National striker Stern John touched down home on the weekend for a short stay as he took time off from his Coventry City duties to take care of some personal business.
The former MLS topscorer was home for only the second time since taking part in the victory motorcade with the “Soca Warriors” on their return from Bahrain last November and he was just as excited to be here as he shared his feelings over T&T’s recent 2-0 victory over Iceland and the team’s upcoming friendly international against Peru carded for the Hasely Crawford Stadium from 6:30 pm on May 10.
John, never one to shy away from letting his feelings known, also made a plea for the national spirit to be rekindled with the success of the “Soca Warriors”.
“Football is something that brings a nation together. We saw it during the qualifiers especially after we got home from the win over Bahrain. But somehow this time I get the feeling that it hasn’t continued. It’s like Carnival where everyone loves the music and the togetherness and then a few weeks later it’s all lost. I don’t mean we need to keep a careless attitude but maybe we could enjoy more things together,” John told TTFF Media.
“When we went out to play the games and I could remember the match versus Bahrain, we had the feeling that the win could do something for the people home and I think we are losing it. It’s up to everyone of us to try and relive that kind of joy no matter how hard things might be.
“The first thing I could see in the newspaper was about some next murder and a couple other sad things. But I also saw Mr Warner dancing with someone outside of his race and it was all’Trini’. That made me smile and I we can all enjoy things like this. We need to spread to make the love and spread it. The same way we as a team will be going to Germany to prove that we are no different from the rest of teams and we want to make a name for ourselves, it’s the same way we should realize that no one is different country. We need to get back that respect and love in this country,” added the former Birmingham City striker who also continues to contribute to youth development through his nationwide Skills Award program.
From an on field perspective, John said he and the rest of the team were slowing developing more confidence about putting on a good show in Germany.
“The game against Peru is a big one for us because the team knows how important it is to play for the fans but it will also give us a chance to send some more signals to the teams we will play in the World Cup. Right now a lot of people are looking at us and they want to know more about us. I think we gave a good showing against Iceland and the boys have a different feel about it now. We feel that we can definitely compete at the highest level,” said John, who along with Clayton Ince, Chris Birchall and Dwight Yorke were interviewed on the recently launched T&T profile edition of the Gillette World Cup show. He was on the next flight back to London on Monday evening and will next arrive home on May 10 with the rest of the overseas-based pros for the Peru encounter and the nationwide roadshow on May 11 and 12.