team is pretty high and it’s the demand at the International stage.”
He said, “They are facing it the first time and believe me, it’s not easy to get accustomed to the setup on and off the field. They’ve got two options left with them, either get used to it or to let it go.”
Constantine is on the verge of writing a glorious chapter in Indian football of winning the maximum number of international matches on the trot with the senior team.
While speaking of the brief switch he made to the U-22 team, after the senior team went past Kyrgyzstan in a huge clash, he said, “It’s pretty same actually. The philosophy is same, the drills, system, the ultimate lookout-everything is same. For me, there’s absolutely no difference between the Senior National Team and these bunch of youngsters.”