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1
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK) May 16 2007
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/05/16/scphil16.xml
Author: Robert Philip


Fifty years ago on every back street, every patch of waste ground, every tourist-free beach on every Caribbean island, scores of small boys could be seen playing cricket, often armed with no more than a 'bat' fashioned from the bark of a tree and a discarded tennis ball.
    
Their common dream, whether they hailed from Jamaica, Barbados or Trinidad, was to emulate Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell, or Wes Hall, Rohan Kanhai and Gary Sobers by pulling on the iconic maroon cap of the West Indies, preferably against England, preferably at Lord's. They might never have heard of Harold Pinter but they were the joyous embodiment of the playwright's belief that "cricket is the greatest thing God ever created on earth . . ."

Visitors can still come across the occasional 'Lord's Test' being enacted in all sorts of unexpected corners but truth be told, athletics, basketball and football have come to challenge cricket's hold on the hearts and minds of the youngsters of the Caribbean; alternative local heroes have emerged in 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell from Jamaica, the US Virgin Islands' Tim Duncan, a basketball superstar with the San Antonio Spurs, or Dwight Yorke, who left Tobago to find fame with Manchester United before playing in the World Cup finals.

The once invincible West Indian cricketers, meanwhile, have slumped to a humiliating eighth place in the International Cricket Council world rankings, and Brian Lara has decided he would rather play golf and read John Grisham novels than add the 47 runs needed to reach the 12,000 mark in internationals, leaving the tourists to go into tomorrow's first Test at Lord's as 10-1 underdogs to win the four-match series. All of which inspires a resigned sigh from Sir Clive Lloyd, the famously hunched shoulders on this 6ft 5in giant drooping even further. "Kids still play cricket but not to the same extent as when I was growing up in Guyana. They're gravitating towards other sports as well these days which is why we're producing world-class boxers, world-class runners, world-class footballers, squash players, hockey players. When we were youngsters it was cricket, cricket, cricket, interrupted by the occasional game of football."

As a player, Lloyd was in his pomp during the golden age of West Indies' cricket, captaining the side from 1974-85 during which time they lost only one series against the Lillee-Thomson-inspired Australia of 1975-76 when he averaged 46.9 with the bat despite the 5-1 defeat, enjoying one run of 28 Tests without defeat (including 11 successive victories) and winning two World Cups. In the four series against England in that time, Lloyd led his West Indians to 11 Test victories and eight draws in their 19 meetings, highlighted by a 5-0 'blackwash' in England in 1984. Two decades on, by contrast, the West Indies have recorded five wins from their last 50 away Tests.
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Are such things cyclical, can the West Indies regain their former glory or are those days gone forever? "I don't know . . .you never say 'never' and you never use the word 'can't' but it all depends what you put in place. Ten years or more ago, I suggested that we launch an academy to which someone in power asked, 'Why should we want to copy the Australians?' Only now are they looking at the proposal again whereas if an academy was already in place then we'd have had a much deeper pool of talent to choose from."

Half a century ago, the West Indies unleashed the unknown spinners Sonny Ramadhin (21) and Alf Valentine (20) against an unsuspecting England, marking the tourists' arrival as a major force by winning their first series on these shores 3-1. Are there another couple of surprise packets among the current crop poised to wreak similar havoc?

"Well, unlike Ramadhin and Valentine, we don't have a single spinner in the party which is a bit of a worry at the start of a three-month tour. And sadly, I don't think we have too many young players coming through who have the stamp of greatness. Some bowlers, maybe, but I don't really see a lot of batters. I think the wicketkeeper guy Denesh Ramdin is a good little cricketer, Dwayne Bravo looks good but has still to prove himself at Test level, there's Ramnaresh Sarwan but, no, I don't think there are any real superstars waiting in the wings."

When Lloyd, now 62, was leading the West Indies towards global domination of the game, the team were packed full of real superstars: Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Alvin Kallicharran, Richie Richardson and Lloyd, himself, made the runs while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh did not so much take wickets as reduce them to sawdust with their leather missiles.

Critics would jest that a pantomime horse could captain those particular players but let no one question Lloyd's influence on the myriad talents in his midst. "It was a challenge in many ways, not least because the players came from all the different islands, from different cultures and from different backgrounds so you had to earn their trust. I'd learned a lot from watching Jack Bond at Lancashire, who showed me how to be a disciplinarian, psychologist, a diplomat, all the skills you need to be a successful captain."

The younger cousin of spin bowler Lance Gibbs, much of Lloyd's childhood was spent with one ear pressed to the wireless, following the West Indies' fortunes on their sojourns abroad. "My mother - like mothers all over the world - always insisted that education was more precious than gold or silver so I was always very conscientious about my homework. But I was able to listen to all the Tests overseas and when England or Australia, or whoever, came to Guyana, then we were allowed out of school at 11 o'clock so we could go along to the Bourda Oval in Georgetown.

"For weeks beforehand we'd read up on all the players so by the time Colin Cowdrey or Ted Dexter walked out to bat, or Brian Statham or Alec Bedser came on to bowl, we could recite their every statistic, how many Test centuries, how many five-wicket innings. Of course, throughout the Caribbean we all dreamed that one day we would be chosen to play for the West Indies. I was very lucky because our family home was only 120 yards from the school which was next door to the cricket ground where we all played - my big cousin Lance, Roy Fredericks, Robert Christiani, Berkeley Gaskin, Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kallicharan. We boasted three Test cricketers in our street alone and I don't think there's another street in the world can say that."
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For many years now, Lloyd has lived in his adopted county of Lancashire, but there can be no doubting where his sentiments will lie when he takes his place in the Sky commentary box at Lord's tomorrow morning.

"Although Australia are clearly the best team in the world right now, every cricketing nation loves beating England - for all the nicest of reasons. England is cricket's mother country, they've always had a tradition of great players, so we want to beat them out of a respect for their position in the game.

"I loved pitting my wits against Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee, the best fast bowler I ever played against, but there is something very, very special about the first morning of a Lord's Test. It doesn't matter where you're born - Guyana, Sydney, Johannesburg, Calcutta - one of your greatest ambitions is to play at Lord's. You couldn't get a better stage, it's like playing in one of the great opera houses or theatres. Just as every footballer wants to play at Wembley, and every tennis player at Wimbledon, it doesn't get any better than walking out to play for your country at Lord's."

Cricket has changed greatly since Lloyd was a lad listening to the deeds of Walcott, Weekes and Worrell via the airwaves with the advent of limited overs one-day games, coloured clothing, betting scams, sledging and the like, yet he remains a starry-eyed romantic.

"I have so many wonderful memories - making a hundred at Lord's, captaining one of the greatest sides in history, World Cups, and Lancashire - but I think what makes cricket so special are the friendships you form while visiting other countries or welcoming visitors to yours. When you make a friend through cricket then he becomes a friend for life so, yes, the game has changed, yet in many ways it hasn't changed at all. That's why all these years on, cricket still excites and enchants me every bit as much as it did when I was a child."

2
Football / Germany 2006: The final ranking (Warriors 27th).
« on: July 19, 2006, 03:54:29 PM »
T&T finish 27 in 2006 world cup.
T&T Newsday Reports.
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Out of the 32 nations that participated in the World Cup, Trinidad and Tobago ranked 27, according to a release of ranking released by FIFA recently.


Germany 2006: The final ranking.

Italy, France, Germany and Portugal. After the high drama of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Final in Berlin's Olympiastadion between the Azzurri and Les Bleus, and the top-class match for third place between the host nation and Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Portugal, it does not take a genius to recall the top four sides at this summer’s tournament in Germany. But what about those nations who failed to make it into this very select group?
The same criteria used to separate the sides in the group phase at Germany 2006 were used to produce a definitive ranking of every team involved. These were: the number of points obtained; total goal difference; number of goals scored.
It is for this very reason that Luis Aragones's flamboyant Spain side, who failed to make it past the Round of 16, have taken ninth place in the overall tournament classification. La Roja picked up nine points from their group matches, and ended their stay in Germany with a overall goal difference of +5, having scored nine and conceded four. The established criteria have been unable to separate a number of particularly well-matched teams. These include the USA and Iran, who are tied in 25th place.
The results obtained in Germany 2006 have been incorporated into the all-time FIFA World Cup ranking. This ranking can be used to compare the records of every team to have taken part in the greatest competition in world football. The all-time ranking appears in the usual league table format, with points allocated in the same way (three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat).
The rankings from this summer’s tournament have given rise to a number of interesting FIFA World Cup facts. Despite their four world titles, a number only bettered by five-time winners Brazil, Italy are only third in the all-time standings. Beating them to second place are Germany, whose seven matches on home soil brought them level with Brazil's record of 92 matches played at FIFA World Cup finals.

Germany 2006 ranking/ All-time FIFA World Cup™ ranking in brackets

1- Italy (3)
2- France (6)
3- Germany (2)
4- Portugal (20)
5- Brazil (1)
6- Argentina (4)
7- England (5)
8- Ukraine (46)
9- Spain (7)
10- Switzerland (22)
11- Netherlands (9)
12- Ecuador (40)
13- Ghana (49)
14- Sweden [8]
15- Mexico (15)
16- Australia (52)
17- Korea Republic (30)
18- Paraguay (24)
19- Côte d'Ivoire (56)
20- Czech Republic (16)
21- Poland (13)
22- Croatia (27)
23- Angola (59)
24- Tunisia (48)
25- USA (26)
25- Iran (53)
27- Trinidad and Tobago (63)
28- Japan (44)
28- Saudi Arabia (45)
30- Togo (68)
31- Costa Rica (38)
32- Serbia and Montenegro (11)

3
Football / Pro League Symposium: July 20 2006
« on: July 19, 2006, 03:48:21 PM »
Pro League hold symposium
Wednesday, July 19th 2006

Trinidad Express

The T&T Pro League will be hosting a symposium from 6.30 p.m. tomorrow at the San Fernando Room of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.

This symposium, entitled "World Cup 2006-Review and Recommendations", will analyse and evaluate Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup effort and discuss the way forward.

The target audience includes national team staff and players, all coaches, referees, match commissioners, administrators, sponsors and media personnel.


Due to the limited seating available, those interested in attending the symposium are asked to reserve a spot by calling 645-4489/356-0629 or email administration@ttproleague.com on or before 4 p.m. today.

---

I now reach home, so I now see this. If anyone going - TAKE NOTES FOR ME! Please :)

4
Published by the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink 

Soca Warriors, Amerindian Masking

While Italy's dubious "victory" over France in Sunday's World Cup Final helped to immediately forestall any possible nostalgia for the end of what was otherwise an often exciting month of play, I have to confess that I will sorely miss seeing those beloved Soca Warrior fans singing and dancing in the stadiums of Germany.

I collected a number of images from various sources, each of which reinforces the theme that the Soca Warriors (I don't mean just the team here, I mean the fans especially) conceived of themselves as Native Indian warriors, a theme that has run through the length of Trinidad's Carnival, from the mid-1800s.

The Santa Rosa Carib Community, whose members ardently cheered the Soca Warriors, once had a research officer by the name of Elma Reyes who insisted that the Native Indian figure in Trinidad's Carnival was not just some carbon copy of images imported from North America, but that there was also an indigenous Trinidadian-Venezuelan input behind the figures of Indians becoming and remaining prevalent in Trinidad's Carnival. Her attempt to "reclaim" the Indian of Carnival finds some support in the following research article which even observes that many of these Indian costumes were worn by individuals who in cases were themselves Amerindians of the region:

"Amerindian Masking in Trinidad's Carnival: The House of Black Elk in San Fernando", by Helene Bellour and Samuel Kinser, in The Drama Review, Vol. 42, No. 3, Trinidad and Tobago Carnival (Autumn, 1998), pp. 147-169.

Others have in the past observed that the national colours of Trinidad and Tobago--red, black and white--also mimic the natural body dyes and chalk used by Amerindians to paint their faces, as noted by a number of chroniclers in the Caribbean region. Some pottery styles also used red and black, or red and white, as decorative colours. Thus the appearance of individuals in the images that follow can seem more stunning to some of us than the reader might have expected.



For my part, as a tribute to both this theme, the team I long to see in action again, and the many wonderful fans, I offer this small collage (which can be enlarged by clicking on this link). [Link broken]

Until South Africa 2010!

5
Football / Stern goes AWOL
« on: July 04, 2006, 11:41:53 AM »
Stern goes AWOL.
By: Andy Turner.


Stern John will feel the wrath of Coventry City boss Micky Adams after failing to report for pre-season training.

The striker was given extended leave after competing in the World Cup with Trinidad and Tobago last month but has since failed to make contact the Sky Blues, sparking speculation that he wants away.

And the 29-year-old will miss City's trip to America after the club had to complete their squad list for the trip by yesterday.


But despite falling foul of the manager, he claims he still part of his plans, although Adams is actively looking to recruit another centre-forward after missing out on Francis Jeffers.

"Stern played in the World Cup and I have not had any contact from him since," said Adams who got his seven new signings together for the first time at Ryton yesterday.

Asked if he was disappointed with the lack of communication, he added: "I don't want to comment on that, let's just say I have had no contact from him.

"We weren't sure when he was coming back and I would have thought he would have rung me up to find out when he needed to report back."


Asked if he is still part of his plans, he said: "He is contracted to Coventry City so yes, he's part of the plans."

But Adams is keen to strengthen up front and is determined to bring in competition to make John work for his place.

The player, meanwhile, may well be looking for a move away from the Ricoh Arena following his appearance in Germany, before which he admitted he hoped Coventry wouldn't stand in his way if he got a better offer this summer.

And, although he didn't set the World Cup alight, he will certainly have enhanced his profile just by being there.

Meanwhile, Adams revealed that he hopes to make two more new signings before the start of the season, another goalkeeper to compete with Andy Marshall, and a striker.

"Obviously we are trying to get another striker," he said. "We went for Francis Jeffers and have talked to other people as well.

"I wouldn't think anything will be done before we go to the States tomorrow because we have made the squad announcement for the flights.

"I hope to get at least another two faces into the club before the season starts. With the existing squad and the seven we have added to it so far, we are optimistic."

6
Football / The Forgotten Warrior: where's Maximus' Chaconia Gold?
« on: July 01, 2006, 07:56:27 PM »
Attillah Springer
Trinidad Guardian


The forgotten warrior

Many a pilgrim trekking out east

Moving through trenches like soldiers

Like priests

The weak and humble desire to rise

The repentant sinners

Live up in his eyes.

—Thanks for D Music, Andre Tanker

All things considered, I suppose $1 million is sufficient. Not that you can put a dollar value on what the Soca Warriors have done for our sense of who we are.

Maybe I’m just too cantankerous and hard to please but I was hoping to hear the Government rushing to build national sporting academies.

Maybe a football scholarship to UWI or its new UTT in the name of Latas or Dwightie so that the good bright ballers from here don’t have to depend on grants from US universities to get a further education.

And yes, the guy gives me the heebie jeebies, but surely the Government was being just a little bit petty by not recognising the contribution of our big man in the football business, Jack Warner.

But thank Jah the men who made us so proud don’t just have ball skills. Thank Jah I’ve heard them talking about sporting academies and about using sport as an intervention for this nation’s much berated youth.

Because I watched the look on the father of the nation’s face and I see like Father Patrick don’t really have any idea of what it is to love his nation.

He knows nothing of spirits lifted when he appears on the news speaking through clenched teeth, denying us the pleasure of seeing those famed dimples.

But one thing that really upsets me in this whole self-stroking charade put on by the Government in a belated attempt at celebrating the achievements of the Soca Warriors is this.

The twelfth man on the side. The reason why so many of us really took this football thing to heart even with all the fear and trepidation and memory of November 19, 1989, still fresh in our tear ducts.

I want to know where is Maximus Dan’s Chaconia Gold. Where are his accolades for creating a song more resonant and emotive than the national anthem?


Fighter is more than just a praise song for the Soca Warriors. Fighter is a nation-building song, a God Bless our Nation or Our Nation’s Dawning for the soca generation that has no recollection of that first unfurling of the red, white and black.

It’s not very often that we can really say that we have a song that demonstrates that kind of newness, that kind of freshness that rescues this modern soca music from its mediocrity.

In any other civilization the artist holds a valuable place in the society. The griot is a decorated man or woman. The one who sings the story of his or her people is well respected and decorated for the beauty of his voice and the eloquence with which he depicts the nation’s history.

When the story of T&T is written and they recall the first time we went to the World Cup, what will be said of Fighter.

How will they capture the goosebumps on the arms of every Trinidadian/Tobagonian in those stadiums? How can they document the hoarseness of thousands of people roaring in one voice oh oooh oh, oh oh.

In this time of snack-box soca and regurgitated melodies, Fighter stands out as a clarion call to those of us whose spirits flag. Who are disillusioned and not at all hopeful about the soca, about the politics, about the society.


I only have words. I’m not an overpaid stuffed shirt and unfortunately I’m way too poor to make Maximus the kind of award he deserves.

So thank you, Maximus, for the upliftment. Thank you for being consistent in your words and never falling for the seduction of fluff and fakeness that keeps this local music industry alive.

Thank you for being yourself, and having the kind of humility that only true warriors understand.

Thank you for singing out before we even qualified, for not jumping belatedly on a theme song bandwagon.

Thanks for the music, Maximus and hopefully one day this society will give you the accolades more deserving of a warrior of your stature.

7
Football / Soca Warriors to thank Scottish fans
« on: June 29, 2006, 02:05:28 AM »
WILLIAM TINNING     
June 29 2006
The Herald



Their participation in the World Cup captured the imaginations of thousands of Scots across the country.

Now the government of Trinidad and Tobago wants to thank the people of Scotland for their "unwavering support" for the team by staging two events in Edinburgh and Glasgow featuring musicians from the Caribbean islands.

With Scotland failing to qualify for the World Cup the Tartan Army got behind Trinidad and Tobago in their game against group opponents England.

Jack McConnell, the First Minister, also controversially supported the so-called Soca Warriors against the Auld Enemy.

The support north of the Border for Trinidad and Tobago was due mainly to the fact that several of their players ply their trade in the Scottish leagues, including the aptly named Jason Scotland.
Trinidad and Tobago flags and bunting were put up at pubs and bars across Scotland in support of the team.
Even a CD - Scotland at the World Cup - in tribute to the St Johnstone player, was released.
A spokesman for Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board, said: "Having bowed out gracefully from the World Cup, the Soca Warriors, Trinidad and Tobago' football squad, has helped to put the tiny Caribbean islands well and truly on the map.
"The government of Trinidad and Tobago would like to thank the people of Scotland for their unwavering support and has planned two events in Glasgow and Edinburgh featuring live entertainment by well-known musicians from Trinidad and Tobago as a special thank you."
The events, to be held in Glasgow's George Square and Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens on July 15 and 16 respectively, will feature the six-piece Soca, calypso and reggae band - Flame, limbo dancers, cultural dancers, and SW Storm.
An official T&T after World Cup party is also planned at the Corinthian nightclub in Glasgow on the Saturday from 7pm, where free glasses of rum punch will be available for the first 300 customers.
It is hoped that Falkirk players Russell Latapy and Denzil Theobald, and Jason Scotland, will attend the events.

8
Vibes it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/soca_warriors.shtml

Listen out for truetrini, Fli ! and SocaPro english accent...

9
Football / Tallman/WN in the UK Guardian
« on: June 16, 2006, 04:26:26 PM »
   
Soca Warriors' festival of colour and sound comes to Franconia

Andrew Culf in Nuremberg
Friday June 16, 2006
The Guardian


Carnival arrived at the World Cup yesterday as the supporters of Trinidad & Tobago brought a touch of the Caribbean to the Frankenstadion. The Franconian city has been sweltering in heat more associated with Port of Spain for the past few weeks but it does not normally reverberate to the thumping beat of ghetto-blasting sound systems.

Heavily outnumbered by the massive influx of England supporters, Soca Warriors followers were making their presence felt inside the stadium and in the centre of Nuremberg. Dion Neil, from Trincity, said the atmosphere was "awesome" and estimated that some 8,000 supporters were in Germany, some making the 9½-hour flight from Trinidad, others travelling from the United States and across Europe.

Dressed in the the red and black kit of his country, Neil said: "We will make more noise than the English. We are a small country but we have a big passion - that is our motto."

Already encouraged by the omen of victory over a team of England supporters in a Twenty20 cricket friendly on Wednesday, dancers and steel bands brought colourful scenes to the Hauptmarkt in Nuremberg yesterday, where the Caribbean contingent mingled happily with amiable England supporters under the benign gaze of uniformed British police officers patrolling alongside German colleagues.

Nigel Myers, who comes from San Fernando in Trinidad but now lives in Miami and is president of the Warrior Nation supporters club, said about 3,500 Trinidadians would be in the stadium.

"In Frankfurt we saw a bit of bottle- throwing in the main square but we have not encountered any animosity," he said. "In the hotel it is cool we talk football and drink with the English at the bar."


Many English supporters who arrived early at the stadium yesterday made their way to the disintegrating grandstand of the Zeppelinfeld, the former Nazi parade ground where Hitler addresses mass rallies. The Trinny posse made their way to a mobile stage and sound system inside the ground, for some rhythmic dancing (not of the Peter Crouch school). The supporters sang along to their two World Cup anthems - "Soca Tune" and "I am a Soca Warrior"- which have a more upbeat tempo but are about as repetitive as "Three Lions" or "Inger-land, Inger-land".

Supporters who made the journey from Trinidad are likely to have spent some $TT30,000 (£2,577) on their official travel packages to watch their country compete in the World Cup for the first time.

Ian Walters, originally from San Fernando and now living in Orlando, Florida, said the opening match against Sweden, when 10-man Trinidad held on for a 0-0 draw, had been unbelievable. "It was the match of a lifetime - our expectations had been so low. Now we are having a lot of friendly banter with the English and have been singing, 'There's only one Shaka Hislop'."

Similarly impressed with the experience was Natasha Draper-West, from south-east London, who had travelled to the match with three of her family from London and nine from Trinidad. "We are having a fantastic time. The atmosphere is great and the camaraderie is even better."

Ian Atherly, mayor of San Fernando, said: "We feel great. We are extremely proud of what our team has achieved and we are getting tremendous support from other countries." Before the match he was buoyed with optimism about his side's prospects. "I'm here for the three group matches but, if we can go further, I will have to fly back for the second round."

Atherly agrees that football is taking over from cricket as the favoured sport of younger West Indians. "Football is developing as more popular. The footballers are doing us proud," he said.

The sentiments were shared by a retired BP worker, Carlyle Spencer, from San Fernando, who claimed to be having the party of a lifetime. "Football is attracting more young people. There is a short supply of young cricketers . Brian Lara may be the last really great player. Football is taking over."

10

World Cup player proposes by text

BBC.CO.UK



A footballer's girlfriend was asked to become a footballer's wife during Thursday's World Cup match when England played Trinidad and Tobago.

But the question was not popped by Brent Sancho, 29, central defender for Gillingham and Trinidad & Tobago.

It was asked for him by BBC South East Today's Geoff Clark, who watched the match in Kent with Brent's girlfriend.

Jana Herbert-Fiu, 24, played a strong defence, promising to text her reply to the BBC on Brent's return.

Jana, who runs a nightclub in Port of Spain, Trinidad, said she wanted to see him down on one knee in person.

The footballer from Maidstone had sent a text message to the programme three hours before kick-off which said: "Can you tell her Brent says he loves her more than anything else and would like to spend the rest of his life with her.

"Will she marry me?"


11
Are you in London and want to make £100 watching T&T play England?

Pitch PR is organising an experiment measuring England fans and opposition fans' heart rates/excitement levels throughout the World Cup and how this is affected by betting.

They're looking for 10-15 London-based T&T fans

The experiment will be carried out in offices in Hammersmith - and will be very straightforward - no needles etc(!)  - just a heart rate monitor.

They would pay the group of fans to participate (£100) in the experiment and would ask that half of the fans bet this fee on the game to add to the excitement - and potentially making a lucrative evening for them! Also food and drink will be provided.

For more information, contact me (sin) by tomorrow morning at the LATEST.

12
By Phil Shaw in Cologne
Published: 10 June 2006
Independent.co.uk


In a tournament sprinkled with stellar talents from Juventus, Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Trinidad & Tobago stick out like a sore thumb for a squad drawn from clubs as disparate as Port Vale, Sydney FC, Los Angeles Galaxy and Falkirk. But on their World Cup debut against Sweden in Dortmund today, they may face a goalkeeper whose pedigree also combines the modest and the exotic.

Rami Shabaan, whose brief stint at Arsenal was followed by unfulfilling loan spells at West Ham and Brighton, is vying with John Alvbage for the vacancy created by the absence of Andreas Isaksson. The latter was concussed by a ferocious shot from his Rennes colleague Kim Kallstrom in training this week, which ensured that one of his internationally inexperienced deputies will play against T&T. Neither had played for his country before the start of the year.

Shabaan, Stockholm-born of Finnish and Egyptian parents, is now playing with Fredrikstad in Sweden after trial spells at Dundee United and Sheffield United last year failed to secure a hoped-for return to Britain. A close friend of Freddie Ljungberg, whom he credits with his place in Lars Lagerback's squad as well as with support in the aftermath of a messy divorce, the 30-year-old played just three Premiership matches while at Highbury, although he is still arguably less of a big-game rookie than Alvbage, 23.

On a superficial level, the game between two sides from England's group appears a mismatch. Sweden are competing in their 11th World Cup and have a final and two semi-final appearances to their name, along with a reputation for Scandinavian solidity.

T&T are, if Dwight Yorke will pardon the expression, virgins in this tournament. The smallest country ever to reach the finals, they have a population of just 1.3 million (a mere 50,000 of them on Yorke's home island of Tobago), while they lost 5-0 at home in the nations' only previous encounter, in 1983.

Nor do the Soca Warriors come into the game in the kind of form that suggests they could upset opponents whose organised, unflappable style has taken them to four successive world and European finals tournaments. During a tortuous qualifying campaign, T&T beat only Mexico of the three other North and Central American sides that made it to Germany, earning a top-four finish largely by amassing points against the makeweights of St Kitts & Nevis, Panama and St Vincent & Grenadines.

More recently, after losing all three warm-up internationals - to a severely understrength Wales team, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, and conceding eight goals while scoring only twice in the process - T&T scraped past a German third-tier team, St Pauli, 2-1 on Monday.

The combination of Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic should carry too much craft and clout for Marvin Andrews and Dennis Lawrence, of Rangers and Wrexham respectively.

Larsson, 34 and looking to finish his career back in Sweden, played in his first World Cup 12 years ago, but showed his potential to be a force in this competition last month, coming off the bench in his farewell game for Barcelona to help turn the Champions' League final against Arsenal.

Many Scots have travelled to support T&T, and not only in the hope of seeing them humble England. Andrews, Russell Latapy, Kelvin Jack, Colin Samuel and the splendidly named Jason Scotland - signed up as a columnist by a Glasgow Sunday newspaper so that they could run the nostalgic logo "Scotland at the World Cup" - all play in Scotland. Such was Larsson's popularity at Celtic, however, that there will be a smattering of hooped shirts alongside the kilts.

Intriguingly for Messrs Owen, Crouch and possibly Rooney, there have been rumblings in the Swedish press that Lagerback's centre-backs, Olof Mellberg and Teddy Lucic, are beginning to show their age. T&T's Stern John, in his Birmingham City days, has had the better of Aston Villa's Mellberg, and with 65 goals from less than 100 caps he boasts a record for his country that allows some scope for optimism.

T&T also possess a great asset in the knowledge and wisdom of their coach Leo Beenhakker, 63, whose experience includes stints with Mexico and his native Netherlands as well as Ajax and Real Madrid. In tandem with Yorke, whom he lured out of international retirement and installed in a new midfield role alongside the Stafford-born Chris Birchall, he performed one minor miracle by securinga place in Germany.

The trick now is to conjure another. Even a draw against Sweden, who are England's supposed "bogey" team, would give Sven Goran Eriksson food for thought.

* Marvin Andrews has been ruled out of today's game with a recurrence of a knee injury.

13
7 June 2006
LATAPY'S WORLD CUP DIARY
Russell Latapy

The Daily Record


TRINIDAD internet message boards were busy yesterday morning with comments about some pictures of the team from the night before and our win over St Pauli.


It was our final warm-up and there was plenty to talk about with Jason Scotland on the scoresheet, Atiba Charles getting himself needlessly sent off and yours truly being handed the captain's armband as DwightYorke enjoyed a well-earned rest - although not from the endless TV interview requests!

But the thing people back home were posting messages about was images of thousands of fans, arms outstretched in what at first glance looked like a Nazi salute.


We are in Germany and people don't always look behind first impressions, do they? If you were to see these pictures out of context, it would be easy to imagine that was the case.

But when I looked up from the field and saw the arms outstretched, it didn't take long to figure out what was really happening - our fans were dancing.


You have to understand, back in Trinidad the place is undergoing a whole different kind of World Cup fever. If you think England's gone crazy, you should see it on our islands.

Right now there are actually about 20 different World Cup hits doing the rounds. The biggest one at the minute is called the "Football Dance". It was launched by a guy called Colin Lucas at our big presidential send-off in Trinidad and you hear it everywhere you go.

They were blasting it out through the loudspeakers at St Pauli's stadium right up until kick-off, backed by the carnival girls doing their thing for the 20,000 fans who'd packed in to watch the game.

The way these dance numbers work, it's like a preacher who starts it - and then the crowd responds. So that's what the crowd were actually doing when they were raising their arms. Glad that's dealt with!


As I say, the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic, and I'm really happy about that because the whole thing about the World Cup finals is the showcase it offers our country.

We're not just the smallest nation competing in these finals, we're the smallest ever to have made it this far. And that's a big thing for a place like Trinidad and Tobago.

It's great for us to be opening up our culture to the world at large and the game in Hamburg showed just how galvanised the German fans are in this region.

They love their football here anyway but while everybody likes an underdog, let's face it -everyone has us down as probably the biggest underdog ever to make these finals!

But I'd like to think we are also known for being friendly and happy I people and that's something that seems to have rubbed off on the locals, even before our arrival.

They've already set up a mock beach in Rotenburg's main square, ready for a big party on Saturday night when we kick off against Sweden.

I'd like to think that after our games, we might even get to let our hair down a little and join in with the locals for some of their fun. The manager, Leo Beenhakker, will cut us a bit of slack that way - that's the way he's always run these things.


It was a funny sort of game -played on a bumpy pitch with the guys obviously concerned about picking up an injury.

That was the main reason Charles was sent off. I don't think anyone could reasonably claim the game was on the edge of a full-scale brawl.

But it didn't alter what was a terrific atmosphere. Even the Celtic fans in the St Pauli crowd were cheering myself and Marvin.

I gather there's been a long tradition of St Pauli fans supporting Celtic but even then our loveable underdog status seems to have overcome any kind of Old Firm rivalry.

14
From Soccerblog.com

Would it surprise anyone to know that if size and money were removed as factors driving success that the world’s top-ranked soccer power would be Cameroon? They didn’t even qualify for the World Cup. How can any ranking system declare them to be number one? Read on for the short answer. (A longer, more academic discussion has been demoted to the footnotes since eyes tend to glaze over with the prospect of statistical blather.)

This ranking is not saying that Cameroon is better than Brazil. What it says is that once certain factors influencing success (income and population) are taken into account, what's left over is a different kind of measure of the country’s commitment to the sport.


Approach:

The way to achieve this modification is with a statistical technique that attempts to explain as much variation in FIFA points as possible using measures of other variables, namely, per capita Gross Domestic Product and population.* Note that this is not meant to be the most accurate model of FIFA point levels – it’s meant instead to be a way of explaining that part of the ranking that is due to good fortune. By looking at the rankings after the effects of these advantages are removed, we’ve essentially leveled the playing field. Any other variables that could help explain FIFA standings (e.g., how long ago soccer was introduced in that country, whether it has a well-supported professional league, percentages of kids who play in the youth system) are factors we would not want to exclude since they’re part of what it is we’re trying to measure.

Before listing the results of this new ranking format, I should mention that I’m no great fan of FIFA rankings even as just a starting point for modifications. Plenty of people have commented on the biases inherent in the system. Now if the Czech Republic reaches the finals and the US makes it to semis, I’ll happily eat my words, but most people agree there is too much emphasis on older results. That being said, I needed some ranking to start with and FIFA’s is the one cited most often.**

Results:

So, now that I’ve explained the intent as well as the caveats, let’s take a look at the results. Starting with the top 100 FIFA-ranked teams as of last month and applying our filter, we see the table below. Our new index, the Adjusted Ranks of Soccer Eminence (AROSE, for short***) shows a very different picture compared to the FIFA table.


AROSE Country (FIFA Rank)

1 Cameroon (15)

2 Czech Republic (2)

3 Senegal (29)

4 Portugal (8)

5 Denmark (11)

6 Uruguay (22)

7 Costa Rica (26)

8 Netherlands (3)

9 Brazil (1)

10 Croatia (24)

11 Nigeria (12)

12 Cote d'Ivoire (32)

13 Tunisia (21)

14 Paraguay (33)

15 Argentina (8)

16 Sweden (16)

17 Jamaica (44)

18 Trinidad & Tobago (47)

19 Spain (5)

20 Republic of Ireland (30)

21 Greece (19)

22 Mexico (6)

23 Turkey (13)

24 Romania (25)

25 Honduras (41)

26 Bahrain (54)

27 Egypt (18)

28 Bulgaria (38)

29 Ecuador (39)

30 France (7)

31 Serbia & Montenegro (46)

32 England (10)

33 Zambia (56)

34 Guinea (52)

35 Colombia (27)

36 Togo (59)

37 Morocco (36)

38 Italy (14)

39 Iran (22)

40 Poland (28)

41 Zimbabwe (55)

42 Switzerland (35)

43 Slovakia (43)

44 Norway (40)

45 Saudi Arabia (34)

46 Ghana (50)

47 Mali (65)

48 Iraq (52)

49 Angola (58)

50 Korea Republic (30)

51 Bosnia-Herzegovina (63)

52 Israel (47)

53 Finland (49)

54 Germany (19)

55 USA (4)

56 Qatar (76)

57 Uzbekistan (59)

58 Japan (17)

59 Latvia (69)

60 Guatemala (61)

61 Estonia (79)

62 Ukraine (41)

63 Slovenia (71)

64 Belarus (64)

65 Panama (81)

66 Albania (86)

67 Russia (37)

68 Australia (44)

69 Congo DR (70)

70 Kuwait (73)

71 Cuba (79)

72 Scotland (62)

73 Oman (82)

74 Jordan (83)

75 Wales (74)

It’s interesting to see which teams rose and fell the most compared to their FIFA positions. Cameroon is a fairly small country (population 16 million) and very poor (GDP per capita of $1,900) with a FIFA ranking of 15. When their disadvantages are statistically isolated and purged, though, they move to the top of the list. Maybe Roger Milla and the Indomitable Lions that made it to the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy created a legacy of overachievement. Several other African nations climb to higher ranks, too. Senegal looks impressive in the number 3 slot, up from a FIFA rank of 29. Cote d’Ivoire went from 32 to 12. Smaller nations like Uruguay and Costa Rica also look like bigger successes by this criterion, as do Jamaica, T&T, and Bahrain.

On the flip side, football superpower Brazil falls from #1 by FIFA’s accounting to #9 by the size and wealth-adjusted measure. Their fall-off is attributable to their big population (fifth largest in the world). Spain, Mexico, France, and Japan slide, too, due to their size and/or wealth. The most precipitous drop, though, goes to the US. We had a sneaking suspicion that it would. Despite growing strength and support, US soccer can’t really brag about its success relative to the nation’s advantages. (Bruce Arena et al. can and should feel good about their improvement, though.)

Before anyone starts assuming a political agenda here, like world-wide socialism to even things out, I should emphasize the goal of this re-ranking system. It’s not a statement of what should be. It’s more a statement of what might be if size and money were not driving forces. We applaud the smaller, less wealthy soccer nations for devoting so much of themselves to competitions on the world stage and hope to give them their due with a risen AROSE status.

Footnotes:

* For those who are not familiar with the approach I used – regression analysis – the best way to understand it is to visualize a scatter plot of points where a country’s FIFA point total is measured in the vertical dimension and the per capita GDP is measured in the horizontal dimension. Let’s keep it simple for the time being and not consider the additional impact of population. Since FIFA points and per capita GDP are positively related, the cloud of points on this plot will have a general upward slope. Regression analysis provides the best fitting straight line going through these points. To extend the analysis further, you can think of a scatter of points in 3 dimensions where population is the third variable. The regression in this case provides the best fitting plane through the 3-D scatter. The new ranking index is based on how far above the plane (good) or below the plane (bad) the actual FIFA point total is. Natural logs were used to transform the data entering the ordinary least squares regression to improve explanatory power. More technical details are available upon request, as is the raw data that went into the analysis.

** I may come back to this modified ranking later with a more suitable starting point. The Elo system is a candidate as is one I’m developing myself. FIFA itself plans a system after the World Cup that counts only the last 4 years of results.

*** Some may argue that the O from “of” should be excluded from the acronym, especially if they don’t like what it says about their teams.

[Submitted by Dr. Statto]

15
Football / A Tobagonian Perspective on the Soca Warriors
« on: June 05, 2006, 04:01:26 AM »
Soca Warriors chances
On the Beat
Opoku Ware
Monday, June 5th 2006

TobagoNews.com
   


As promised, this column intends to keep our readers engaged in different aspects in the build-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament. This week we will examine the contingents of nationals being sponsored by Government and the THA to attend the tournament in Germany. It would also be important to continue to examine our Soca Warriors chances in the competition.
...

Now to the World Cup of Football. It is clear that the sport of football and the national cultures of the participating teams will be the highlight of the event in Germany, on and off the field, respectively. Therefore, any nation, which has earned qualification for the competition, should make maximum use of the opportunity and for a nation like Trinidad and Tobago, which is not sure, when again it may qualify for such a high profile tournament, such an opportunity must not be wasted.

It is against this background that I cannot understand the thinking by the government and the THA in terms of some of the persons they have selected to be sponsored by taxpayers' money to travel to Germany.

For example, I have heard no mention of the Original DeFosto Himself being selected on the Trinidad contingent even though he had one of the biggest songs on Germany World Cup 2006. I do hope De Fosto is on the trip for he is deserving. For sure I do know that Super Blue, the original Soca soccer Calypsonian has not been selected.

It was Super Blue who led the T&T cultural assault in the 1989 World Cup campaign and maybe such a trip could be of some help to him in his personal battles at present. Here is where the Calypso organisation should have made its voice heard, instead of trying to determine 'who is a calypsonian'.

As for the THA contingent, again we have 'missed the boat', while we must be elated by the family members of the Tobago players on the national team making the trip to Germany. However, the selection of the Tobago contingent can be classified as an insult to the Tobago football fraternity.

Such an opportunity should have been used to enhance the sport of football on the island.

This is why preference to the trip should have been given to those who have made and are making dedicated efforts to develop football in Tobago.

It is quite disturbing that the authorities have blanked former national junior football coach Peter Granville who has and is contributing massively to the development of soccer both in Tobago and Trinidad. Bertille St. Clair would have been my first choice Tobagonian for the Germany trip with Peter Granville as number two, but I doubt St. Clair would have chosen to go in such a manner. Therefore, Granville must be Tobago's number one choice. Since obtaining his coaching qualifications from the English FA, Granville has done extensive coaching in Tobago and Trinidad.

He even coached several players on the Soca Warriors team including Colin Samuel, Kelvin Jack, Silvio Spann, Brent Sancho, Cornel Glen and Jason Scotland.

Granville has also coached a number of Tobago teams including Plymouth's Stokely Vale, Speyside's Sidey's, Calder Hall United and now Tobago's only professional football team, Tobago United. What about the other hardworking Tobago coaches such as Terry Williams of phoenix who runs a coaching school at Bon Accord.

Where is Rhodil Clarke? What about Tony Keith who has been doing excellent work among our young footballers for many years? What about some of the stalwarts who have contributed on the field of play in Tobago over the years? Instead, the THA have chosen persons to go to Germany who have never 'kicked a lime' in their lives.

What can they learn in Germany to bring back to the sport in Tobago. It is surely a mockery of a golden opportunity, no wonder our society is heading in the direction it is.

16
Football / Fifa to probe Arsenal's feeder-club deal
« on: June 01, 2006, 12:09:40 PM »
   
Last Updated: Thursday, 1 June 2006, 15:42 GMT 16:42 UK
Arsenal face Fifa investigation
By Meirion Jones
Senior Producer, BBC Newsnight

   

Fifa has launched a probe into whether Arsenal have broken regulations which may leave the club exposed to possible expulsion from the Champions League.

BBC Newsnight has learnt that a police probe in Belgium has concluded Arsenal made secret payments of £1m to Beveren.

Arsenal have admitted providing a loan to Beveren, but say they have never had a controlling influence over the club.

Fifa is investigating whether Arsenal have breached rules governing fair play and conflict of interest.

It was a mystery payment of one million pounds to an obscure Belgian football club in 2001 which sparked off a money-laundering investigation.
   
A company with no name wanted to invest a million pounds in the club. We thought it rather bizarre
Christian du Four, Investigating Magistrate
The club, Beveren, was in desperate financial straits and they refused to say where the cash had come from.

Fog of secrecy

Christian du Four, the Investigating Magistrate in the Flemish town of Dendermonde, told Newsnight, "A company with no name wanted to invest a million pounds in the club. We thought it rather bizarre."

At the same time the team threw out most of its Belgian players and replaced them with unknowns from an academy in Ivory Coast, West Africa. Belgian police suspected the fog of secrecy was hiding mafia involvement.

Instead after an investigation they have told Newsnight that they found Arsenal's secret hand behind the money.

Arsenal has a public deal with Beveren to play friendly matches and loan players but Arsenal repeatedly denied that they put money into the club.

Arsenal now admit that they did loan money, indirectly, to Beveren. An Arsenal spokesman said "Arsenal confirms that it has never owned, directly or indirectly, any shares in Beveren or had any power whatsoever to influence its management or administration. It did in 2001 provide funds of 1,570,703 euros by way of loan to a member of the consortium to assist in stabilising the finances of Beveren."

Reading from his investigation, Mr Du Four said: "Jean Marc Guillou who is the manager of Beveren has very close contacts with Arsene Wenger the coach of Arsenal and that is why they went ahead with the contract."

He then highlighted one contract signed by Arsenal Vice-Chairman David Dein. The contract (Document B) shows Dein agreeing to advance 12 million Belgian francs (around £200,000) on behalf of Arsenal Football Club in an interest free loan to an associate of his called Raoul de Waele. The loan was to establish a company called Goal which would take over control of Beveren football club.


Arsenal signed Emmanuel Eboue from Beveren for a reported £1.5m
The loan and other money advanced by Arsenal would be repaid out of Goal's share of transfer profits. Du Four says that in all Arsenal put in £1m.

A director of Beveren, who did not wish to be identified, told Newsnight that in return for the £1m de Waele was given 50% control of Beveren and Guillou was given another 30%.

Fifa President Sepp Blatter told BBC Radio Five Live "Let Arsenal give the Football Association their report. It will be then be reported later to Fifa but for the time being I am not in a position to make any comments about what punishments or sanctions should be taken against a club."

If Arsenal secretly controlled another club, especially one such as Beveren who they bought Emmanuel Eboue from, they could be in breach of FIFA rules and could be heavily fined or even thrown out of the Champions League.


17
If you're in or around Nottingham, or are willing to travel there on Tuesday 6th June, Radio Five Live needs your help.

See below:

I am producing a World Cup Special programme for Sport on Five (on Radio Five Live) on the evening of Tuesday June 6th. It'll be for 2 hours at Nottingham Forest Football Club (from 8 until 10pm). We have a panellist of Graeme Le Saux, Nigel Martyn, Daryll Powell and hopefully Martin O'Neill.

We have 200 fans coming as well to sit in the audience and ask questions. But what I'm looking for, are some football fans supporting OTHER countries, who will be either available to join us that evening - ie yourself or any friends you may know who'll be interested - to either ask one of our panellists a question, or chat to them about Trinidad and Tobago. This World Cup special programme will have a HUGE audience. We can't pay a fee (because we're the BBC and they barely even pay me) but we'll have food and they'll be a few drinks in it for you, but most of all it’ll be a good laugh and it's all good radio experience.
---

If you're interested, please PM or email me [sinistra AT gmail.com]

18
Football / Trinidad and Tobago: Kicking the losing habit
« on: May 30, 2006, 05:25:01 AM »
Trinidad & Tobago's Russell Latapy, who is known as the little magician, has all the smoke and mirrors to banish bad memories and surprise England when they meet at the World Cup

By Phil Shaw
30 May 2006
Belfast Telegraph


Warning for England: Russell Latapy intends to come out smoking at the World Cup finals and, at the age of 37, to consign his reputation as the nearly man of Trinidad & Tobago to the ashtray of history.


Latapy is a diminutive, dreadlocked midfielder who plies his trade as player-coach to Falkirk. His dancing feet, twinkling eyes and weakness for Marlboro Lights have earned him iconic status in Scotland.

Now he aims to light up the global extravaganza in Germany, erasing the anguish of the day when T&T contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of the draw that would have taken him to the 1990 finals in Italy.

The events of 19 November 1989 are burned into the psyche of Latapy and his close friend Dwight Yorke. At a time when Theo Walcott was literally crawling around in nappies, they were the babies of the T&T team that required only a draw against the United States in Port of Spain in order to take their place among the best players on the planet.

It was to be the 90 minutes that saw football take off in the small islands where cricket was king. But they lost 1-0, an anticlimax Latapy attributes to their over-excitement at the prospect of performing in the World Cup. Amid the desolation, he consoled himself that there would be another chance in four years' time.

When a Caribbean country did make it, in 1998, it was Jamaica. It took T&T 16 long years, a failure which forced Latapy to work his way up through unglamorous settings in Portuguese and Scottish football instead of advertising his talent before the watching millions.

But this time, with a squad that draws heavily on British-based players and a coach, Leo Beenhakker, who has had charge of Real Madrid, Ajax and his native Netherlands during a 40-year career, he believes the Soca Warriors are equipped to give a respectable account of themselves.

The way they have tended to be written off as the Group B whipping boys, especially after losing 2-1 to what was almost a Wales Under-21 side in the Austrian city of Graz on Saturday, leaves him unfazed. In his experience - accumulated with Porto under the management of Bobby Robson, as well as with Hibernian and Rangers - being free from the burden of expectation that weighs upon England and, to a lesser extent, Sweden and Paraguay ought to prove beneficial.


"We're in a no-lose situation," said Latapy, who had produced a typically creative cameo role as a substitute against the Welsh in a game T&T should have won. "We're already the underdogs and it doesn't matter what happens. Losing in this friendly wasn't a setback at all. We want to peak for the World Cup finals, so we are working on our game tactically, as well as getting games under our belts.

"Of course we wanted to win, but our preparation is more important. It was a reminder that you can't give the ball away cheaply in international football. We want to impose ourselves on the finals and play our football. If we do that, and we get a bit of luck, anything could happen."

The word "fun" often slips into Latapy's vision of how he wants his country to play in Germany. He and Yorke, who is now 34, have been accused of being over-enthusiastic in their pursuit of a party; of extending the concept of carnival into too many late nights.

Yet as the senior partner puts it, you do not take part in a World Cup two months before your 38th birthday without having a strong work ethic. It was instilled him from the age of 12, when he would devote hours to practising his skills on the Queen's Park Savannah with his mentor, a coach called Jean Lillywhite, while his contemporaries were out doing what boys who are about to become teenagers do.

The sacrifice stood him in good stead. By 1994, the year of what might have been his second World Cup, he had arrived at Porto, where he endured another "nearly" moment as they faced Sampdoria in a shoot-out for a place in the Uefa Cup semi-finals. Walter Zenga saved his penalty to send the Italians through and increase Latapy's sense of fate working against him.

In fact, he won titles with Porto and Rangers, but in terms of international football, "The Little Magician", as Latapy is known in T&T circles, retired in 2001. Sporadic attempts to lure him back into the fold failed. Then, in August last year, Beenhakker asked Yorke, who had himself returned for a last stab at reaching the finals, to call his old friend.

The answer was 'no'. Latapy was increasingly involved in the Falkirk hierarchy, working with manager John "Yogi" Hughes. And besides, the chances of that elusive World Cup place had just been all but ended by another defeat by the US. It seemed a lot of pointless, tiring flying. Yorke begged him to give it two games. He eventually relented, in part, he explained with a nod to his interest in Rastafarian "righteousness", because he saw football as a potentially unifying force in a country that was suffering a wave of violence, crime and disharmony.


"Only Dwight could have persuaded me," he said. "It's not just the friendship. He understands the way I play football. We have grown up together and played together. I realised it was really a last opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream, not only for me, but for Dwight too."

In the first of his "last" games, the prodigal son scored a goal and made one for Stern John in the 3-2 defeat of Guatemala. The second was lost to Costa Rica, but Yorke talked him into staying for the closing group games. They beat Panama and Mexico to earn a play-off with Bahrain. A 2-1 aggregate triumph left Latapy in tears - and in the finals.

He has joked that he is "Dwight's guest player in the -national team", but Beenhakker is too shrewd to carry any passengers or token charismatics in his squad. Latapy's ability to unlock defences with a pass, or to skip by opponents in a congested area, are likely to be valuable, although probably as a substitute rather than a starter.

The 63-year-old Dutchman, famously, is a fellow smoker, prone to puffing on a cigar, so he was unlikely to try to curb Latapy's nicotine intake. Contrary to a rumour emanating from Falkirk, the Magician is not a 40-a-day man, or a chain-smoker like the former Croatia playmaker Robert Prosinecki. He says it is between five and 10 a day.

"I've played to Champions' League level and it never stopped me performing," he reasoned. "I have the same understanding with Leo that I had at every side I've played with. In a team situation, around training or whatever, I don't smoke in front of the lads."

Cigarettes and sport do not mix. But as he prepares for a date with England, knowing he will become a legend in Scotland as well as in Trinidad & Tobago if he can conjure an upset, it is clear that there is no fire without smoke for Russell Latapy.


Latapy's top two T&T team-mates

Dwight Yorke

The finest footballer the West Indies has produced[/b] made his name as a lethal striker with Aston Villa and Manchester United, where his goals helped to win the Treble of 1999. Then things went sour for Yorke. His sister died unexpectedly, his son was born with health problems, and his career tailed off with Blackburn and Birmingham. A move to Sydney FC let him start afresh, and Leo Beenhakker wooed him back into the Trinidad & Tobago set-up as captain. Now 34, he plays in the centre of midfield. Against Wales on Saturday he was the steadiest performer.

Stern John


No player will go into the World Cup with as good an international record as John's 65 goals. The Coventry striker's 12 in 20 qualifiers included the two that earned the key win over Mexico. His latest, against Wales, was a typical close-range finish by the 29-year-old kung-fu aficionado. John came to the attention of English clubs with Columbus Crew in the US, going on to score on his Nottingham Forest and Birmingham debuts. After a barren run at Coventry, he struggled on loan at Derby but returned in December to average a goal every other match for the Sky Blues.

19
Football / Carlos Edwards' column in the Guardian UK.
« on: May 23, 2006, 08:33:44 PM »
We don't fear anyone, not even England.
The Guardian.


In the first of his World Cup columns for the Guardian Luton's midfielder tells of Trinidad & Tobago's excited preparations for mixing it with the best.

The mood in Trinidad & Tobago right now is buzzing: everywhere you go there's a mixture of excitement, pride and anticipation, especially now that our first ever World Cup match is just 17 days away. Some say our supporters have been partying since November 16, when we beat Bahrain to qualify for Germany, but the 23 guys in our squad are completely focused on the battles ahead. We know exactly what we have to do and, if we play to the best of our abilities, we'll surprise a few people.
I'm looking at the second round already. When we reach the last 16, I'll start thinking about the quarter-finals. Why shouldn't I be positive? If we go to Germany expecting to be World Cup whipping boys, that's exactly what will happen. We don't fear anyone. Not Sweden, not Paraguay, not even England. We beat Mexico - the fourth best team in the world according to Fifa - in our qualifying group and our world ranking, 47, is climbing all the time. It's a lot higher than Northern Ireland's, at any rate.
So far training is going great and the lads are bubbling. After the season ended we had a two-week camp in Trinidad & Tobago, which was pretty hectic due to all our press and public commitments. Not that I minded - the goodwill out there for the Soca Warriors is both inspiring and humbling.
Generally when we train we have a laugh and a kick-around. So far our coach, Leo Beenhakker, has been going relatively easy on us. The squad has two sessions a day but the guys who've just come off a domestic season in Europe train only once, in the morning, and in the evening we lie back in the Jacuzzi and relax. Preparing for a tournament is a balancing act: you don't want to get to the World Cup and find all your cylinders have crashed but you don't want to be under-prepared either. So far I think I'm on track: I did a bleep test the other day that showed my fitness hasn't deserted me.
Beenhakker is an expressive coach. He doesn't hold back. If he's happy, he'll let you know but, if he feels you're not giving him your absolute all, he'll have a pop at you. All the players like him and respect him because Leo is 100% frank with us.
He'll bollock Dwight Yorke, he'll bollock anyone. He doesn't take any nonsense and, since arriving, he's made a huge difference. We certainly wouldn't have qualified for the World Cup without him.
He's rigorous too. He's spent the last few weeks preparing everyone for what will come in Germany and has told us exactly what he expects. He's mentally tough and that's rubbed off on the players. In the old days, when we went to places like Mexico and Costa Rica, we would get thrashed. Now we believe we can get a result wherever we play.
On Saturday we arrived in Bad Radkersburg in south-east Austria, where we'll play friendlies against Austria Vienna and Wales to get us right for our opening match against Sweden on June 10. After that it's England, a game that everyone is hyped about, especially the 15 squad members who play in Britain.
All that matters for me right now, however, is impressing my coach every time I step on to the pitch. I'm desperate to be picked in the starting 11 and show what I can do in Germany. Every footballer dreams of plying his trade at the highest level and, while I love it at Luton, that's what I want to do, too. I just hope that, when my World Cup comes to an end and I go straight back into pre-season training, I can hold my head high, having performed at the levels I expect of myself. Hopefully I'll also leave with plenty to smile about, along with the thousands of Trinidad & Tobago fans who are coming over to Germany. I'm not exactly sure of the numbers but I can promise you this: they won't be disrespecting anyone or causing any trouble or disgracing their country. They'll just be enjoying themselves to the best of their abilities.
The Soca Warriors' supporters are the best partiers in the world and, you never know, they might even persuade the German police to join them in their fun and games. They also demand we play good football, regardless of whether we win or lose, and we certainly won't let them down on that score. I think they'll enjoy themselves. I just hope we can give them something to remember for the rest of their lives.

20
Football / From mean streets of Trinidad to World Cup fairytale
« on: May 17, 2006, 01:56:23 AM »
Source: Caribbean Net News

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

by Ewan Smith


FALKIRK, Scotland (AFP): He grew up on the notorious Nelson Street district of Port of Spain where gambling, drug-dealing, prostitution and even murders are part of everyday life.

At 13, he witnessed his first killing as a man was shot before his very eyes halfway down a shady side-street of the Trinidad and Tobago capital.

However when Densill Theobald completes the long journey from his colourful childhood to a starring role at this year's World Cup Finals, he'll look to the heavens for thanks that he didn't choose another path in life.

Theobald, a midfielder for Scottish Premier League side Falkirk, is a devout Christian and believes that is his faith that has taken him to a showdown with England, Sweden and Paraguay in Germany 2006.

"The area I grew up in Trinidad is rife with poverty and crime," revealed 35-times capped Theobald. "The people there are very, very poor and I'm not ashamed to admit that it's what many would call a 'slum.'

"The people there have to turn to other ways to survive and because of that I have seen things that will ensure nothing in life will ever shock me. When I was growing up there were guns, murders, drugs and prostitution everywhere.

"I was 13 when I first witnessed a murder on the street with my own eyes. There have been many more killings since that day and other shocking sights.

"I have seen women taken aside in the street and beaten by men. I have seen people shooting up drugs and it would have been easy for me to have chosen another path in life.

"I could have been a killer, a gambler or I could have dabbled in drugs. But I can honestly say I have never picked up a gun or touched drugs.

"Gambling didn't interest me either because for the last 23 years football has been my life. When there have been opportunities to go as
tray a little voice in my head has always spoken and told me not to get involved. That voice is God."

Divine intervention isn't something that is new to the Soca Warriors squad.

Defender Marvin Andrews has consistently credited 'The Almighty' for enabling him to play on through a serious cruciate ligament without the aid of the customary operation and six-month layoff.

However even Glasgow Rangers star Andrews, a pastor for a small community church in Scotland, would feel that progression beyond Group B could be a stage too far for a country making its debut on the world stage.

The 1.1 million inhabitants of Trinidad and Tobago will tune into their TV screens as Theobald and co. faces the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.

"I'm already dreaming about what it will be like," Theobald told AFP. "Just to be in the same stadium as the likes of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney will be amazing.

"But Steven Gerrard, for me, is the pick of the bunch. He's a phenomenal footballer and to face him in Germany would be an amazing experience.

"We have to go into these Finals primarily to enjoy ourselves and secondly to show that we deserve to be on the same pitch as the many superstars that play for England, Sweden and Paraguay.

"We earned the right to live with these countries by qualifying now it would be great to put on a show for the people back home."

21

FA.com
Coaching success
Thursday, 11 May 2006.


FA coaches Graham Keeley and Mick Hennigan have just returned from a successful trip to Trinidad & Tobago where they delivered the FA International Licence Course to 24 students from across the Caribbean.

Despite a gruelling 10-day intensive course, there was a 100% pass rate with three candidates obtaining an A grade which allows them to proceed to the full UEFA B Licence.

“The overall standard was quite good. All candidates were very studious and worked extremely hard throughout the course,” said FA coach Graham Keeley.

“The candidates contributed to the theory sessions throughout, sharing many of their own experiences with other group members and asking some very good questions on all aspects of the course.

“During the assessments, it was possible to arrange for some local players to come in and help – acting as players during the practical coaching assessments. This helped greatly and all candidates were very appreciative of the players’ efforts over a period of three days.”

Both coaches were praised for their professionalism and enthusiasm during the training and they left a lasting impression on course candidate Annan Ramnanansingh, who said: “Thanks to you all for sending Mick Hennigan and Graham Keeley to tutor the FA International Coaching Course in Trinidad.

“Mick is indeed a coaching legend, a man who coaches so that coaches can learn. He is a wonderful individual.

“Graham is truly a powerhouse who has total command of his subject matter. Please send them back to the Caribbean soon. Thank you all at The FA for choosing this dynamic duo of soccer coaches.”

The FA International Licence Course is the first of three workshops which The FA is running this year as part of its cooperation agreement with CONCACAF, aimed at assisting the development of football in the Caribbean.

22
Football / Warrior Nation Website Down?
« on: May 12, 2006, 04:36:24 AM »
Just tried to access, got:

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access / on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

23
Football / Jack Cries Foul
« on: May 10, 2006, 09:14:14 AM »
Warner slams British journalist
Phoolo Danny-Maharaj South Bureau

Trinidad Express
Wednesday, May 10th 2006



FIFA vice president and opposition UNC deputy political leader Jack Warner has publicly criticised a British journalist whom he said was brought to Trinidad to harass and intimidate him.

At a UNC meeting at Market Square, Rio Claro, on Monday night, he said that journalist Andrew Jennings had written articles in which most negative things were said about him.

"No foreigner, particularly a white foreigner will come to my country and harass me, intimidate me and push me around," said Warner.


The Daily Mail last week began serialising Foul, a book written by Jennings in which he exposes corruption in FIFA.

Warner, who was speaking in his birth village Rio Claro, said "those were happy days, growing up as a little black boy in a predominantly East Indian community", an experience which has helped him in adult life.

Describing the UNC as a disciplined party, Warner told supporters that there were too many armchair critics in the country who were not doing anything to solve problems
---

Foul" book: statement from FIFA

Source: http://fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,117392,00.html


Zurich, 28 April 2006  -  FIFA is aware of the book, Foul, by Andrew Jennings that is set to be published. At first glance, FIFA has noted that the book basically reveals nothing new.


FIFA therefore rejects the allegations
having already commented on them in writing to the author on several occasions.

As the book contains a number of false and libellous claims, FIFA applied for an injunction on the publication and distribution of the book as a precaution several months ago. The Zurich cantonal high court complied with this request by passing a provisional ruling on 26 April 2006.

Further information from:
FIFA Media Department

24
Source:
Leah Oatway, Wales on Sunday


CHEEKY Welsh football fans will go Caribbean crazy this summer via the totally tropical hot-spot of... Wrexham!

After Wales failed to qualify for the World Cup, a barmy army of supporters will be backing Trinidad and Tobago, solving the age-old dilemma of whether or not to cheer on old rivals England.

But this is no petty dig at Sven's men, who are in the same qualifying group in the tournament which kicks off on June 9.

The fans are behind T&T because defender Dennis Lawrence is the only player out of the 32 teams in the World Cup to play for a Welsh side - that's Wrexham FC!

Now, they're urging you to join them as the club skipper - nicknamed Shaft by Dragons fans - takes on Sweden in the nation's first game of the finals on June 10.


And to make their point, they've even designed special T-shirts starring Soca Warrior Big Den, Wrexham's first ever World Cup player.

It's thanks to the 31-year-old scoring a play-off goal against Bahrain that the Caribbean side - the smallest in the competition with just a 1.3 million population - booked a place in their first ever final. But with games against qualifying group favourite England on June 15 and Paraguay five days later, bookies have given T&T captain Dwight Yorke a 1,000-1 chance of lifting the Jules Rimet trophy.

But one man whose enthusiasm can't be extinguished is Wrexham fan Simon Johnson.

As the England boss prepares to name his squad tomorrow, the Wrexham Supporters' Trust member said: "Dennis is a big hero at the club and there are also two other former Wrexham players in the T&T side - Carlos Edwards and Hector Sam. To see these guys become the first Wrexham players to ever compete at the World Cup is amazing.

"The Dennis T-shirts have been selling like hot cakes here. And on the day of the first game we're erecting a giant screen at the club and launching our own beer in honour of Wrexham legends - one's called Benno after Gary Bennett, and the other Tommy, after Tommy Banford - to raise money here. It should be a great atmosphere.

"It would have been great for Wales to be in the finals but this is the next best thing. And they're up against some fantastic sides so it should be great football."


T-shirt makers are just as keen to get behind T&T. Shannon Hope, of YC Sports in Roath, Cardiff, who designed our model's T-shirt, said: "We'd be more than happy to run them up for any Wales football fans wanting to show their support to Trinidad & Tobago. It's great to see people getting enthusiastic about the World Cup even if Wales didn't manage to qualify this time."

It's gone down well with the man himself too.

Geraint Parry, Wrexham FC secretary, said: "Dennis loves this. He thinks the support he's been getting is fantastic. He's become a part of both communities - Wrexham and Trinidad - and his daughter is even learning Welsh.

"So to see this level of support from the people of Wales, and especially Wrexham, has really touched him.

"When Trinidad played Iceland recently he saw several Welsh flags in the crowd and it really buoyed him up."
 

25
Bought this today. Two interesting things: full page ad from the socawarriorstt/visittnt crew - the only ad in the magazine. Plus, on their website, socawarriorstt is a featured link.





26
Football / Birchall signs boot deal
« on: April 28, 2006, 08:30:38 AM »
Source: mad.co.uk | Author: Kerstin Kühn | Published: 28 April 2006 14:30

Football boot manufacturer Joma UK has signed a sponsorship deal with Port Vale and Trinidad and Tobago player Chris Birchall.


The deal will see Birchall wear the company’s Joma Numero 10 boot at this year’s FIFA World Cup in Germany, in which his team faces England on 15 June.

The Joma Numero 10 boot features a distinctive ying-yang design and, along with the brand’s Canibal Pulsar model, will be the flagship boot worn by all international Joma players, who include Brazilian player Ricardinho and Ivan Helgura of Spain.

Joma UK director Steve Chapman said: “we are delighted to become Birchall’s official boot supplier and give our support to a player with the obvious qualities he has. I am sure he will be a great ambassador for Joma, both in domestic football and in the international arena.”

Joma recently signed a four-year kit supplier contract with Premiership football club Charlton Athletic.

The deal extends the current three-year agreement between Joma the club that was reached in 2003 until 2010.

27
Football / World Cup Google Maps Mashup
« on: April 28, 2006, 05:58:44 AM »

28
Football / Why This World Cup Will Be Like No Other
« on: April 28, 2006, 05:08:20 AM »
Extracted from a longish, very well-written article over at Soccerblog.com

Ronaldinho will stamp himself as the greatest player in this World Cup. Lionel Messi will be declared the next Maradona in the making...Brazil will win for a record 6th time and in a way that will make the 2002 World Cup final look pedestrian.

England will enjoy its best finish since World Cup 1966....The Dutch coached teams of Trinidad and Tobago and Australia will show mettle and unselfish teamwork that will make them hard to be beaten but they will be at the nth minute. But the Soca Warriors and the Socceroos will make sure that nary an eyebrow is raised when Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting crush Pakistan and India by a thousand runs and three innings and two thousand and sixty three runs and three and a half innings, respectively. At least for a couple of weeks before Cricket returns as God.

...Africa through Cote D'Ivoire, Togo, Angola, Ghana, and Tunisia will announce a paradigm shift in the way that soccer is played, serving notice that the most serious opposition to Brazilian samba and favela in the years to come will be the makossa, griot , and rai of Western Africa and the Maghreb.

The Czech Republic through MIlan Baros, Pavel Nedved, and Jan Koller will overtake the French duo of Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet in their sharpshooting abilities. Zizou will grit his teeth playing through pain, showing flashes of his brilliant playmaking. But the French will fade. Poland will bring its hooligans. And the US-Poland match will show why El Jogo Bonito is muy dificile for some teams.

Iran wil be the most scrutinized team as every player will be suspected of being radio-active.

Ukraine will impress through Andrei Shevchenko, the one man demolition squad and they should make it to the second round but the Orange revolution will stall.

The US is fourth in the FIFA rankings. This after losing to Germany and drawing with Jamaica. But as they say FIFA-FO-FUM, I smell the blood of a flatterer waiting to deceive. If past matches are any indication then the US will vault over the Czech Republic after being beaten or drawn in their next friendly with Morocco....But maybe after their early World Cup exit, the US team will disappear into the leafy suburbs of Connecticut to play XBox soccer and hakke sack.

And what of the Netherlands? How rude of me to put them at the last minute. The creators of total football. But that way they get attention. And here is hoping that they get there to the top. A Brazil- Netherlands final would be sublime. The Dutch Masters against the Samba Kings.

These are the best 32 teams in soccer that in the World barring a few exceptions and getting there is no mean feat!

29
Football / Tale of Two Teams: Warriors vs Windies Cricketers
« on: April 26, 2006, 03:37:37 PM »
Source: George John in The Express


Amazingly, no one of deviant personality, or otherwise, has yet attempted (I am writing this on Monday afternoon) to scramble on to the bandwagon created by Trinbago's marvellous double triumph on the regional cricket field in the same way we reacted to the World Cup soccer performance.

It might be argued that this would be like comparing a bikini costume seen in a Port of Spain Carnival band with a trikini (sunhat, sunglasses and sandals) spotted on the beach at Ipanema.

The Ipanema performance, most polls might suggest, would win a wider audience just as internationally football does over cricket. For soccer is played in the four corners of the earth and in between, while cricket is confined to countries with a British Commonwealth inheritance.

And even though the people of Trinidad and Tobago love their cricket, chances are numerically they are more addicted to Carnival, bikini costume and all, from jouvert to last lap.

Yet we cannot deny we are a cricketing country, more rural these days than urban. But the players are there and the grounds are there and the play's the thing.


There remains, however, something uncanny about the vast silence in the wake of this country's triumph in the Carib Beer Championship that has come on top of the triumph in the knockout series. A plus, of course. Trinidad, once the kingpin of West Indies cricket (remember Constantine, the Stollmeyers, "Beef" Grell, Prior Jones and Lance Pierre and Tyrell Johnson, Andy Ganteaume) had not won the championship for 25 years.

We made a loud noise when our footballers returned from Bahrain not with the World Cup in hand, for we have to wait till June to see if we are going to win it but with enough prestige to link us up with soccer playing stars from Brazil, England, Germany, Spain and other countries.

Reception followed reception, Prime Minister Manning and CONCACAF's Jack Warner came close to playing "hansy pansy'' in public, and if the crowds had had their way each player would have been awarded on the spot the Trinity Cross, a lot of land in an exclusive area and with a house on it.


By contrast there was no such display of national rejoicing when our cricketers finished their mopping up of Barbados at Guaracara Park. Granted the crowd erupted and the players joined in circling the playing field when the last run was scored.

But nothing since and it may have something to do with the lack of a national identification gimmick of the kind that has been associated with our footballers.

Our national footballers have come to be known as the "Soca Warriors". With each new triumph on the soccer field the title has won greater prominence. I suppose one may now say it anywhere and the hearer would know the talk is about Trinidad and the subject football.

The slogan has given players and public the sort of rallying cry that encourages enthusiasm on and off the field and indeed unites people who may be opponents politically or in employer-employee relationships in the work place.


"Soca Warriors" has so embedded itself into the society at large that when the team returned home from Bahrain a feeble attempt was made by one who should have known better to propose incorporation of "Chutney", our other major music source, into the title. This nincompoop suggested our soccer players should be known as the "Chutney Soca Warriors", or perhaps it was the "Soca Chutney Warriors.

Nobody of any consequence took him on. But the fellow might well try again using the regional cricket triumph as encouragement to turn his attention to the gentleman's game to bring himself back under the spotlight.

There was a time when West Indies cricket ruled the world, not merely winning but playing the game with spirit and enthusiasm and skill, whereupon English cricket writers dubbed our men calypso cricketers who played calypso cricket.

West Indies cricket is at this time toeing the line that leads to anything but soca, or chutney or calypso cricket. We can't find a way to negotiate the passage between the predatory sponsors. Perhaps if we decided to hail our future Test teams "Chutney Batters and Bowlers" the players might realise what stupidees they are making of themselves.

30
Football / TnT: Dynamite or Damp Squib?
« on: April 26, 2006, 12:49:01 PM »
Source: Who Ate All The Bratwurst


World Ranking 47

How they qualified

Dramatically.  The CONCACAF three-round qualifying system is fairly complicated so to cut a long story short, they needed to beat Mexico in their last match to finish fourth in the table and managed to pull off a shock 2-1 win.  That set up a play-off with Bahrain.  Port Vale's English-born Chris Birchall scored a spectacular equaliser in the home leg, while Wrexham defender Dennis Lawrence scored the only goal in the away leg to book the Soca Warriors' place at the finals.

World Cup history

They have none.  First-time qualifiers.

Star man

Coventry City's Stern John scores all the goals, but its a rejuvenated Dwight Yorke who pulls all the strings and provides the inspiration.  Yorke is a national legend.  His impact on the players around him is akin to the extra incentive the current England squad would have if Bobby Moore was playing alongside them.  Yorke returned from international retirement to captain the side during the qualifying campaign.  He has recently been playing in midfield for Sydney FC giving manager Leo Beenhakker an extra option.  The 34-year-old has been training with Manchester United to improve hit fitness for the World Cup since the Australian A-League season ended and has been linked with a move to Luton Town.

Strengths

Probably lots of underdog support from the Germans, especially against England.

The inspirational Dwight Yorke.

Weaknesses

A squad that would basically be a decent League One team in England.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation won't let a World Cup get in the chance of a good feud if the opportunity arises.
  :-[

Did you know?

Chris Birchall is the first white player to represent Trinidad and Tobago for 60 years.

Odds 1500-1 (www.bluesq.com)

Verdict

Rank outsiders as those odds suggest.  Group whipping boys you would think, but the Trinidad & Tobago spirit could carry them through.  Team unity is often as important as any amount of skill in these major tournaments.  Remember Jamaica's win against Japan in 1998?  Trinidad and Tobago will be out to emulate their Caribbean neighbours and at least record a win.  With so many English-based and born players the Soca Warriors will have even more to play for against England.

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