By Joseph Solomon,
AIFF Media Team

TRIVANDRUM: Not only on the pitch, but off the pitch too Stephen Constantine, Head Coach, Indian Senior National Team is a man of honor etched with humanitarian values, emotions and poise.

And while on the pitch he maybe a hard task master, off it, he is as emotional as they come.

It was in Cochin, Kerala when the National Team Head Coach experienced a moment whose gravity according to him was, “Immense and moving.”

“I was sitting in the lobby and I saw this family walk-in with a boy in a wheelchair,” Constantine says with a crestfallen tone as he recollects the moment. “I noticed that the boy had Cerebral palsy, and I thought to myself wouldn’t it be great to give him a National Team training jersey.”

What followed was a fusion of emotions for the Coach – who perhaps was so overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment – and the boy, “who lit up like a Christmas tree when he received the jersey.”

“It was a spur of a moment thing because there are some moments whose gravity is so immense that they move you. I just went over to him and gave him the raining shirt without thinking twice.”

After a brief pause, Constantine adds, “I am not comfortable when I see kids suffer. It bothers me. I am a father too and I know how it feels.”

“Everybody around me matters. Everybody” he takes a long pause.

You inquire about the boy’s name and think to yourself that the Coach might’ve forgotten it. Constantine catches you off-guard and opines immediately “David Fernandes.”

Stating it clear that the emotional impact was two way, not only on the boy, but on the Coach too.

However, this is not the first time that Coach Constantine showcased his humanitarian values and humble behavior. It was in mid-November when Constantine helped a disabled man to mobilize, in the flight from Bengaluru to Delhi.

You mention this to him and he quips immediately, “We are all humanitarians. Anybody else in my place would have done that.”

 “You do things because you can, you don’t do it because there is gain”, he follows up.”

“Everybody is the same. I am a believer in humanity. If I can help somebody than why wouldn’t I?” he states in rhetoric. “I don’t see it as anything special. If I can help somebody, I will.”

Perhaps what matters in the wider prospect of things and life in general, is the impact that certain people leave on you. And while he still may-be in the process of leaving a powerful impact on Indian Football, Constantine has certainly left his mark on the people around him through instances that can only be termed as maudlin.