Kolkata: Khalid Jamil and Stephen Constantine are frontrunners to be named head coach of the lads’s senior nationwide soccer group when the manager committee of the All India Soccer Federation (AIFF) meets on Friday. The brand new coach’s first task would be the Central Asian Soccer Affiliation (CAFA) Nations Cup from August 31.
Ought to Jamil, 48, be chosen, he would be the first Indian in cost in over 13 years. Jamil is now overseeing his membership Jamshedpur FC’s marketing campaign within the 134th Durand Cup.
Together with Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic, Jamil is within the remaining shortlist handed over to the manager committee on July 23. From 170 purposes, the checklist was pruned by nationwide group director Subrata Paul, AIFF technical director Syed Sabir Pasha, and the federation’s technical committee headed by IM Vijayan. Bimal Ghosh and Armando Colaco, advisors to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, additionally gave inputs.
Whereas Tarkovic and Constantine have been nationwide group coaches – a requirement that will likely be given desire, as per the commercial issued by AIFF on July 4 – what might favour Jamil is that he would want the least time to bed-in. Tarkovic has by no means coached in India and that successfully places the 52-year-old Slovak, who has European championship finals expertise and whose final task with Kyrgyzstan led to June 2024, third within the pecking order.
Constantine, 62, has been India head coach twice, from 2002-05 and 2015-19. The Anglo-Cypriot was additionally accountable for East Bengal within the Indian Tremendous League in 2022-23 however the membership’s ninth-place end might put him at an obstacle. Constantine took cost of Pakistan in 2023 and although they gained a primary World Cup qualifier (in opposition to Cambodia) beneath him, it turned out to be his solely win in 10 matches in cost. But, he has backers in AIFF due to his familiarity with India.
Jamil led Jamshedpur FC to the ISL semi-final and Tremendous Cup remaining final time period and has not misplaced within the Durand Cup. Briefly, if present type is the consideration, the previous India worldwide is the favorite regardless of his lack of worldwide expertise and dealing with a altering room full of huge names.
“The truth that he (Jamil) would additionally value the least is a bonus,” mentioned an AIFF government committee member on Thursday. “If the one Indian coach to make the ISL semi-finals twice doesn’t get an opportunity, who ought to,” mentioned one other member. Not authorised to talk to the media, the members didn’t wish to be named. .
The final Indian coach to go the nationwide group was Savio Medeira who was in cost from October 2011 to March 2012.
