Now that the celebrations and euphoria have subsided somewhat, following Trinidad and Tobago's historic qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals in Germany and the subsequent draw for the tournament, the serious question of preparation (both physical and mental) now has to be addressed.
Such a programme of training for the Soca Warriors has to be based on the Building Blocks before Starting Blocks concept, so as to have a realistic chance of giving an impressive showing against prospective opponents, Sweden, England and Paraguay. In this regard I take the opportunity to unreservedly commend I-Sports and "The Fearless One" Andre Baptiste for having that official from the United Kingdom on the show during the draw on December 9. The guest was quick to offer his congratulations to the Warriors and opined that they will do well in Germany, not withstanding Trinidad and Tobago's population of 1.3 million.
Similarly "The Fearless One" spoke with a very articulate Jamaican official who also offered his congratulations before offering some interesting and revealing insights revolving around the rebuilding of the Jamaican national team.
After listening carefully to this official's philosophy, I feel certain that one must look out for the re-emergence of the Reggae Boyz during the qualifying rounds for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The question of Trinidad and Tobago's population brings into focus the well-known saying, "It's not the quantity but the quality that counts," and it does not follow that having a large population automatically equals success. If that were so, then China would have won every FIFA World Cup to date. In a similar vein there is no truth that having a strong economy with an endless flow of money at one's disposal means that your country's sportsmen and women have an automatic advantage over their rivals. Otherwise track and field athletes from Saudi Arabia would have been among the most dominant in the history of this discipline.
Thus, the fact remains that the apocalypse is indeed a very pertinent one as it relates to Trinidad and Tobago. The real challenge for Trinidad and Tobago national football team coach, Leo Beenhakker, and his assistant, Anton Corneal, lies within moulding potential players for the 2010 World Cup campaign. Those who may say, in typical Trinidad and Tobago fashion, "Man, we have plenty of time still", had better wake up and recognise the tremendous opportunity for this country to be in at least the top six in the world, if not occupying the No.1 spot. This is not a dream, it is a distinct reality.
I must now refer to another one of "The Fearless One's" interesting I-Sports programmes, in which the legendary Andy Ganteaume participated. I believe in a previous article I discussed inviting the former schoolboy prodigy to meet with me to discuss the vital question of physical fitness. Regrettably, after more or less arranging to have a meeting, there was an unexplainable silence. Nevertheless, in the programme that I have just referred to, I could hardly believe Ganteaume's unwavering support for physical fitness. In fact he drew upon a most instructive example of two teams engaging in a contest-one with an overwhelming level of talent and the other with no talent at all, but with great stamina and fitness. He did not hesitate to say that he would support the latter.
I would like to re-emphasise the point that I made earlier on in this article, relating to coaches Beenhakker and Corneal having to focus on the 2010 World Cup and preparing an inspired and disciplined generation that can make T&T famous by winning the tournament. Even though critics may think that I am displaying an unrealistic degree of optimism, this writer makes no apology for being positive rather than negative. Harbouring negative thoughts in sports is counter-productive. In the case of the current Soca Warriors, such notions are a disservice, especially in light of the fact that few thought that they would have made it to the stage they now grace.