ISL outranked national team, writes Constantine
NEWDELHI: An extract from India head coach Stephen Constantine’s book ‘From Den to Delhi’ published online on Monday suggests that he felt the senior national football team was held hostage by the Indian Super League in 2015.
“You can’t have a league that doesn’t work in sync with the national team,” he has been quoted as saying by Scroll.in which has published as excerpt.
The extract also talks about how Constantine thought a players’ medical for an ISL auction some two days after a 1-2 away loss to Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers affected performance in that match. The game was played on June 16 in 2015.
“The Guam game highlighted another problem: the looming shadow of the Indian Super League. The auction, where ten of the best Indian players went to the highest bidder, took place on 10 July, a month after the Guam game. But the players’ medicals were two days after we got back.
“Our players could earn huge sums in the ISL – Sunil (Chhetri) went for almost $200,000, while Eugeneson (Lyngdoh) got $150,000 – but not if they were injured. In my opinion, the medical had a huge effect on our performance. I’m not pointing fingers – Sunil and Eugeneson have been fantastic for me – but, overall, we were flat. It wasn’t the last time the ISL would affect my team,” Constantine was quoted.
Constantine is now in England and is expected back next month. “Anyone who reads the book in full will be in no doubt about my love and deep respect for India and all my players,” said Constantine in an e-mail to Hindustan Times on Tuesday.