How football in India has grown since the past two decades
Stephen Constantine had an impressive four-year run with the team
1996: Launch of National Football League (NFL)
1998: Baichung Bhutia trials at Fulham and Aston Villa, eventually signed by Division 3’s Bury FC to become first Indian to play in England
2002: Bhutia leads India to win in LG Vietnam Cup defeating Vietnam in the final
2003: Bhutia-led East Bengal become the first-ever Indian club to win an Asian level tournament after defeating ACL runners-up BEC Tero Sasana
2007: NFL is revamped and named I-League
India win Nehru Cup defeating Syria 1-0 in the final
2008: India win the AFC Challenger Cup 2008 to qualify for 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar after 24 years
2010: Sunil Chhetri trials at MLS club Kansas City Wizards thus becoming the first Indian to play at MLS and only the third Indian to ply his trade outside India — Bhutia (Bury FC) and Mohammad Salim (Celtic) are the other two
2012: Dutchman Wim Koevermans leads India to third successive Nehru Cup crown defeating Cameroon ‘B’ on penalties in the final
2014: Koevermans resigns after India fail to retain SAFF Championship
2015: India reach their lowest Fifa ranking of 173
Stephen Constantine re-hired as head coach
India crash out in second round of 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers losing seven of the eight matches
2016: Constantine leads India to the SAFF Championship title where they beat Afghanistan 2-1 in the final
India reach third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers after defeating Laos 7-1 on aggregate in the play-off round
2017: By June, India climb up to 100th in the Fifa rankings
Secure qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after a 4—1 victory over Macau
2018: Title-winning campaign in the four-nation Intercontinental Cup held in Mumbai along with Kenya, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand
India go on a 13-match unbeaten spree despite some tough friendlies against China, Jordan and Oman
Constantine’s tactics and team selection policies allegedly cause unrest within the Indian squad. AIFF issue a statement backing the coach
Start off 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign with 4-1 win over Thailand, making it the biggest ever Asia Cup win and the first one in 55 years
Lose 0-2 against hosts the UAE
Lose 0-1 to Bahrain
Constantine steps down
— Alaric Gomes, Chief Reporter