N

ow that one sleeping giant of Asian soccer is very much awake, could the other be roused in time for the 2019 Asian Cup?

With China making the AFC Asian Cup knockout stages for the first time in more than a decade at the 2015 tournament in Australia, India'€™s newly appointed head coach Stephen Constantine would simply love to qualify for the next edition in four years'€™ time.

'€œThere is tremendous potential for India to improve and become a real player in Asia,'€ Constantine said. '€œA great deal has to be done, but I would like to think that we could get there as qualifying for big events is a priority.'€

India played in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup under Englishman Bob Houghton after winning the now defunct Challenge Cup, which gave developing soccer nations a second chance. But their hopes of making it to the 2019 tournament have been helped by the expansion of the tournament from 16 to 24 teams.

London-born Constantine is back for his second stint with India, having been in charge for three years between 2002 and 2005 when he helped the team to its first international tournament win in 42 years at the 2002 LG Cup in Vietnam.

He was appointed last week after being chosen from a shortlist alongside ex-New Zealand and Wellington Phoenix head coach Ricki Herbert. Dutchman Wim Koevermans resigned in October after a string of disappointing results.

'€œI think Indian soccer has made good steps in recent years but when you look at the current FIFA ranking of 171 that is very disappointing,'€ Constantine said. '€œWe were not that low 10 years ago [he took them to a best ever 109th] so there is obviously something not quite right.'€

In his decade away from Indian soccer, the 52-year-old has held six different coaching jobs. Three of them have been in charge of African national teams '€” Malawi, Sudan and, most recently, Rwanda, where he achieved qualification for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, only to see them disqualified because one of their players was deemed ineligible.

Even so, he remains a hero in the eastern African nation, having lifted the Wasps to their highest ever FIFA ranking of 68 last December.

He also worked for a season as first team coach at Millwall in the English second tier in 2005-2006, alongside with Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins, the manager of Jordan at the Asian Cup. He has also coached two clubs in Cyprus '€” he is of Cypriot-Greek descent '€” and worked in the Greek Super League.

'€œIt really has been an education that you cannot get in any coaching course,'€ he said. '€œYou learn from every job, take the good with the bad and use it to your advantage. India will be familiar in some ways yet completely different in others.'€

Constantine is excited by soccer'€™s increase in popularity thanks to the Indian Super League (ISL). The inaugural edition, run from October to December last year, attracted a total attendance over more than 1.5 million fans and an average crowd of 26,505.

'€œThe ISL showed the world that India plays soccer and the growing interest,'€ he said. '€œWe now need to take this forward for the betterment of the national team. There has been great improvement in the technical quality of local players but we need to develop the whole package.'€

When India appeared in the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar, they were outclassed over three group matches, conceding 13 goals and scoring just three.

In 2014, they played only two international matches at senior level, drawing 2-2 with Bangladesh in March and losing 3-2 at home to Palestine in October, which led to Koevermans'€™ departure.

In the decade that Constantine has been away, India has had six different coaches, including the highly respected Houghton '€” a close friend of England boss Roy Hodgson '€” who held the post for five years. By going back to Constantine rather than a big-name manager, they are taking an economical yet tried-and-tested approach. Sources tell ESPN FC that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will pay Constantine around US$20 thousand dollars per month.

He is wise enough not to make any bold ambitious predictions beyond improving India'€™s lowly FIFA ranking. But Constantine agrees that the recent progress made by Alain Perrin'€™s Chinese side shows what is possible.

'€œIn the beginning China had many problems and was doing things for show rather than for the development,'€ he said. '€œOnce China realized that it needed a good, solid league, they needed consistency, and above all structure, you are now seeing success. I am not surprised by China'€™s results as there are no secrets in soccer anymore.'€

Constantine will arrive in Delhi next month and will also oversee the U-23 side.

While they say it is not always a good idea to go back to an old '€œlove'€, this much traveled Londoner is hoping that it will turn out to be a joyous reunion that could carry the Blue Tigers to Asia'€™s biggest stage in four years time.