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The alleged tiff between Indian football team coach Stephen Constantine and Sunil Chhetri has left the All Indian Football Federation in a fix ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January. The face-off between the team's coach and its best player is the last thing one would have hoped for before the all-important tournament.
According to a report in the Times of India, Sunil Chhetri, the country’s top scorer and skipper for the last five year, has lost the captain’s armband over a feud with the head coach Stephen Constantine. Chhetri allegedly doesn't think Constantine is a good enough tactician to guide India in a major tournament.
In international football, a feud between coach and player is not something new. But in India, something like this hasn’t happened in recent times. Not only Chhetri, but some of his team members are also not happy with the coach and urged the AIFF last year to remove him as the manager.
Unlike Indian cricket, where the captain has the power to get a coach fired, it's unlikely that the AIFF will get rid of Constantine at this point of time.
Here, the words of the AIFF and its technical committee are final.
However, in case the AIFF changes its mind or succumb to pressure, there will a lot of people queueing up for the top job.
We take a look at three coaches who could be a potential replacement for Constantine:
#3 Ashley Westwood
The former Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood has a deep relationship with India. His knowledge of Indian football and his professional work ethic left many stunned.
Westwood, who was the first coach of Bengaluru FC, came to India in 2014, few months after club was formed. Before landing here, he had no idea about the Indian football ecosystem. He was given an imperious task of forming a team which would participate in the I-League.
Westwood was given three years to get his first title but he delivered in Bengaluru FC's debut season itself. Despite signing lesser known foreigners like John Johnson, Sean Rooney and Curtis Osano, Westwood's Bengaluru FC won the I-League in 2014 and went on to repeat that feat in 2016.
Westwood brought in a revolution in Indian football. He showed how a corporate club should be run. Being a former Manchester United academy graduate, he took a cue out of his experience and changed all aspects of training, scouting, team selection and even diet plans at BFC.
Given his work ethic and technical abilities, it would be not wrong in handing him over the national team’s rein. He has a good relationship with most of the players of the current team, especially Sunil Chhetri.
Yet, there's the worry of his failure with ATK last season. Westwood, the technical director of ATK then, took over as the coach after the club's poor run under Teddy Sheringham. When the situation didn't improve even then, Westwood too was shown the door. He was also sacked from Malaysian club Penang FA after a series of defeats in 2017.
Westwood was in the running for the job a couple of years ago, soon after India failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
But the AIFF reposed its faith in Constantine and Westwood sought a job elsewhere.
#2 Khalid Jamil
If an Indian is considered for the role, there's no one better than Khalid Jamil. Though Jamil has never expressed his wish to coach the national team as of now, it would be better if an Indian is given the responsibility.
Jamil, who is not associated with any club as of now, certainly fits for the job. Jamil played for Mumbai FC for three years before taking over as coach in 2009. He guided Mumbai to a 11th-place finish despite having limited resources at his disposal. Under him, Mumbai never found themselves within the top four of the table, but he still did a commendable job given the financial crunch that he had to persist with.
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Jamil’s best moment came in 2017 when he led minnows Aizawl FC all the way to the I-League title. Aizawl, who were relegated the previous season, mostly had local league players. But Jamil took it up as a challenge and delivered, leaving big giants like Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal behind. He failed to replicate the success in East Bengal and was eventually sacked at the end of the season.
He has a cordial relationship with the players and being an Indian, language will not be a barrier. Jamil is aggressive in nature and his technical ability will only result in success.
#1 Albert Roca
Former Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca is the hot favourite for the job. The virtual leader behind Bengaluru FC’s recent success, Roca has all the qualities needed to guide India. He took Bengaluru FC to the final of AFC Cup, a first for an Indian team. Under him, Bengaluru ended runners-up in their debut ISL season.
None other than Sunil Chhetri voted for him. According to the TOI report, Chhetri urged the top bosses of Indian football to replace Constantine with Roca. The two have an unshakeable relationship. During their time in Bengaluru, Roca often praised Chhetri for his leadership quality.
Last season, when Chhetri's hat-trick took Bengaluru to the ISL final, Roca had said, “He is simply outstanding and there are no words to define him. In such an important game he stepped up. His age does not matter. He pushes others and shows amazing intensity.”
Chhetri, in turn, tweeted during Roca’s departure, “Thank you, mister! One of the best managers I’ve played under and an even better human being. Bengaluru FC and Indian Football will miss you!”
The former Barcelona coach deployed the Spanish touch in his side, i.e. to keep possession of the ball for long periods of time. That worked wonders as Bengaluru dominated possession throughout the season. Bengaluru acquired the best recruits available, including a transfer of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu from Norwegian club Stabaek FC.
Some of the players in the national team were handpicked by Roca. As he knows other players well, it is expected he’ll form a formidable relationship, which is expected from a coach.
