AFC Asian Cup 2019: Stephen Constantine steps down as coach after India's exit from showpiece event

Sharjah: Indian football team head coach Stephen Constantine has stepped down after the team’s shock 0-1 defeat to Bahrain which led to their exit from the showpiece AFC Asian Cup. The All India Football Federation, in its official Twitter handle, said that the 56-year-old Constantine has resigned. [caption id=“attachment_5866191” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Stephen Constantine. Image Courtesy: Twitter @IndianFootball[/caption] “Mr. @StephenConstan has announced his resignation as the Head Coach of the Indian National Team. We haven’t received any official communication from him yet but we accept his decision & thank him for his contribution to #Indianfootball: Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF,” the tweet said. His contract was to end on 31 January. Constantine’s resignation came after India crashed out of the showpiece Asian Cup under dramatic circumstances on Monday. India were on the verge of booking their first knock-out round berth as the final Group A match was 0-0 till the 90th minute when Bahrain earned a penalty which the West Asian team converted to win the game under dramatic circumstances. India needed just a draw to qualify for the Round of 16 but the defeat meant that it finished at the bottom of the four-team Group A to crash out of the tournament. Constantine took over the reins of the team in 2015 for an initial two-year tenure. He was given one-year contract extension twice. It was his second stint as India coach after serving as coach in 2002-05.