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When India play Oman at the Kranteveera stadium, it will also be a battle between two European coaches trying to prove their mettle on the International stage. Both coaches have been managing teams since the beginning of the new millennium and now go head to head to see who can guide their team to the biggest stage in World Football.
We analyze the career trajectory of the two coaches who are looking to make it to the most watched sporting event in the World
Stephen Constantine
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Age:52
Nationality: British
Total time in management: 17 years
Stephen Constantine’s football career as a player was cut short by a knee injury, but that did not kill his love of the sport as he decided to become a coach to stay in the game. Before completing his UEFA A licence, he worked with a few American and Cypriot clubs as assistant coach. He has helped APEP Pitsilia and Nea Salamina gain promotion to the Cyprus top division. He also managed English club side Millwall for the 2005-06 season.
He has managed a host of International teams such as Nepal, India, Malawi, Sudan and Rwanda. He helped Nepal reach a ranking of 156 in the world rankings. He was awarded a medal by Nepal’s king for his services to the team. He took the reigns of India for the first time in 2002 and gave India much-needed stability in his three years with the team.
After short spells with Malawi and Sudan, Constantine took over as the manager of the Rwanda National team, who were trying to build a team to contest for the African Cup of Nations. Under his management, Rwanda reached their highest ever FIFA ranking of 68.
Returning to the Indian team in 2015 he has his eyes set on the World Cup in 2018 and the AFC Championships of 2019.
Paul Le Guen
Age: 51
Nationality: French
Total time in management: 18 years
A defender by trade, Paul Le Guen played his entire professional career in France. He has the third highest appearances in Paris Saint-Germain’s history. He was a part of the PSG team to lift the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996. Le Guen also made 17 appearances for the Les Bleus.
As a manager Le Guen started his managerial career at Rennes before moving to Lyon in 2002. For the next three years, Le Guen developed a team which completely dominated the Ligue 1 winning a hat-trick of league titles. He left the job a day after completing the hat trick as he wanted to take a break from football.
He had short spells with Scottish club Rangers and returned to the club he captained as a player, PSG. Both ventures did not work out as well as his Lyon stint had gone. He left PSG after two years and went on to join the Cameroon National team.
With the Cameroon National team, he helped them qualify for the 2010 World Cup. After Cameroon were knocked out of the group stages, Le Guen stepped down as manager and went on a one year sabbatical. He rejected a number of offers from Ligue 1 sides before deciding to take up the Oman job.
He has been Oman’s head coach for four years now and knows the team inside out. He will be looking to be the first manager to guide Oman to the World Cup Finals.
