'Indian football has an exciting future'

MUMBAI: English coach Stephen Constantine completed a year with the Indian national team in June. He has had mixed results. There is the high of winning the LG Cup — first title for an Indian team in nearly three decades while there is also the low of finishing third in the SAFF Cup in Bangladesh.
Excerpts of an interview:
Your thoughts on completing one year in India?
It was a nervous appointment.I was a bit skeptical about coming to India and was deliberating whether it was a good move. But as I got to know more about Indian football, the confidence grew. Now I can confidently say, the potential is tremendous. To date the assignment has been exciting and adventurous. I am really excited about the future of Indian football.
How realistic is target ‘Vision 2010’?
It is definitely a realistic target. In 2010 there could be 40 teams competing, that means more berths for Asia, which means if we are in the top 10 in Asia we clearly stand a chance to qualify. I don’t think we are that far behind when compared to Asia’s top countries. What are the difficulties you are encountering in implementing your ideas? There are not enough qualified coaches to give good training to upcoming footballers. There is not much football happening in all the states. Need to groom good, committed coaches. The coaches also need to realise that they can have a long term association while the future is uncertain with the clubs. The players need to be more professional as do the clubs. We all need to be more professional in our approach, what Mohun Bagan did to Bhutia last season was scandalous.
How do you rate India’s chances in the Milk Cup?
There will be youth teams of Manchester United, Dynamo Kiev, Leeds United. Most of them have been practising for four years while we haven’t even finalised our team. This is the best lot we have however, as far as matching their standard is concerned we will have to wait and see. But the best thing is that we will be able to play at least five matches.