Football News: Stephen Constantine to East Bengal: Can the Indian National team's former coach transform the club 

He has spent most of his domestic coaching career in Cyprus but has also spent time in Milwall and AFC Bournemouth. 

He posted on Twitter, expressing his joy over having made the head coach. East Bengal couldn't meet expectations in the 2021-22 campaign and is now relying on the Englishman, known for rebuilding and bolstering teams such as Rwanda, Nepal and the Blue Tigers.

Constantine's most memorable phase in his Indian football career was with the National team, where he spent two spells coaching them (2002-2005, 2015-2019). 

Constantine became the head coach of Nepal in 1999, which was his first coaching job. He led the team to the final of the South Asian Games that year, defeating the Maldives in the semi-finals. 

Two years later, he left the country after being awarded the Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu by the Nepalese royal family.

His style of play and reputation in India

The 59-year-old focuses more on set-plays as he moves the ball along the wings, crosses into the middle, and counter-attacks. It is advantageous for wingers as they get more space to make forward runs. 

During his tenure from 2002 to 2005, India secured the LG Cup in Vietnam, which happened to be their first significant win outside the SAFF region since 1970, when they were a bronze winner at the Asian Games.

The Indians also finished runner-up in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games the following year. They thrashed Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Malaysia Under-21 but lost to Uzbekistan 2-1 in the final match.

During his next stint, the Blue Tigers played 43 matches, out of which they won 24, lost 13 and drew six. They also won the SAFF Championship final against Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup 2018, where Sunil Chhetri prevailed as the top scorer (eight goals).

However, he quit after failing to take the team past the group stages in the AFC Asian Cup in 2019. 

What is East Bengal expecting from him?

Although East Bengal has won a record 16 Durand Cups, eight Federation Cups, and three Super Cups, they have failed to perform in the ISL. 

Under Constantine, the Indian National team had climbed from 173 in the FIFA World Rankings to 97 in 2015, their second-highest ranking in its history (they were ranked 94 in 1996).

The red-and-gold brigade has welcomed FC Goa's defender Ivan Gonzalez and ISL Winners Shield winner Mobashir Rahman from Jamshedpur FC.

Now, the team will hope to replicate what the Indian National team did under his tutelage as they wish to rise from the bottom and return as a leading contender in Indian football.