Head Coach Leo Beenhakker said there was no reason for Trinidad and Tobago to be in any panic state ahead of Wednesday’s do or die final 2006 World Cup qualification playoff at the National Stadium, Riffa from 7pm (12 midday T&T time).
Beenhakker was speaking on the eve of the match, shortly after greeting Bahrain head coach Luka Perozovic at a FIFA arranged media briefing at the Radisson Hotel, a short walk away from T&T’s base at the Crowne Plaza.
The Dutch-born coach, who conducted his final session at the match venue on Tuesday evening, hinted that there may be changes in the T&T start team and also maintained his confidence in striker Stern John.
“Yes (there may be changes) but the team we played with on Saturday is the one which played great matches against Panama and Mexico so don’t panic now because one night we don’t play a match so good. At the same time we have to realize that our situation is a bit different now. We went into the playoffs with an open match and now we know the state of it after half time. It’s 1-1. It means we have to score one goal and in that way it could mean I may have to make some changes but don’t become a guy who will panic after the game on Saturday,” Beenhakker said.
He referred to the fact that Stern John’s three goals against Panama and Mexico were crucial in getting T&T to this stage of the campaign and as a result, he will not point fingers for his less than inspiring performance last Saturday.
Stern John is our striker and he played all our matches for us. He scored two great goals against Mexico. Yes he was a little bit ineffective in the last match but once again we all did not play well as a team. Basically one of the most important things in football is that you have the ball because without that you cannot play the game. We were able to find Stern John for 60 minutes during the Mexico match because we had 60 percent of the ball possession. When you play a bad game like last Saturday with only 40 minutes ball possession then you have less scoring chances. This is why Bahrain was able to dominate for most parts of the game and it had nothing to do with bad defense or tactics or a system. You must have the ball to play the game,” he told TTFF Media.
“I hope we will be ready. In a way we will be under the same conditions as the team of Bahrain which traveled a long time after the match. We have professional football players who are used to traveling and playing under different circumstances,” Beenhakker continued when quizzed about whether he long travel would affect his team.
“He was asked by a Bahrain mediaman as to why he seemed be holding his head more than ever in the first leg.
“Remember Bahrain played their game and they played a good match. I don’t think I had my hands on my head for 90 minutes but I was a little bit disappointed that my own team did not play well. This match in relation to the level of play we had against Panama and Mexico was not good. So of course you as a coach you want to play a good game and also be successful.
Questions were also raised about the ready state of experienced duo Russell Latapy and Dwight Yorke and whether he felt they could not match up to Bahrain because of their ages. Beenhakker quickly replied “The age of the football player is not based on his date of birth but rather whether he is in physically in good shape and if he’s mentally able to play on this level. Both players have shown me and everybody that they can still play great games.”
The Bahrain media even went on to inquire about the David Nakhid situation prior to the match, asking whether Beenhakker had sent the player on a scout mission.
The former Ajax boss replied: “I can assure you we are not stupid. At the moment we have a lot of information about Bahrain and I can tell you that we respect the football of Bahrain totally. First of all I did not send David Nakhid here to get information on Bahrain. This is 2005. There are no more secrets in world football. And no player or no member of staff who were thinking that it would be a walk in park to beat Bahrain. But maybe the public or press felt that but we took the last match very seriously. We never underestimated them before Saturday and we will not tomorrow night”
Striker John meantime was quietly optimistic about his team’s chances, admitting that he would have to put on a new pair of scoring boots to break the deadlock.
“I think we can definitely pull it off but we all have to lift my game. While I want to do well and I know I wasn’t on top of my game last time, I think that right now is not just about me. It’s about an entire nation and whatever I can do for the benefit of the country, then I’m willing to see it that way,” John said.
Bahrain coach Peruzovic said his team would be looking to seal their spot at home.
“We will be cautious but we will play our same game and that should be able to keep us alive and into the next World Cup. I think we did well away last time and now we are at home and it could be a great achievement for us to qualify at home,” Peruzovic said.
At Tuesday’s final sessions which took place under cool conditions from 7:15pm, Beenhakker also had to appeal for a full compliment of match balls after being handed only five for the previous sessions. The “Warriors” trained for 65 minutes at the match venue following the Bahrain team’s workout. But Beenhakker instructed his players to remain in the dressing room until every player was fully ready to begin the session, warning them that once a single player was to step on the pitch, then the clock for the team’s allotted time could start clicking. T&T eventually stayed on for an extra five minutes before the lights started dimming.
But the mood wasn’t affected as Yorke and his players, all 21 of them fit after Aurtis Whitley was declared fully fit following a calf blow, made their way off the pitch and on the bus for the 20- minute drive back to the hotel. Earlier in the day, a team meeting took place prior to lunch and on matchday, the players will be allowed a light day at the session with a final teamtalk before lunch.
“We’re confident now and while we expect the Bahrain team to be a tough bunch in this match, we know that we have to bring our best game on the pitch. Once we can do that, then we definitely are in with a chance of booking our spot in next year’s World Cup,” Yorke said following the final session
Meantime, The Bahrain Government and FA announced also that there will be no cost for Bahrain fans to get into the Stadium as they intend to have their 35,000 seater venue full of fans in red to follow the home team. FIFA security officer Adrian Titcombe, at the technical meeting on Tuesday, expressed concern over the decision to leave the gates opened and possible unruly behaviour of the fans but was assured by the home officials that there will be order. T&T’s “Warriors” will take the pitch in white shirts and black pants. The match officials will be Oscar Ruiz Acosta (Referee, Colombia), Eduardo Botero Walker (Assistant 1, Colombia) and Fernando Tamayo (Assistant 2, Ecuador).