Stephen Constantine lashes out at former Kerala Blasters forward in his book 'From Delhi to the Den'

What’s the story?

Michael Chopra, the former Kerala Blasters striker is among the few Indian-origin footballers to play in the Premier League and had wanted to don the Indian national colours. However, his ambition was dashed by national coach Stephen Constantine. Earlier this week, Constantine’s autobiography “From Den to Delhi” was published which revealed a lot of insights regarding the matter.

Reading from an excerpt in the autobiography, Constantine revealed, “I already knew of Chopra’s interest. In 2015, six months after I was appointed, I got a call from an agent claiming to represent him.”

However, Constantine wasn't having any of it. "Chopra can’t say 'I want to play for India’ and waltz into the team. I won’t let a Premier League has-been use the Indian national team for a swansong. The country and the fans deserve better than that," stated the Indian national coach in his book.

In case you did not know...

A product of Newcastle’s youth academy, Chopra came through the ranks at St James' Park before moving to Cardiff City for £500,000 in 2006. Despite failing to secure a first team spot at Newcastle for six years, Chopra came to his own for the Bluebirds.

In his only season with the Welsh club, Chopra scored 22 goals and won a place in the PFA Team of the Year for his performances. This was followed by a controversial move to Sunderland, where his transfer caused a lot of unrest in the area owing to his Geordie roots.

The heart of the matter

Constantine revealed in his book that he had asked Chopra to play for India in 2002, while he was struggling to secure a first team spot at Newcastle. And later again when he went to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps. However, Chopra at that point of time thought that would be a huge step down as he harboured ambitions of representing Sunderland.

It was only after he returned to play for Kerala Blasters in the ISL, that he felt the ambition to don the national jersey.

The 33-year-old striker was even willing to sacrifice his English citizenship. However, Constantine was cynical of the idea as the process would have taken at least a couple of years and also opined that Chopra didn't have the quality to get into the Indian side.

What’s next?

With the fourth season of the ISL set to kick off later this year, the Kerala Blasters franchise has shaped up a good squad in the recently concluded player draft. With the likes of Jackichand Singh, Lalthakima, Arata Izumi and others, the runners-up of last season will aim to have a successful campaign in the upcoming edition.

Author’s take

From a fan’s perspective, the book “From Delhi to Den” seems like a wonderful read, as it provides a lot of insights into Stephen Constantine’s life. As for the Michael Chopra debate, it seems only just for a coach to respect his preferences and be honest about it.