On the day India moved up to 96th in FIFA's rankings, their second-best ever, national team coach Stephen Constantine spoke to ESPN about his two stints in charge, his favourite players (and managers), and where he thinks Indian football is headed (not, for the moment, to the World Cup).
When you coached India in your first stint (2002-05), were there any immediate differences that you noticed between the football cultures of Nepal [your previous assignment] and India?
Well, yes and no. In Nepal, the players are physically very fit and very hard working, while in India there were more players who were tactically and technically better equipped. Of course, in India you had some very big teams and a lot of foreign players, which is always going to have an impact, and some very good India players as well.
What were the high points of your first stint as India coach? Who were some of the players that you enjoyed working with more and why?
There were quite a few high points: winning the LG Cup [an invitational six-team tournament in Vietnam in 2002], silver medal in the Afro-Asian Games [hosted by Hyderabad in 2003], winning the Ian Rush Trophy with the U18s [in 2003], beating Kuwait in Kuwait [in an international friendly in 2004], the game we drew against Jamaica [international friendly in 2002] in England.
But looking back, I would say the team I built was super special and went on to represent India years after I had left and did well. I loved working with all the players but the big names at the time were Bhaichung [Bhutia], Venky [former midfielder and current assistant coach Shanmugam Venkatesh], Abhishek Yadav, Deepak Mondal, Jo Paul Ancheri, IM Vijayan, Tomba Singh, Debjit Gosh, Samir Naik, Climax Lawrence...so many good players and they did very well for me and for Bob Houghton [coach from 2006 to 2011].
What was the most significant change you saw in Indian football when you came back in 2015 as coach for your second stint?
Well, I think the Indian Super League (ISL) and the publicity it generated has really sparked life back into Indian football and brought some big names to the league, which in turn brings sponsors and so on. Of course, there is still much to be done but there is no going back and I think this has had a huge impact on Indian football.
Sunil Chhetri recently pointed to the home win against Guam in Bangalore, where India won 1-0 despite going down to 10 men, as a turning point for the group's self-belief. Can you identify key moments in the last two years that have shaped the national team's fortunes?
That was a huge turning point for us, in that we believed we could win the game and we had played well in other games but as a team we were still learning. Winning the SAFF [in Trivandrum in January 2016] was huge -- against a very good Afghan team where we won in extra time. The wins against Laos in the [Asian Cup qualifying] play-offs was another big win and away from home, another issue that we had in the past. These games gave us confidence. I must say also that the players' trust in me and the staff has been a big factor. They have done everything I have asked of them and more.
The Indian team's rise in rankings is something that gets a lot of attention as and when it happens. As coach, how do you break down the significance of it to the players?
For me the ranking are a rough guide as to your overall progress as a team. It is difficult to say we are in this position when you see other bigger and better teams below as a result of perhaps not playing enough games or whatever the reason. The main thing is we are moving up -- that's not a bad thing. It also helps in terms of qualifiers -- who's in which group and do we have to play pre-qualifiers as we did when I first arrived. So when you look at the rankings, we have climbed 70-odd places. It is a big deal in that respect. At the end of the day you need to beat teams on the pitch.
How has a coach's role in football evolved from perhaps the first time you started playing to now? How important is it for a coach to recognise that and adapt accordingly?
It is hugely important that a coach understands what he is good at and what his weakness are, and then surround himself with people who are going to make him better. For example, today we use the GPS system to give us the physical data on the players during the games. Earlier, we went with our instincts, which may or may not have been correct. Now everything is very accurate and this helps us get the best out of the players and in fact keeps our best players on the pitch. You cannot be master of everything these days, as was the case back then. Now there are so many facets to the job, you must be able to delegate and manage people.
Who are some of the coaches in international football that you have admired and studied carefully? What were the reasons you admired them and what have you tried to imbibe?
There are so many great coaches out there and each one has his own particular style and way of doing things. Of course, you look at some coaches and you think 'I like that' or 'That is good, I wonder if that would work with my group of players.' Diego Simeone, Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson, Eddie Howe, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho are all top coaches and managers but at the end of the day you have to be yourself.
Where is the current batch of Indian players headed? Do you see enough of them with the ambition to go and play abroad on a more regular basis?
I feel they can be as good as they want to be. Hopefully we can make it to the Asian Cup finals and then the stage is set for them to really show how far we have come and what India has to offer. I hope they do get offers to go abroad and enrich themselves both on and off the field. It is not easy and some players will want to stay in India where they are comfortable, but for sure ability-wise, they can play abroad.
Is there a realistic target that Indian football can set itself to qualify for the World Cup, considering how other Asian nations have done so with long-term projects focusing on the youth?
At the moment, no. We have so much to do at the youth level and developing a pathway for the young players to go and play. An example is our U-19s. Where are they going to play once they have finished with the national team? The same question is also applicable to the U-17 World Cup squad.
How difficult has it been to balance personal and professional life? Do your family members come along or keep track of games that you are involved in?
It's extremely tough. At the beginning of my career we would move as a family but as the girls [he has three daughters] got older they needed to be in a settled environment. Yes, they try and follow the results when they can and, of course, are wanting us to do well. My wife Lucy is a very special person. She has for many years taken the burden of almost being a single mother. This is what I do and we are all on the same page, but yes it is very tough being away more often than not.
When did the idea of an autobiography (due on July 20) come about for the first time and how long did the whole process of writing it take? What can the reader expect in terms of insight into your life and experiences?
Well it was [the journalist] Owen Amos who suggested I do this quite some time back. After several years and quite a few publishers saying no, we found James Corbett at deCoubertin Books who decided that it was a story worth telling. Owen has been brilliant in helping me put it all together. I would say from the idea to now it has taken three or four years. As for expectations, it is a very honest account of my life and how and where I started out and some of the challenges I have had to face in my personal and football life. It was very difficult at times remembering some of the things I went through and I think many people will be surprised just what it has taken for me to be where I am today.