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31
Jokes / Something to Offend Everyone!
« on: October 31, 2005, 12:58:01 PM »
What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball?
>>Juan on Juan

What is a Yankee?
>>The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone.

What is the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?
>>The position of the dirt bag

Why is divorce so expensive?
>>Because it's worth it.

What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?
>>Doughnuts

Why is air a lot like sex?
>>Because it's no big deal unless you're not getting any.

What do you call a smart blonde?
>>A golden retriever.

What do attorneys use for birth control?
>>Their personalities.

What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?
>>10 years and 45 lbs

What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?
>>45 minutes

What's the fastest way to a man's heart?
>>Through his chest with a sharp knife.

Why do men want to marry virgins?
>>They can't stand criticism.

Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good-looking?
>>Because those men already have boyfriends.

What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
>>After a year, the dog is still excited to see you

What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying? The
>>same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving.

Why don't bunnies make noise when they have sex?
>>Because they have cotton balls.

What's the difference between a porcupine and BMW?
>>A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant?
>>"Are you sure it's mine?"

Why does Mike Tyson cry during sex?
>>Mace will do that to you.

Why did OJ Simpson want to move to West Virginia?
>>Everyone has the same DNA.

Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
>>Breasts don't have eyes.

Why do drivers' education classes in Redneck schools use the car only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?
>>Because on Tuesday and Thursday, the Sex Ed class uses it.

Where does an Irish family go on vacation?
>>A different bar.

Did you hear about the Chinese couple that had a retarded baby? They
>>named him "Sum Ting Wong".

What would you call it when an Italian has one arm shorter than the other?
>>A speech impediment.

What does it mean when the flag at the Post Office is flying at half-mast?
>>They're hiring.

What's the difference between a southern zoo and a northern zoo?
>>A southern zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the cage along with... "a recipe".

How do you get a sweet little 80-year-old lady to say the F word?
>>Get another sweet little 80-year-old lady to yell *BINGO*!

What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale?

>>A northern fairytale begins "Once upon a time ." -A southern fairytale begins "Y'all ain'tgonnabelievethisshit....

Why is there no Disneyland in China?
>>No one's tall enough to go on the good rides

32
Football / World Cup tickets sell out
« on: October 12, 2005, 08:17:16 PM »
Just went on FIFA website to book my World Cup tickets for the first 2 rounds in Germany and they sold out!!  Somebody help meh!!  Where can I get match tickets?

33
Football / Who should start at right back tomorrow?
« on: October 11, 2005, 10:02:19 PM »
Spann's suspension must be giving Beenie serious headaches right about now.  We need to be extremely tight in the back in the game, we can't afford to concede anything because goals are never easy to come by against Mexico.
I found it very interesting how Beenie decided to play Spann at right back even though he is a natual center midfielder.  It tells me that he doesn't have much confidence in the others in this role.
Here are the options in my opinion:

1. Atiba - had the position locked down at one point and was doing quite well with it.  From all acounts he played well against Costa Rica, Panama and in the away match to Mexico.  But he hasn't been the same since Beenie benched him for Cyd in the Gold Cup.  He looked poor 1st half against the US and didn't even make the final 18 in the last game.  Is he in the Dog house?  Unfit? Out of form?  Only Beenie knows.

2. Cyd Gray - Performance in the Gold Cup led to many creative smart comments on this board, but he has managed to stick around the team even if only because of injuries to Sancho and Cox.  This man must be a practice field galatico for Beenie to stick with him.  Just doesn't seem to have the mental toughness to handle pressure which makes him a huge risk to play in this must win game.

3. Pierre - Natural centerback hasn't played for T&T for what seems like an eternity.  Can't see him starting now.

4. Birchall - Seems to possess some of the same qualities as Spann which could enable him to make the transition to right back for this game - fighting spirit, good tackling ability, decent passer, ability to interchange with Edwards on the right side and push forward, cross etc.  The only problem is we need a ball winner/hustler in the middle with Yorke and I'm not convinced that Whitely or Theobald would be as effective in this role.

5. Edwards - Can play the right back position effectively as he has done for his club before but his creativity and attacking instincts are probably needed more in the attacking half as we need to score goals to win.  I would keep him in his natural position or play him as right wing back if we switch to 3-5-2.

6. Jones - Played an effective right wing back in the early part of the campaign but hasn't played or trained in that position for about a year.  May be too difficult to make that transition now.  Besides we need his attacking instincts up front even if its only as a 2nd half sub.  His height could create havoc in the Mexican defense.

Who is it going to be?

34
Football / T&T pull it off.
« on: October 09, 2005, 08:52:16 AM »
T&T pull it off.
By: Shaun Fuentes.
[/size]

The sounds of iron and the bliss of white overtook the Estadio Rommel Fernandez Stadium at around 9:50pm on Saturday night as Stern John's 62nd minute winner  gave Trinidad and Tobago's senior footballers a hard earned 1-0 win over Panama and kept the Warriors' dreams of a place in Germany 2006 alive.
The game turned out to be, as expected, a gruelling one for skipper Dwight Yorke and his men on a slushy surface but the never say die attitude once again crept into T&T's play and they pulled off the win to move to 10 points, two ahead of Guatemala which lost 5-2 away to Mexico.
John made no mistake shooting home from inside the box after Leo Beenhakker introduced Kenwyne Jones who was heavily involved in the play leading to the goal. Panama pressed too and forced T&T on the backfoot, particularly in the first half. John also missed a close chance after the break.
Those results now mean that T&T can go through to the playoffs if Guatemala lose outright or draw at home to Costa Rica on Wednesday. But the safest thing now would be a win for T&T over Mexico at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
"It's definitely a win for the nation as you can see our fans were here most present tonight," Yorke said after the win. He had'nt even left the field yet as he was able to put an even bigger smile on his face on learning the result in Mexico.
"It means now that we have it all to play for and a win will seal it for us. It's an amazing feeling for the guys to keep this momentum going with such a hard win tonight and now it's just up to us to seal it on Wednesday against the Mexicans," Yorke said.
Goalscorer John was pleased but the look on his face could tell that it was a difficult night in Panama City.
"I know you think I miss too many chances before I score," he told TTFF Media as he out his T&T wristband on in the dressing room after the win. "But football is 90 minutes and the score at the end of it is what matters."
T&T head coach Leo Beenhakker added "I've under this pressure for 40 years so I'm used to it," referring obviously to how tense the evening turned out.
"It's a good win for us. Let's get it on against the Mexicans now," he added.
The T&T team rushed off to the Riande Aeropuerto Hotel for dinner and then take the three-minute drive to the airport to join the band of T&T fans on the BWIA charter flight home.

Up-Close with Touches.
Warriors time to vibes it up.
By: Shaun Fuentes.
[/size]

“Yes!! Vibes it up fellas”
That’s the line which came repeatedly from midfielder Russell Latapy in the dressing room moments after this country’s hardfought 1-0 victory over Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez on Saturday night which kept the “Warriors” right in the race for fourth spot in the 2006 World Cup qualifying bid.
“I like how we vibes them up. Now is time to vibes it up again on Wednesday. The whole country have to vibes it up,” Latapy continued as he and the rest of the team embraced Saturday’s win but it was obvious that they knew the task was far from completed with Wednesday’s next crucial match up against Mexico on their minds. There were the obvious smiles and  shake hands but it was not a case of over celebrating as the team boarded the BWIA charter flight with the fans which landed at Piarco International Airport at 6am on Sunday following the three-hour direct flight on which FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, President George Maxwell Richards and other TTFF officials also traveled. Richards also walked down the aisle to greet the players moments after the flight left the ground on its way back to Trinidad.
Latapy’s “Vibes it up” line has been echoed by his teammates during the one week live in camp in Panama and is one they have adopted as they go about their preparations both on and off the pitch on the “Journey to Germany” campaign.
The sounds of Iron from Laventille Rhythm Section and Woodbrook Playboys and the radiance of the T&T fans and players in white overtook the venue at around 9:50 pm on Saturday night as Stern John's 62nd minute winner sealed the three points.
The game turned out to be, as expected, a grueling one for skipper Dwight Yorke and his men on a slushy surface but the never say die attitude once again crept into T&T's play and they pulled off the win to move to 10 points, two ahead of Guatemala which lost 5-2 away to Mexico.
John made no mistake shooting home from inside the box after Leo Beenhakker introduced Kenwyne Jones who was heavily involved in the play leading to the goal. Panama pressed too and forced T&T on the backfoot, particularly in the first half. John also missed a close chance after the break.
Those results now mean that T&T can go through to the playoffs if Guatemala lose outright or draw at home to Costa Rica on Wednesday. But the safest thing now would be a win for T&T over Mexico at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
"It's definitely a win for the nation as you can see our fans were here most present tonight," Yorke told TTFF Media after the win. He hadn’t even left the field yet as he was able to put an even bigger smile on his face on learning the result in Mexico.
President George Maxwell Richards meeting the team on the flight back home.
"It means now that we have it all to play for and a win will seal it for us. It's an amazing feeling for the guys to keep this momentum going with such a hard win tonight and now it's just up to us to seal it on Wednesday against the Mexicans," Yorke said.
Goalscorer John was pleased but the look on his face could tell that it was a difficult night in Panama City.
"I know you think I miss too many chances before I score," he told TTFF Media as he out his T&T wristband on in the dressing room after the win. "But football is 90 minutes and the score at the end of it is what matters. This  goal was also for ‘Blacks’ (Mickey Trotman) because I dedicated my left foot to him when he died and the goal came from that side tonight.”
T&T head coach Leo Beenhakker added "I've under this pressure for 40 years so I'm used to it," referring obviously to how tense the evening turned out.
"It's a good win for us. Let's get it on against the Mexicans now," he added.
Yorke continued: “It certainly put us in a good stead. It wasn’t easy out there for sure. We came and did the job that was required. It wasn’t pretty at times. As we say in football sometimes it doesn’t always have to be pretty but the result is what’s important. It was important because you always tend to look for guidance and you tend to look up to senior players which is what  I think myself and Russell and some of the other guys have been able to do. They all knew exactly what we need to do which was a professional job despite the conditions of the pitch.”
The Sydney FC captain added that he has seen ongoing growth in the team since he returned to the line up in February for the opening match of the final round against the United States.
“The team is certainly grown from the time I joined it over  a period of four months. You can see that there is a good spirit among the players and good understanding as well. Everyone wants to achieve the same thing. Results give you confidence and we proved that tonight. The important thing is the team is going in the right direction. Everyone who has been around the team as you have been will see how good the spirit is and that means that you don’t always have to have all the talent but there are people who are willing to run the extra mile and do things for others that can take you a long way,” Yorke added.
The players checked in to the Crowne Plaza on Sunday morning and had the day to themselves before assembling again at 4:30pm before training half hour later at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

35
Football / Bravado from Panama
« on: October 05, 2005, 10:13:05 PM »
Ian Prescott
Trinidad Express


ONCE they realised I was from Trinidad and Tobago, the Panamanian footballers sent a message-via a barrage of Spanish lingo and familiar hand gestures.
You don't have to understand the language to know what he was saying. I understood.
Once he started, many of his teammates soon joined in. But, it was all in fun and we all had a good laugh.
What was clear though was that the Panamanian players were sending a message that they are coming to beat Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday night at the Estadio Rommell Fernandez.
While T&T trained at the National Stadium where baseball is played, the Panama coach, Colombian Jose Hernandez, had his players in more serious mode as they trained in a subdued atmosphere at the match venue, the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium.
The Panamanians had a very low-keyed training session. Now they are virtually eliminated from qualification, there were no fans  to see the team train at the Rommel Fernandez at 9.30 p.m. yesterday morning.
Except for two athletes using the track, the only persons on hand were the Panamanian Federation´s press officer and one Spanish television crew. In a nation which is crazy for baseball, almost nothing is mentioned about the game in the press. Yesterday, the ticket counter was closed, and there is a feeling the Estadio Fernandez may not be full for the match.
Built only in the mid 1990´s, the 25,000-seater did not look like a well kept facility.  Old concrete benches line the stadium which was named after  Rommel Fernandez, who played with Valencia and Tenerife in Spain and was the first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe. Some think he was their best ever player.
He played his  last match for Panama on August 23, 1992 in Costa Rica. On May 6, 1993, he lost control of his car on the highway and hit a tree, sadly dying in the accident.
Yesterday, Fernandez's squad included some familar faces such as blonde midfielder Julio Medina and the Daly Valdez brothers. However, they were not in the squad which Panama announced. The squad also seems to include several young players who may be playing international football for the first time.

36
General Discussion / Crix selling on Amazon.com
« on: October 03, 2005, 04:38:07 PM »
Click here for some vital supplies



37
Football / Beenhakker: We're ready for Panama
« on: October 01, 2005, 06:17:40 AM »
Ian Prescott
Trinidad Express


NATIONAL coach Leo Beenhakker has arranged for a coach attached to the Dutch Football Federation to have a look at the match between Uzbekestan and Bahrain, one of the teams Trinidad and Tobago could face in a playoff for a place in the 2006 World Cup if they secure fourth-place in the CONCACAF zone.
Dutchman Beenhakker has also made an arrangement with Dutch television to tape the Asian qualifier.
But at the same time, the T&T coach said at the moment the most important game of his whole career is Trinidad and Tobago's next World Cup encounter against Panama, scheduled for October 8.
Beenhakker said that while the CONCACAF versus Asian Zone playoff is in the back of his head, the immediate task is to beat Panama next Saturday and then play well at home against Mexico on October 12 and so capture CONCACAF's fourth qualifying spot.
The fourth qualifier from CONCACAF and the fourth from Asia will meet in November for a place in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Against Panama, Beenhakker said he expects both a tough and very open game, but is confident of getting the positive result that Trinidad and Tobago need.
"We are both more on the same level. We are, of course, playing on the same way and, of course, my friend and colleague from Panama may use some other players now because they are out of qualification...perhaps some young players."
But even if Panama use an inexperienced squad, Beenhakker said that young players on national service for the first time will give their all, and so he is expecting a test in Panama.
He, however, has said they are prepared for Panama.
"We did our homework. We know exactly what we want to do and how we want to play against Panama. Last time, I also had plans and then there was the injury to Kenwyne Jones and Brent Rahim."
Beenhakker said he will be looking to this weekend's matches in the United States, England and Scotland, hoping that his players avoid injury, before finalising his plans.
He reported that he is happy with his team since the return of Russell Latapy, but hinted that the comeback of the "Little Magician" presents its own problems defensively.
Beenhakker said he has asked some of the other players such as Aurtis Whittley and Chris Birchall to make the adjustment by trying much harder to win back the ball.
"I am happy with the return of Russell Latapy, but at the same time, it's difficult to get a balanced team with Russell and Dwight in the midfield.
"The good thing is that Dwight understands that with Russell in the midfield, he has to do a lot more of the bad stuff, getting the ball back and so on."
Overall, Beenhakker said he has enjoyed his stint with the Trinidad and Tobago team. He is pleased with the attitude of the players in training, and within the training camp.
He said that had they had three months together to train, they would be a better team. But given just the three days they usually have together, the players were doing as best as they can.

38
Football / MLS action Cornell vs Avery
« on: September 21, 2005, 09:05:50 PM »
Crew 1- Revs 1
Cornell bench whole game and Avery wasn't even listed in the squad  :-\...hope he's not injured  ???

39
Football / Chinese club holds up Glasgow transfer
« on: September 19, 2005, 10:01:29 PM »
BY NIGEL SIMON

The transfer of out-of-favour national striker Gary Glasgow from Chinese club Gaungzhou FC to local pro-club National Quarries North East Stars was not completed when the T&T Professional Football League transfer window closed on Thursday.
This was so because Glasgow’s former owners seems reluctant to respond to the request of Stars’ owner Darryl Mahabir.
Contacted yesterday, an upset Mahabir said that Glasgow would not be able to play for his club when the First Citizens’ Bank Cup kicks of today because his transfer documents from China were not processed.
“It’s a very sad situation, because the guy just wants to play football and it looks as though they are keen on denying him a chance to earn a living.
In addition to Glasgow, Stars were also awaiting the international transfer clearance to complete the deals of Walter Moore of Guyana, who now plays in Suriname, and striker Jaffar Munroe of Montserrat.
The trio were the only players among eight whose transfers were not completed when the extended deadline closed on Thursday.
The PFL had originally given September 14 as the transfer deadline, but because the clubs were only awaiting the international transfer clearances a decision was taken to extend the deadline.
Stars will still be able to sign the trio once their papers are forwarded to the T&T Football Federation and then to the PFL.
The other local clubs mainly, CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, Tobago United and Caledonia, all managed to get deals for internationals players completed.
Jabloteh completed the signing of talked-about Jamaican midfielder Keith Kelly from top Jamaican club, Arnett Gardens, while Tobago had its request for transfers of Nigerian players Aminu Erinle, 22, and Samsideen Olutunji Quadri, 21, from the Football Academy of Lagos confirmed.
Caledonia AIA/Fire acquired striker Oneke Forde of Jamaica’s Sporting Central and Stephan David of Indiana FC in the USA.

List of Foreigners in T&T PFL and Clubs attached to

San Juan Jabloteh: Nicholas Addlery, Keith Kelly (Jamaica), Nigel Codrington, Devaughn Dummett (Guyana).

Caledonia AIA/Fire: Titus Elva (St Lucia), Kayode Mc Kinnon (Guyana), Stephan David (USA), Oneke Forde (Jamaica).

North East Stars: Melvin Andrews, Kendall Velox (St Vincent), Howard Lowe, Charles Pollard, Kelvin Mc Kenzie, Travis Waterton, Walter Moore (Guyana), Jaffar Munroe (Montserrat).

Tobago United: Aminu Erinle, Samsideen Olutunji Quadri (Nigeria)

W Connection: Jason Cudjoe (USA), WIlliam Silva De Olliveira, Gefferson Goulart, Jose Luis Seabra, Ronaldo Viana (Brazil), Alejandro Figueroa (Colombia), Earl Jean, Elijah Joseph (St Lucia), Randolph Jerome (Guyana), Christopher Harvey (Jamaica), Iyiaka Stanley (Nigeria)

40
Football / Update: CONCACAF Hexagonal, Round 7 & 8
« on: September 14, 2005, 12:01:12 PM »
by Peter Goldstein

ROUND SEVEN

USA-Mexico
[/b]

    For once, we're not going to talk about Ricardo LaVolpe here… actually, we are. Because he chose not to call in Cuauhtémoc Blanco for the big game, and that deserves some comment.
    I sort of like LaVolpe. (Mexican fans are getting out their slingshots.) Although occasionally his personnel choices are a bit odd, he's tactically astute and in general committed to attacking football. He knows how to develop young talent, and knows the value of depth at every position. Mexico's success in the qualifiers, and the strong performance at the Confederations Cup, are a fair reflection of his good work with the Tri.
    But Ricky baby, listen. You don't leave Blanco off against the USA. No, he doesn't like you very much, and yes, his emotional age is about seven, and yes, after being left out last time he claimed you "didn't have the trousers" to pick him. (Are those plaids or checks?) But to snub him for the biggest game on the schedule, where a win will qualify you for the World Cup, is just plain wrong. He's your most creative player. He's in great form in the league. He's done marvelous service for the team over the years. You don't diss him like that. You swallow your pride, get some new pairs of trousers, and stick him in the lineup. If he succeeds, you're a winner. If he bombs, that's his affair. (And as it turned out, Blanco couldn't have done much worse than the guys you played.)
    Bruce Arena definitely has big trousers, but that's only because he's gained about 30 pounds in the last 6 months. I'm not sure why; I mean, it's not like he's under any pressure. Soccer is so unimportant in the USA that for a while the game of the year wasn't going to be on live English-language TV. It seemed that ESPN preferred to show the Billy Conn vs. Joe Louis boxing match, tape delay from 64 years ago. Eventually they sorted it out, with Arena sagely noting that you're not going to grow the game here unless the fans themselves step up. Of course, he also said "Mexico is certainly and arguably our biggest rival," but we don't pay him to teach English.
    Oh, I almost forgot--here's a summary of the traditional pregame trashtalking. Jared Borgetti: blah blah blah. Landon Donovan: blah blah blah. Alexi Lalas: BLAH blah. Ricardo LaVolpe: blah BLAH. American fans: blah blah %@$*&# blah! Mexican fans: ¡blah blah tu madre blah blah! Thank you and good night.
    Eventually the players went out and played 90 minutes, but all you needed to know was the starting lineups. Arena put Chris Armas and Claudio Reyna in central midfield, showing he wasn't much concerned about scoring. LaVolpe started a back four with Maza Rodríguez and Carlos Salcido as fullbacks, and put both Gerardo Torrado and Gerardo Galindo in midfield, showing he wasn't much concerned about scoring either. Which meant set pieces would decide the game, and the USA would win.
    And the script played out perfectly. The Yanks dominated the first 20 minutes, using pressure high up the field to disrupt Mexico's equilibrium, but never got near the goal. Then Rafa Márquez moved out of the back line into midfield, and the Tri took control, and even managed a few passing combinations, but never got near the goal either. The only real chance of the half came in stoppage time, on (what else?) a free kick, when Kasey Keller dove low to his right to rob Ramón Morales.
    Meanwhile the game was getting, shall we say, rough. Carlos Batres had obviously decided to let the teams bump and grind a bit, but it was the wrong decision. Frankie Hejduk could have picked up at least three yellow cards in the first half. Márquez did get a booking, but it took two bad fouls to catch Batres' attention. These teams don't need an excuse to get physical with each other, but with that kind of encouragement, it was West Side Story all over again.
    And so to the second half, and the inevitable set-piece goals. The first was as scrappy as the rest of the action. In the 53rd minute, Eddie Lewis curled in a free kick from 30 yards out on the right, and Goliath One (Rodríguez) and Goliath Two (Onyewu) went up for it. They crashed, and the ball bounced off someone's head and found the inside of Oswaldo Sánchez' right post. It ricocheted across the goalmouth, and Steve Ralston headed into the open net for the easiest goal of the tournament. Replays weren't definite on who made first contact--but for the record, if it was Onyewu, the goal was offside. Hey, if you want artistry, go to Carnegie Hall.
    Or the USA Soccer Training Ground Symphony Orchestra, which four minutes later performed a little masterpiece, Corner Kick From The Right. Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley hovered over the ball like secretaries chatting at the office watercooler. Beasley played it short to Donovan, and casually slipped around Galindo into space on the right side in the area. Donovan fed Reyna, who pinpointed the ball to Beasley, who stopped it neatly with his right and finished oh-so-sweetly with his left. It was like a Mozart melody dropped into a concerto for jackhammers. Mexico was beaten, and all that was left was some virtuoso body-banging. The only highlight of the final half hour was a horrific stand-up studs-up shot by Duilio Davino on Beasley, which the entire population of Mexico admitted deserved a straight red. Batres gave him yellow.
    The man of the match was, fittingly, Onyewu, who had subdued Borgetti with a combination of muscle and more muscle. The Yanks were in, the Tri would have to wait a few days, and the Mexican press lambasted the coach, the players, the federation, and everything else up to and including the Copernican theory of the solar system. LaVolpe on the USA: "They're a little team." Donovan on Mexico: "They suck." Aren't sports supposed to build character?

Costa Rica-Panama

    In case you missed it, Panama qualified for a Mundial last week--in basketball, their first time in 20 years. Meanwhile, the baseball team, a traditional power, continued play in the World Championships in the Netherlands. But as we know, the football team's prospects weren't so rosy, and the tension was getting to the locals. A couple of days before the game, as Costa Rican reporters waited for Panama to finish a closed-door practice, they were accosted by a bunch of hulking, threatening Panamanians, demanding to know what they were doing there. One reporter, afraid for his life, hid behind a car and dialed the police and the local press. A full-scale international incident seemed in the offing--when it came out the whole thing was a, instigated by a television show. A prank? What do they do down there when they're upset, stack up the tire irons?
    Oh well, there was always the travel report. Last time the globetrotter was Jaime Penedo, jetting around Europe in search of a club. (He finally settled for the Spanish second division.) This time it was Luís Tejada, who was playing in the United Arab Emirates, and discovered that his team wouldn't let him go in time to practice for the game against Costa Rica. This was blatantly against FIFA regulations, but sheikhs have, well, a lot of money, and you know what that means. Despite vehement protests by Cheché Hernández and company, Tejada couldn't get there until the day before the game, setting world and Olympic records for jet lag.
    Alexandre Guimaraes had a striker problem too, since Paulo Wanchope was suspended. He chalked up a few frequent flyer miles himself, bringing Winston Parks all the way in from Russia, but eventually went with centerforward Álvaro Saborio, on a hot streak for Saprissa. Last time Parks was hauled around the world and left on the bench for 90 minutes, he quit the team. Would he get into the game this time?
    Not that it mattered early on. After 10 minutes or so of jockeying, Panama revved up the attack, and Costa Rica's strikers were marooned on the other side of the field. Ricardo Phillips was operating effectively in the middle, Tejada was dropping back to set up play, right back Luís Moreno was getting forward consistently, and we were treated to some nice ball-on-the-carpet rotation. Crosses were looking scary, too, with Jorge Dély Valdés heading one against the crossbar in the 17th minute. The CR back line was off-balance, with Luis Marín and Gilberto Martínez making surprising errors of judgment; eventually Guimaraes yanked midfielder Christian Bolaños for an extra defender, Michael Umaña.
    But Panama just couldn't get it right. Maybe it was the sand in Tejada's shoes, maybe Julio Medina's absence through suspension, maybe the thousands of tico fans who were outshouting the marea roja, maybe just the long long qualifying haul that had been so glorious and yet so frustrating. But they were just enough off their game to make the difference. The last ball was always wrongly struck, or wrongly judged, or wrongly planned. Dély Valdés should have done better on that crossbar shot. Moreno should have been more precise with his crosses. And so on.
    A sequence in the 36th minute told the tale. After a rare Costa Rica attack fizzled, Tejada got the ball all the way out at the center line, fought off Jervis Drummond, and passed on the right to a racing Moreno. It looked like a clear breakaway, with Ángel Rodríguez and Ricardo Phillips dashing into space on the center and left respectively. Moreno sent the ball low for Rodríguez, just out of his reach, but it still ran on to Phillips unmarked. He had the keeper alone, but before he could shoot he somehow ran completely past the ball, and had to retreat. So when he finally got the shot off, a defender was in the way. The ball rebounded toward the byline, and Phillips made a remarkable effort to get there first and poke it into the area for Tejada, who had sprinted to catch up with the play. From six yards out Tejada volleyed with his left foot--over the bar.
    So you knew what was coming. In the 44th minute, with the attack in abeyance, and not much happening, CR's Roy Miller crossed from deep for Saborio. He tried to chest it forward to Jafet Soto, and the ball caromed off Felipe Baloy and right back to him. Whereupon he blasted from the top of the arc, and Penedo's fingertips weren't enough to keep it out.
    The rest was a formality. Only six minutes into the second half, Soto lobbed one over the backline for Saborio, who knocked it down for Walter Centeno's nifty finish. Rónald Gómez got the third with on a powerful first-time shot from a counterattack. The boys in red never stopped coming, and Dély Valdés got one in the 90th minute, but it was no consolation whatsoever.
    It hadn't exactly been classic CR football, but goals win games, and you couldn't argue with the three fine strikes. It was a priceless road win, the first in the Hexagonal by anyone other than the USA and Mexico. And no, I haven't forgotten--Winston Parks got in for the final 17 minutes, and said he was happy. As for Panama, silence. You play your best, and sometimes it's not enough. As La Prensa noted, it's not a tragedy. Hurricane Katrina is a tragedy. But we follow the game for the joy it brings, and so we honor the pain as well.

Guatemala-Trinidad & Tobago

    Guatemalan reporters love to follow their team close up: what time they awake, what they eat, when they go swimming and what stroke they use, etc., etc. So, courtesy of Siglo XXI, we learned all sorts of fascinating stuff about the flight to T&T. For example, when the team travels by commercial airline, there's a lottery for who gets to sit in first class with the technical staff and star Carlos Ruiz. This time around, Gonzalo Romero and Pando Ramírez drew the lucky numbers. Meanwhile, back in coach, Rigoberto Gómez took out his laptop and Mynor Dávila watched the movie Troy on DVD. Brothers Elmer and Selvyn Ponciano got to sit together, but Edwin Villatoro and Paulo Cesar Motta had to sit next to fans. The pilot joked that they were waiting for Leo Beenhakker's clearance to land in Port-of-Spain, then teased Romero about his "airplane" goal celebrations. Can your heart stand it?
    When Guatemala touched down, they found the city festooned with banners and flags in red, white, and black. Independence Day in Trinidad and Tobago--but more likely they were celebrating the return of Russell Latapy. Who's Russell Latapy, you ask? Only the Little Magician. Only the twistiest, cleverest midfielder ever to put on a T&T shirt. Only the 37-year-old player-coach at Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League. Only the guy who, along with Dwight Yorke, abandoned the team during the 2002 qualifiers…oops. But when the prodigal son returns, you open your arms, especially if you're a team desperately in need of the one thing he can provide, creativity in midfield. Beenhakker warned that Latapy didn't have a spot sewn up, that he'd have to look at him in practice--but one look was all he needed. Latapy was in, with the number 10 shirt to boot.
    Stern John was in too, by the way. Yes, that Stern John, The Most Unpopular Man in the Caribbean, Hexagonal and Gold Cup statistics as follows:

Games:                        9
Goals:                        1
Chances Missed:               67 (approx.)
Swear Words Directed At:      3,436,279 and counting

    Why was he in the lineup? Kenwyne Jones had gone down with an ankle injury, and there wasn't much choice. But as we shall see, the football gods like a joke now and then…
    T&T's first order of business was to avoid an early goal, as against the USA. But as the saying goes, deflections happen. Three minutes in, Brent Sancho took down Carlos Ruiz, and it was free kick time. From fully 35 yards out, Pando Ramírez launched a howitzer, Marvin Andrews thought he might try to block it, and the ball was in the net quicker than you could say "What the…?" Only three minutes later Kelvin Jack's desperate dive barely kept out a shot by Fredy Thompson, and you remembered that last time these teams played, Guatemala had won by four goals.
    But this is a different T&T. Guatemala was playing a 4-5-1, letting the Warriors come at them, and the home side got the upper hand. Latapy, playing mostly out on the left, was tightly marked by Thompson and Elmer Ponciano. But there was plenty of danger from the right, with Carlos Edwards and an overlapping Silvio Spann generating trouble and several good crosses. They even got the ball in the net once, when John headed a Spann cross, Miguel Klee bobbled the shot, and Yorke put in the rebound. But the flag was up, and the tape seemed to indicate he'd been a whisker offside. Rotten luck, but at least you couldn't blame it on Stern John.
    But you could blame almost everything else. He wasn't hustling enough. He got caught offside about a hundred times. And at one point when a defensive error handed him a free shot at goal, he put it wide. When at halftime the score was still 0:1, his best bet was the bench, where he couldn't embarrass himself further.
    As for Latapy, it was odd to find him on the left, because he's a classic number 10. But Beenhakker's sharp enough to know when he's made a mistake. After the interval he put in an extra striker, Jason Scotland, took out midfielder Aurtis Whitley, moved the Little Magician into a more central role, and sat back to watch the show. Only two minutes later Edwards stole the ball on the right and fed Latapy about thirty yards from goal. He homed in on a mesmerized Gustavo Cabrera. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat. He did the Indian rope trick. He sawed a woman in half. He faked to the right, put the ball on his left, and drove it low into the corner. Delirium. They literally had to call out the riot police.
    And now the Warriors were in full cry. Latapy again ran right at the defense, got into the area, and went down--no call. A few minutes later a superb combination between Yorke and Latapy found John, back to goal. He pushed it out for Chris Birchall, who unleashed a tremendous 25-yard shot that forced a magnificent save from Klee. Then a cross from Edwards to the far post, Klee came out wrong, and John, with the net open…missed. Shortly afterwards a rocket from Scotland was blocked by Klee, and John got the rebound…and missed. But it didn't matter, because he had already been called offside. Forget the bench--he needed a witness protection program.
    Still, it seemed even John couldn't keep T&T from taking the lead. But when you go all out in attack, you leave gaps, and in the 61st minute the chapines found them. Cabrera played the ball out of the back to Romero in the center circle, who nodded neatly ahead to Carlos Figueroa. He one-timed it to Ruiz just outside the area to the left of the arc. In his haste Ruiz ran past it, then set himself, let the ball catch up, and delivered a lovely ball to Romero on the right to smash home. This was the Guatemala of the semis, and the win over Panama: cohesive, opportunistic, precise.
    T&T were deflated. The riot police withdrew. Beenhakker sent in yet another striker, Scott Sealy. For John? No, for Spann. Scotland tested Klee with a shot in the box. Then Latapy blasted one from outside the area, and John actually, amazingly, put in the rebound--but was offside. Again. One of the T&T radio announcers, absolutely beside himself, said "get a hairbrush and whack him!" and not in a fun and spanky way, either. The game was winding down, the chances were going Guatemala's way, and John was contemplating plastic surgery. But, as we say, the football gods love a good joke. Did you hear the one about…
    …the 85th minute, when Gustavo Cabrera, possibly having been whacked with a hairbrush, had to come off because his face was bleeding? And about a Guatemala team whose defense, shaky at the best of times, devolved from confusion into anarchy? An unmarked Scotland got possession in the center circle, ran straight down the middle and passed to the right for an equally unmarked Sealy, back to a still unmarked Scotland, a little to the left to a very unmarked Latapy, a lovely step and pass in the area to a thoroughly totally completely unmarked #14 (can't remember right now), and an absolutely perfect strike low inside the far post. Perfect equalizer. Perfect madness. Check the program--who's #14?

Stern John, of course. Our Hero.

    Think the joke's over? Now Cabrera was on the sidelines desperately trying to get back into the game. But the fourth official wouldn't let him, because his uniform was bloody. Victor Hernández had been warming up, and could have gone in, but the coaches wanted Cabrera. The game started again with 11 on 10. Someone made a frantic call to the express laundry for a clean shirt. Two minutes later, Cabrera, clad in pristine white with light blue diagonal stripe, stood on the touchline waving wildly to the ref. But it was too late. Edwards crossed, Thompson cleared weakly, Yorke got there first, beat a defender, flicked to a wide open #14, Stern John, The Greatest Striker Ever, and he delivered the punchline, a textbook chest-trap and volley. Oh, and the ironic afterword: in stoppage time, Carlos Ruiz, the deadliest finisher in CONCACAF, missed an open shot from 6 yards.
    At the final whistle the fans poured onto the pitch, and the riot police whacked them back with hairbrushes. Beenhakker was a genius, Latapy was a sorcerer, Stern John was a god. Ramón Maradiaga, the most reserved of men, who never ever argues with officials, practically had to be restrained. Romero, the last Guatemalan left on the field, answered questions quietly: "It seems like we have no memory…we wanted to win…it looks like we can't stand prosperity…we lost because of our own errors…" We didn't hear much about the flight back.


ROUND EIGHT

Mexico-Panama

    When the schedule first came out, this looked like the logical clinching date for the Tri. Home game against the newcomers, two games to spare, just about the right spot for the big celebration. But a lot of water, and perhaps blood, had passed under the bridge since then. The day before the game, the club executives met and gave their express backing to FA head Alberto de la Torre and coach Ricardo LaVolpe, but it didn't do much to lighten the mood. The Azteca was maybe one-third full, and a lot of work remained to get the fans all the way behind the team for the runup to Germany.
    The game must have helped a bit. LaVolpe started his most attacking lineup in months--only one striker, Jared Borgetti, but attacking midfielders Sinha, Luis Pérez, Ramón Morales, and newcomer Óscar Pérez, plus Gonzalo Pineda at left back--and breezed 5:0. Panama helped out by playing more passively than usual: instead of their standard midfield pressing, they camped in their own end and looked for counterattacks. But that strategy doesn't even work for the USA at the Azteca. Sinha had all day to run at the defense from the inside right channel. Morales kept darting inside from the left wing, creating space for Pineda to overlap. Mexico had maybe 70% of the possession, and from the first few moments it was only a matter of time.
    The time turned out to be a bit longer than expected, mostly because Borgetti was off form and spurning chances. But in the 32nd minute came the breakthrough. Sinha fed Morales, cutting inside as usual, and he sent it to an open Pineda on the left wing. The cross overshot Borgetti, and Felipe Baloy headed out, but Luis Pérez rushed in ahead of the defense, played it off his chest, and struck a superb volley into the far corner.
    The cameras turned to LaVolpe, who didn't bother to smile. In fact, the cameras showed him after each of the remaining four goals--Rafa Márquez' header from a Pardo free kick (55'), Borgetti's PK after Luís Moreno took him down (60'), Kikín Fonseca's header from a Pineda cross (75'), and Pardo's drive from outside the box (76')--and he didn't smile once. I suppose he didn't have a lot to smile about, and a man wearing a tie that ugly should never smile in public, but in such a comprehensive victory you'd have expected a millimeter or two upturn somewhere along the line.
    Anyway, after the game he read an extended statement apologizing for any offense he'd ever given, and calling for support from the public and media, unity among football officials, an end to world hunger, and a better mousetrap. How much he's going to get I don't know, but let's salute the Tri for a successful campaign. They split with the USA, conceded only one draw against the rest of the field, and finished in style. But this is Mexico, so now comes the hard part. Emerging from the executives' meeting, one club president gave LaVolpe his explicit verbal support--then added he expected the team to reach the semifinals in Germany. Buena suerte.

Guatemala-USA

    The chief beneficiary of the USA-Mexico game, besides the medical supply companies, was Guatemala. With the Yanks already in, there was no reason to play the first eleven, and so Arena fielded a B-minus squad, most of whom had been less than stellar at the Gold Cup. But the chapines were still reeling from the disaster in Trinidad, and were missing Carlos Ruiz, who had picked up a silly yellow card late in the match and was suspended. The Guatemalan press, by now impervious to optimism, noted with a straight face that the USA was even more dangerous with substitutes in the lineup. They'd try harder, you see, in order to win a place on the squad. In fact it was anyone's guess how this one would play out.
    And to be honest, it's still anyone's guess. Some games just defy description. The words "stupefyingly awful" come to mind, but that would be unfair: the game was relatively open, the teams got up and down the field on a regular basis, and both sides had genuine chances to win. But somehow it wasn't really football. It was 22 guys who had clearly learned the game at some point in their lives, but had somehow forgotten, and were trying to reconstruct things from memory. For every good pass there was a bad one, for every connection a breakdown, for every intelligent move one which was completely incomprehensible. 0:0 was the only conceivable result. Poster boy was USA keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who made two outstanding saves but had no clue what to do with the ball when he actually had it in his hands. (Note to M.H.: punting it to the other keeper isn't the first option.)
    Guatemala obviously missed Ruiz badly. He's so much more than a scorer: smart, creative, instinctive. Juan Carlos Plata and Mario Acevedo ran around a lot, and hurled themselves at every loose ball, but weren't sure how to construct a scoring move. The one good first-half chance was either brilliance or accident, as a spinning Acevedo somehow turned a cross into the path of an unmarked Plata. Hahnemann bravely came off his line for the body block. The best second-half chance came from a midfielder, Julio Girón, who smashed a poor Chad Marshall clearance toward the top right corner but was himself magnificently denied by Hahnemann. Only at the very end did we see inspiration up front: in the 90th minute sub Edwin Villatoro made a neat diagonal run, took a pass, beat his man, had plenty of space in the area--and hit the post.
    At the other end, the USA attack was mainly good for comedy. A typically leaky Guatemalan defense meant plenty of chances to flub. Jeff Cunningham, open in the box, fired the ball off fellow striker Taylor Twellman. Twellman botched a chest-trap while unmarked in the area, and sent a cross well over the bar from close range. Even the big boys had their problems. Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan got into the game in the second half, and Johnson looked OK after his long layoff. But when after a Guatemalan turnover Donovan sent him a cross for an absolute gimme, he headed wide.
    The play that epitomized the game came in the 38th minute. After a bit of midfield pinball the ball came to Bobby Convey on the left of attack. He undressed Elmer Ponciano one-on-one, but his cross from the side of the area was deflected by a hustling Fredy Thompson. Keeper Miguel Klee misjudged the ball entirely, and his so-called punch defied the laws of physics, somehow managing to float the ball backward toward the goal. Ángel Sanabria made an inspired block on the line, the ball bobbed up in the goal mouth, everyone and his brother converged on it, and Clint Dempsey's clever half-bicycle caromed off Selvyn Ponciano and out for a corner.
    After the game Bruce "One Point On The Road" Arena pronounced himself satisfied, but Bruce would be satisfied with a draw at Montserrat. The USA had more and better chances to win, but with the exception of Hahnemann and maybe Marshall, none of the scrubs really helped themselves. Ramón Maradiaga had very little to be satisfied with. Although the defense figured to be spotty, and the attack a crapshoot without Ruiz, the midfield had done little to help. Fredy Thompson was the best of a dreary lot, but tired toward the end; Gonzalo Romero, who had played well the last two times out, sleepwalked like the rest; Pando Ramírez was so bad he had to be substituted at halftime. Guatemala had missed an unparalleled opportunity to steal a win against the Yanks, and even with a point in their pocket, the repechage seemed miles away.

Costa Rica-Trinidad & Tobago

    This was the tenth game of the tournament between teams not named USA and Mexico--and the very first in which both teams were coming off a victory. Costa Rica had ground down Panama, T&T had scored an inspirational comeback win over Guatemala. How to react?
    Change tactics, of course. (Coaches have too much time on their hands.) With Avery John suspended and Brent Sancho injured, Leo Beenhakker unveiled a new-model 3-5-2, with Ian Cox, Dennis Lawrence, and Marvin Andrews left-to-right across the back, Carlos Edwards at right wingback, and Silvio Spann in an unfamiliar spot at left wingback. A 3-5-2 wasn't a bad idea against a Costa Rica deficient in wingers, and Spann was a decent try at a spot that's been a hole since the qualifiers began. What was strange was the setup in attack. Didn't we just compliment Leo for playing Latapy as a number 10? Well, scratch that, because this time he put Latapy up front alongside Stern John, with Dwight Yorke in the hole behind the strikers. It's true Yorke has played well in attacking midfield, but you can't waste the Little Magician like that. 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 3-4-3, 4-5-1 or whatever, Latapy has to get the ball where he can run at the defense and view the whole field. How much is Beenhakker getting paid?
    Alexandre Guimaraes didn't pull anything so dramatic, but he started his fifth different attacking setup in five games. Paulo Wanchope, back from suspension, was joined by Álvaro Saborio at striker. Behind them, left to right in a line of three, were Alonso Solís, Walter Centeno, and Rónald Gómez. For tico fans this was more like it--all the attackers on the pitch at the same time. Gómez, a left-sided player, may have been a bit out of position on the right, but Solís is left-sided too, and something had to give. At least you knew the team would be going forward.
    And forward they went, dominating the first 20 minutes. It was easily Costa Rica's best stretch since the beginning of the Hexagonal. Solís was dribbling his head off, Centeno providing incisive passes, Saborio sliding in and out to shoot and create, and Gómez doing pretty much everything. Wanchope was still subpar, missing two good chances early, but was getting stuck in where possible. T&T was battling bravely, but were in danger of being overwhelmed.
    As it turned out, they were merely whelmed, but that was enough. In the 15th minute Centeno blocked a Spann pass, Gómez nipped in front of Aurtis Whitley, got the ball, and took off down the right wing. And suddenly the 3-5-2 showed its weakness. Gómez, in absolutely top form, blew by Spann and into the miles of open space. He caught Cox backpedaling, and turned him inside out. He crossed low for Saborio, marked closely by Andrews; the ball caromed off Andrews' foot and Saborio's leg, and into the net. A bit of good fortune, perhaps, but Gómez' sensational run deserved no less.
    Down a goal on the road, on artificial turf, and facing a rampant opponent, T&T could easily have folded. But they didn't, mainly because they too came ready to attack. Spann, Whitley, and Chris Birchall all were getting forward, and soon the Warriors were getting their share of possession. But the attack lacked a leader. Latapy, stranded up front, didn't see the ball enough, and Yorke, having his least effective game in months, couldn't take charge. Still, at the end of the half came two great chances. First, Edwards beat Roy Miller on the right and pulled it back for Birchall just inside the area. He unloosed one of his patented high smashes, but José Francisco Porras was equal to the task, and pushed it over the bar. From the ensuing corner, Lawrence headed at the far post down to John, whose neat overhead kick found Andrews on the doorstep. But somehow Porras was in the right spot again.
    The late T&T surge promised an exciting second half. But it never materialized, because five minutes in Wanchope won a doubtful free kick from 25 yards, and Walter Centeno rifled it over the wall and past a helpless Kelvin Jack. Beenhakker tried the same substitutions that had worked against Guatemala--Jason Scotland for Whitley (with Latapy at last dropping back) and later Scott Sealy for Spann--but no cigar. Up two goals, Costa Rica could concentrate on defense, which they did very well. Mauricio Solís, Jervis Drummond, Luis Marín, and Gilberto Martínez were masters of the pitch, and for the next half hour T&T were thoroughly stymied. Towards the end Costa Rica seemed to tire, and the Warriors finally managed a couple of chances, but Sealy and Scotland both fired wide.
    Costa Rica had taken six points from two games, and were suddenly all but qualified. No one really knew how to take it. The fans, who by the way had done the unthinkable and failed to fill the Saprissa, were appreciative but somewhat short of delirious. The press, pessimistic for so long, lost all perspective--La Nación rated Gómez only a 7, and Wanchope an 8 based entirely on "entrega" (commitment), "despliegue," (display) and "honestidad" (honesty). Hey, this could start a trend. What if you rated, say, airline pilots based on commitment, display, and honesty? T&T wants to know, because their return flight had to make an emergency landing when smoke was detected in the cabin. Even in fifth place, it helps to get home safe.

WHERE WE STAND NOW

    Let's see. USA and Mexico on top, Costa Rica a clear third…couldn't we have phoned this in nine months ago, and saved everyone a lot of trouble?
    But let's give a shout to the USA. In retrospect their rise seems inevitable, but let's not forget that last cycle they barely made it out of the semifinals, and barely made it out of the Hexagonal. The 2:0 win over Mexico in Korea was regarded by many as a fluke, but since then the Yanks have consistently excelled when it counted. They've earned their place at the top. Unless you count 1934, it's the first time the USA has qualified ahead of the rest of CONCACAF. Mexico may be their equal, and there's no reason the Tri can't outstrip them in Germany, but the stars and stripes deserve regional honors this time around.
    Costa Rica remains a bit of an enigma. It's much the same team as four years ago (with the key absence of playmaker Wílmer López), but they don't have the same fire. Guimaraes has pleaded patience, and the team seems to have come round a bit recently. Certainly the goals have been high quality. And if in the early games they needed a bit of luck, so what? At this level everyone needs some luck to succeed. The standings are absolutely correct. They're the third-best team, and that means they go to Germany. At this point in the process you can't ask for anything more. After all, the USA and Mexico stumbled in last time out, and look what happened.
    We've already talked a lot about Panama in this space. It's a real shame they went so meekly at the end. You expect to lose at the Azteca, but 0:5 isn't the legacy you want to leave. Let's see what happens in round 9, home to T&T, where they can play the spoiler's role. If Cheché can get them ready to rage one more time, they may yet wind up feeling good about themselves.
    That leaves Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago, in the mad and marvelous race for fourth place. T&T always gives the effort, rarely gets the results. Guatemala can redeem hours of failure with a moment's brilliance, and ruin hours of good play with a sudden nightmare. What's a football handicapper to do?
    Look at the schedule, I guess. Guatemala has a one-point advantage plus the tiebreaker in hand. I assume they'll lose in round 9 at Mexico. T&T has to go for the win in round 9 at Panama, since they can't expect more than a point home to Mexico in round 10. Guatemala's final game is home to Costa Rica, probably against the second-stringers, so they're at least an even bet for a win.
    So OK, here's my prediction. In round 9, Guatemala will lose at Mexico and T&T will win at Panama. In round 10, in Port-of-Spain, a Dennis Lawrence header off a corner in the dying moments will get T&T a draw against Mexico. That means Guatemala will need to beat Costa Rica. In the 93rd minute, with the score 1:1, Gonzalo Romero will pass to Edwin Villatoro, who will turn and feed Fredy Thompson 8 yards from goal. He'll make a quick move to his left, then to his right, and shoot--and all the lights in the stadium will go out. No one will know if the ball went in. The teams will appeal to FIFA, who will order replays of all 30 games of the Hexagonal, every game Uzbekistan has ever played, and the 1966 Final between England and West Germany. And we'll start all over again…

41
Football / Jones starting today for Southampton
« on: September 10, 2005, 08:28:40 AM »
Harry how injured was he really?  :o

Edwards, Cox and Jack starting too
Birchall and Andrews on de bench

Lawrence, Scotland, Latapy didn't make

42
Football / Warriors return home
« on: September 09, 2005, 11:34:31 PM »
Trinidad Express

The Trinidad and Tobago national football team returned home yesterday after being delayed due to a scare on an American Airlines flight from San Jose on Thursday, following a 2-0 loss away to Costa Rica at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium the night before.
The T&T Warriors' flight had to be diverted to another airfield in Costa Rica for an emergency landing after smoke was detected in the cabin of the plane.
After finally flying out of Costa Rica, the foreign-based T&T players, though, were forced to remain in Miami, USA, yesterday due to the incident, and those based in Great Britain will miss their club matches scheduled for today.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation have written to their respective clubs, explaining the situation.

43
Football / Journey to Germany turns sour
« on: September 08, 2005, 09:49:08 PM »
Fazeer Mohammed

With granulated sugar in short supply, things just had to go sour.
Wednesday night's defeat to Costa Rica leaves Trinidad and Tobago even more heavily reliant on a favourable combination of results over the final two days of qualifying action to make the painfully elusive dream of a place in the World Cup football finals a glorious reality.
It was bad enough that the national team went down 0-2 in San Jose, but for Guatemala to earn a potentially vital point in a goalless home draw with the already qualified United States compounds a dilemma that will, perversely, reassure the skeptical and the faint-hearted that getting all nervous and anxious about the prospect of going to Germany next year is just a waste of energy.
With only the final two series of games to come, there are still a number of permutations to be considered in the desperate scramble for the third automatic qualifying spot in CONCACAF, or a chance to take on either Uzbekistan or Bahrain by finishing fourth in the region and then being involved in a home-and-away playoff in November to claim the 32nd and last place in the finals.
Mexico, who thrashed cellar-placed Panama 5-0 on Wednesday to confirm their qualification, are now shaping up as the team that could make or break the effort to get into the finals.
Before tackling the national team at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on the last day of qualifying on October 12, the Mexicans will be hosting Guatemala four days earlier.
It is demeaning to rely on the slip-ups or inadvertent generosity of others, but at a time when hope is fading fast, long-suffering fans are prepared to accept anything tossed their way.
An emphatic victory by Mexico over the Guatemalans followed by a Trinidad and Tobago triumph against the men in green and white will be enough to get at least fourth spot and a last chance in the playoffs.
All of this assumes that Dwight Yorke's men will hammer the Panamanians when competition resumes four weeks from tomorrow. Given that they are at the bottom of the standings with no realistic chance of getting to the finals, Panama may be lacking in motivation.
The perpetually hopeful will also be trying to convince themselves that the Mexicans will not be as hungry given that they are already through to Germany '06.
Then you have the conspiracy theorists who will be working out how the Central American nations, and by extension their match officials, will help each other out and keep the Trinis off the grand football stage.
Yet rather than worry about what our neighbours are getting up to in their kitchen gardens, we should again be examining why we are once more on the verge of reaping another crop of broken promises.
For all of the high-intensity drama of the late and dramatic rearguard victory over the Guatemalans last Saturday, the setback experienced in Costa Rica once more exposed fundamental weaknesses in the structure of the national team.
Nothing is more glaring than the defensive frailties. Even if the perennial optimists are rushing to point out that T&T had more than their fair share of scoring chances at the Saprissa Stadium, especially through substitute Scott Sealy in the second half, the embarrassing fact remains that the defensive line is hopelessly inadequate.
To say that it was not as bad as in the game against the Americans almost a month ago is hardly any consolation.
A secondary school team's back four could not have played as poorly as the defenders wearing the national colours in East Hartford.
On the bouncy, artificial surface in San Jose, the Costa Ricans' superior ball control in all areas of the field gave them a decisive advantage, especially as they were often allowed to sprint almost unchallenged into the edge of the penalty area before desperate tackling and blocking eventually kept them at bay.
If possession is nine-tenths of the law, then our national team is, like the general citizenry, a lawless bunch, frequently making a gift of the ball to their hosts.
Our continuing reliance to a disproportionate degree on the contribution of one or two key players is haunting us now and will leave us struggling for years to fill the gap when they are gone.
Russell Latapy (will he be back for the last two games?) had his moments, but was not given the room to impose himself to the extent that he did against the Guatemalans.
Dwight Yorke had to forage deeper and deeper into his own half of the field to try to develop something useful, and Stern John could not capitalise on the half-chances that fell to him.
This cyclical ritual of abandoning proper planning and making radical changes for the sake of instant do-or-die results has failed before and is on the verge of failing again.
Given that there is still a flickering hope of qualification, no one of influence at this stage is interested in that sort of talk right now anyway. We all have to shut up, paint our faces and shout "Go team!" or do whatever else we are told should be the way true supporters behave.
Well, at least the trip to San Jose was not a total loss. I understand every returning passenger on the chartered flight was allowed two bags of Costa Rican sugar to sweeten our mood back home.

fazeer2001@hotmail.com

44
Football / Warriors survive terror flight
« on: September 08, 2005, 09:42:07 PM »
By: Ian Prescott

THE real terror was supposed to have been Costa Rica, but Trinidad and Tobago's national footballers got a major scare on their way home from San Jose when their American Airlines flight developed trouble and had to be diverted to another airfield.
Hours after their 2-0 loss to Costa Rica at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium on Wednesday night, the "Warriors" departed San Jose International Airport at 8 a.m. (10 a.m. T&T time) headed for Miami, USA.
But soon after take-off, the AA crew detected smoke in the cabin, after which the captain, John Morrison, made the decision to divert the plane to Liberia on the other side of Costa Rica.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I kindly ask you to stay in your seats with your belts fastened. Obviously, this is not a normal situation," Morrison announced over the intercom.
"I will have to leave the plane to conduct the inspection," he said on landing.
It had become apparent after take-off that all was not right aboard AA Flight 1700 after it had taken longer than usual to reach cruising speed.
Alarms in the plane soon went off and the flight crew scurried to the aft of the airplane searching for the problem.
Eventually, the captain announced that smoke had been detected in the cabin.
Among those on the flight with the T&T "Warriors" were Americans Jim and Camy Couples, who are regular globe-trotters. The elderly couple were on their way back home, on the outskirts of New Orleans, which they were told was not affected by devastating Hurricane Katrina.
Their return flight, already scheduled to be a long one, was made even longer because of the delay.
It was later discovered that the captain made a decision to head to another landing strip as he would have been forced to endure circling for an hour and a half in order to touch back down at busy San Jose airport.
At one point, Captain Morrison seemed to be battling to control the aircraft, which had dipped low enough at one stage for everyone to see Costa Rican terrain before climbing back above the cloud cover.
Shortly after that scare, the Warriors comforted each other.
"Scottie, are you alright," one team member, who I could not identify, asked T&T striker Jason Scotland.
"Nah! You alright," Scotland retorted.
Once on the ground in Liberia, Warriors goalkeeper Shaka Hislop made a statement with which everyone agreed.
"We're not going back on that plane!" he exclaimed.
Later, it was announced that AA Flight 1961 would arrive in Costa Rica at 3.31 p.m. (5.31 p.m. T&T time). However, because it would be a smaller aircraft, only some of the passengers would be able to make the trip to Miami.  Until then, none of those aboard AA Flight 1700, including the T&T Warriors, knew whether they will be on the other flight or when they will be going home.

45
Football / Latapy stays for Panama, Mexico
« on: September 08, 2005, 09:33:46 PM »
BY NIGEL SIMON

Standout player Russell Latapy is not giving up on T&T despite the team’s 2-0 loss to Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifier at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, San Jose, on Wednesday night.
Following the game, Latapy said he will make himself available for T&T’s last two games, against Panama on October 8, and Mexico, four days later.
Costa Rica scored in the 14th minute through Alvaro Saborio and in 50th minute through Walter Centeno, to maintain their position in third spot in the race for qualification for next year’s finals in Germany.
The defeat left the Warriors in fifth spot on seven points, one behind Guatemala who earned a point at home to the United States in a 0-0 draw. In the other game in the zone, Mexico hammered Panama 5-0.
With two matches left, coach Leo Beenhakker’s team must now beat Panama and Mexico to at least finish fourth and take the play-off spot against the fifth placed Asian team — Uzbekistan or Bahrain.
At the same time, they must also hope that Mexico overcomes Guatemala at home on October 8.
Two wins for T&T will carry its points tally to 13 points.
Beenhakker said he will be happy to have the services of Latapy for the two matches.
The “Little Magician” was contracted for the matches against Guatemala and Costa Rica, but with the team needing to be at its best to have a chance of qualifying, Latapy has agreed to continue.
After the match, Beenhakker said the onus was now on T&T to win its next two games. “It is still in our hands and that is the most important thing for us right now,” Beenhakker said.
The Dutchman again lamented his team’s shortcoming of giving away an early goal. “Once again, we conceded an early goal but we didn’t give up. We created our chances but we did not put them away. When you do that and the other team scores, you pay the price.”
The T&T dressing room had disappointment written all over it, but the contingent, including Latapy, was still upbeat over the chances in the next two games.
Latapy described T&T’s performance as good. “It was a good game. We wanted to see if we could win because that was the only way we could qualify directly. But Costa Rica got an early goal and that made it difficult. Then we came out in the second half thinking that we had to go for it and they scored again. That made it difficult from there on.”
Skipper Dwight Yorke said it was a difficult game. “We always knew it would be like that. Costa Rica got off to a perfect start. They got the result they wanted and a win or draw in their next game will take them to the World Cup.
“Now it’s T&T and Guatemala left fighting for the fourth spot and we are definitely in with a chance of realising the dream,” Yorke said.
T&T could consider themselves a bit unfortunate at not coming away with at least a point. They dominated the closing stages of the first half and should have grabbed an equaliser with midfielder Christopher Birchall and Marvin Andrews getting chances.
The opening goal came when Ronald Gomez wrong-footed defender Ian Cox on the right side of the 18-yard box before squaring the ball, which Andrews could only hit to Alvaro Saborio. He deflected it over the line for the opening goal.
Carlos Edwards then set up Birchall for a crack at goal, but his effort was brilliantly tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Jose Parros.
Andrews then got his right boot onto an over-head attempt by team-mate Stern John, but again the keeper was there to keep out the shot.
Five minutes into the second-half, Paulo Wanchope was adjudged to have been fouled just out-side the 18-yard box by Dennis Lawrence. From the resulting free-kick, Walter Centeno curled a right footer past Kelvin Jack for a 2-0 lead.
In the latter stages of the match, Beenhakker introduced strikers Jason Scotland and Scott Sealy at the expense of Aurtis Whitley and Silvio Spann.
Sealy failed to keep down a volleyed attempt from a Russell Latapy feed while Scotland blasted just wide of the first post from a right sided cross from Edwards.
The Warriors defensive ploy was dented when defender Brent Sancho pulled up with a hamstring injury following training on the eve of the game and was omitted.
Close to 130 T&T fans and the Laventille Rhythm Section gave support, along with President Maxwell Richards.
The T&T contingent returned home via Miami yesterday while the over-seas based players returned to their respective clubs.

T&T: Kelvin Jack, Marvin Andrews, Dennis Lawrence, Ian Cox, Aurtis Whitley (Jason Scotland 59th), Silvio Spann (Scott Sealy 70th), Carlos Edwards, Christopher Birchall, Russell Latapy, Dwight Yorke, Stern John.
Subs not used: Shaka Hislop, Atiba Charles, Cyd Gray, Glenton Wolfe, Densil Theobald.

Costa Rica: Jose Parros, Luis Marin, Gilberto Martinez Vidal, Jervin Drummond, Walter Centeno, Mauricio Solis, Ronald Gomez, Paulo Wanchope, Alvaro Saborio (Douglas Sequeira 63rd), Alonso Solis (Cristian Bolanos 55th), Roy Miller (Michael Umana 71st).
Subs not used: Alvaro Mesen, Winston Parks, Jafet Soto, Mainor Diaz.

46
Football / We need Jones and Glen
« on: September 08, 2005, 07:41:56 AM »
Now that it is clear we need to go for two wins we need all the offensive firepower we can get

We need Glen running up and down that left wing with his speed (Samuel should be back too as sub)
We need Jones as the target man up front with latas and dwight supporting
Thanks for the 2 goals Stern but the honeymoon is over and you need to bench
Dog sorry but you could warm a bench too, can't afford the mental lapses
Birchall suspended

Squad for next game 4-3-3......

---------------------Jack--------------------
Spann---Lawrence---Sancho---Avery
Edwards--------Whitely-----------Glen
----------Yorke-----------Latas-----------
-------------------Jones--------------------

47
Football / T&T Warriors ready for...Tough night in San jose
« on: September 06, 2005, 09:52:07 PM »
he get tie up with the opening line....

Ian Prescott
Trinidad Express


YOU have to go back almost 19 years to find the only time Costa Rica took a point off Trinidad and Tobago in a World Cup qualifier in San Jose.
Veteran midfielder Russell Latapy, the oldest player in the T&T squad at age 37, was just starting his senior team career as an 18-year-old when  the teams drew 1-1 on January 20, 1986.  However, tonight at 10 o'clock (T&T time), the Warriors throw caution to the wind and try to not just beat Costa Rica, but to do it on an artificial surface as well.
Trinidad and Tobago have a dismal record against Costa Rica, beating them just twice in 17 meetings, both coming at the CONCACAF Gold Cup (in 1996 & 2000).
The one thing the Warriors have in their favour is recent performances-their last two matches having ended in draws.
Coach Leo Beenhakker has made no bones about the fact that he wants to win. But facing reality yesterday, it was apparent to many of the T&T technical staff that a draw will be an excellent result.
The Costa Ricans have more than made full advantage of playing at home, from using an artificial surface which Trinidad and Tobago are unaccustomed to, to the deliberate choice of  bypassing the Costa Rica National Stadium and instead playing the game at the very small Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, located just outside the capital in Tibas.
Everything the Costa Ricans have done is meant to give their team a chance to win. They want to book their World Cup place with a victory tonight which will take them to an almost uncatchable 13 points for the third qualifying spot available to CONCACAF. 
Had there been suspicious minds around the Warriors, one might even think there was a conspiracy brewing.
The Warriors arrived in Costa Rica just after seven o'clock on Monday night to find out they had to change hotels after the Costa Rican national team had already booked the Melia Caliari. Warriors assistant manager George Joseph, who arrived ahead of the team, quickly made reservations at the Coribici instead.
And after a first look, one quickly realised that the choice of the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium was no accident. The ground belongs to the Saprissa club and looks more like a training pitch. Yes, the artificial surface is smooth, but imagine playing international football on a ground as small as the Marvin Lee Stadium, with an intimidating crowd hovering ridiculously close to the pitch.
The Warriors are not even sure what type of visibility the lights atop the Saprissa will give tonight. Added to that, there is a very strong breeze which could well serve to keep the team running opposite to it pinned in their half. Trinidad and Tobago's Dutch coach Beenhakker was obviously concerned by the size of the ground and the kind of pressure the slick-passing Costa Ricans may put on his Warriors.
Should Trinidad and Tobago resort to the long ball, it is unlikely to work. There is simply no where to go on this tight ground if you do not play neat, quick passes.
It was those factors which were partly responsible for the Saprissa club seeing off Brazilians Santos by a 3-0 margin on June 25.
T&T defender Brent Sancho was among the first to enquire whether Costa Rica always played on that ground and commented that is is about time Trinidad and Tobago start playing teams at the Marvin Lee "quarry" when they have home games.
Yesterday, Beenhakker was drilling his team in playing quickly and freeing up the flanks for the likes of Carlos Edwards. He knew exactly what he wanted tonight.
"You play two touches. Two touches and you open up the game," the Dutchman instructed his players.
When winger Edwards ran onto a brilliant pass from veteran midfielder Russell Latapy, but played about three touches, Beenhakker was livid. "You get two chances in 90 minutes in a game like this. Finish. Kill it! Kill it!" Beenhakker screamed.
Finally, after an hour or so, he was satisfied he had done enough and instructed his Warriors to take ten minutes more to do what ever they wanted to work on.
Most, including captain Dwight Yorke, Jason Scotland, Scott Sealy and Stern John, opted for shooting practice against goalkeeper Kelvin Jack mainly and also Shaka Hislop. Nine defenders, including possible starter Glenton Wolfe, worked hard on their defending with assistant coach Theo De Jong. All indications are they are in for a tough night, but they trained yesterday like they are not planning to give in easily.

48
Football / Costa Rica vs Panama highlights
« on: September 06, 2005, 12:14:48 PM »

49
Football / USA, Mexico take centre stage
« on: September 02, 2005, 04:43:33 AM »
The seventh matchday of the CONCACAF final qualifying round will witness a 'superclasico' when Mexico travel to Ohio to meet the United States. In what is always a contentious affair, the automatic finals berth up for grabs is bound to add even more spice to the stew.

Stamp their ticket
The winner of the second FIFA World Cup qualifying clash between the region's two powerhouses will definitively stamp their ticket for next summer's finals with three matches still to go. The first-placed Mexicans can take comfort from their 2-1 win at the Azteca back in March as well as the form of goal king Jared Borgetti, whose strike in the recent win over Costa Rica made him Mexico's all-time top scorer as well as the best marksman in Germany 2006 qualifying worldwide.
The USA, though, will welcome 21-year-old phenom Eddie Johnson back to the fold as they try to keep up their undefeated home record against Mexico in qualifying that stretches back to 1972. His eight goals in just eight appearances have him looking like a regional scoring threat to rival even the great Borgetti and he will be keen to cap his comeback with another goal.
With requisite bragging rights on the line and Mexico looking to avenge the still-stinging 2-0 loss to their great rivals at the round of sixteen in Korea/Japan 2002, they will surely give their hosts a run for their money at Crew Stadium – where the US have never lost. "It's a big qualifier, that's for sure," remarked US striker Brian McBride, who scored the lone goal in last month's win over Trinidad and Tobago. "And of course it's a little more special with the big rivalry between the two teams."
His team-mate Landon Donovan – who disappointed in the first meeting at the Azteca – decided to step up and throw down the gauntlet, claiming: "At this point we (USA) must be considered the top team in the region." The result of Saturday's clash will go some way to settling this seemingly endless debate.

Guatemala eye third, first finals
Guatemala are tied for third place (on seven points) with heated UNCACF rivals Costa Rica. The two sides are scheduled to meet on the region's final matchday and it could prove a stormy contest for the final automatic qualifying spot.
For coach Ramon Maradiaga, a debut for Guatemala at the global showpiece in Germany is the true measure of success, making the weekend tilt with wounded Trinidad and Tobago a crucial test. "Trinidad are our direct rivals in the finals qualifying race," he said. "The others are Costa Rica and Panama. We must forget about the United States (15 points) and Mexico (16) as they are well out of our reach."
After having to cancel a recent preparatory friendly with Jamaica due to visa troubles, 'El Primitivo' (as the Honduran-born Maradiaga is known) may not be as prepared as he would have hoped. But even still, coming off a courageous win over Panama and with the region's third top-scorer in Carlos Ruiz in fine fettle in front of goal, the Central Americans will be considered hot favourites on the road against Leo Beenhakker's out-of-tune Soca Warriors.
They may not have as easy a time as their 5-1 win at home in March, however, as 37-year-old midfield talisman Russel Lattapy has rejoined the T&T fold. The Falkirk-based 'Little Magician' is expected to start in midfield with the express purpose of getting the ball to his old mate Dwight Yorke up front.
Goalkeeper Kelvin Jack, who frustrated the USA in a losing effort in their last match and has emerged as one of the best keepers in the region, is feeling confident despite T&T's paltry points tally of four from six matches. "I think we have an excellent chance still," he said. "With hard work and persistence, we shall make it."

Ticos face tough road test
The third of the region's weekend meetings pits basement-dwellers Panama against Costa Rica at home at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City.
The match will be the first time the Panamanians have played at home since sparking off massive interest and affection with a run to the final of July's CONCACAF Gold Cup. But they will have no easy day against third-placed Costa Rica, especially with the fresh memory of blowing a one-goal lead in last month's loss in Guatemala in a match that would have pulled them off the bottom of the 'hexagonal' and into contention for a spot in Germany.
Alexandre Guimaraes' Ticos side will also be hoping to get things right following a demoralising – though somewhat expected – 2-0 defeat by Mexico at the Azteca last time out. Running neck and neck with Guatemala for the third automatic spot, three points on the road would go a long way to settling nerves as the Costa Ricans eye a second consecutive berth at the finals.
The CONCACAF combatants will have hardly a moment's peace as they get going again four days later on 7 September. Mexico host Panama as T&T travel to Costa Rica and Guatemala welcome the USA.

by FIFAworldcup.com

50
Football / ‘Magician’ all set to perform
« on: August 31, 2005, 09:13:06 PM »
BY NIGEL SIMON
Trinidad Guardian


Magic was in the air yesterday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. And if the performance put on by the ‘Little Magician’ Russell Latapy is an indication of things to come on Saturday, then T&T could well cast a spell on the visiting Guatemala team and come away with the three points that are so vital on the road to the World Cup Finals in Germany next year.
Showing little signs of wear and tear on his 37-year-old body and the effects of the 30-plus degree sunny conditions, the former national captain displayed flashes off his old brilliance during the training session—his second with the Warriors.
It was the Warriors third session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, ahead of the CONCACAF World Cup 2006 qualifier versus Guatemala on Saturday at the same venue from 4.30pm
Also in attendance were team captain Dwight Yorke, Carlos Edwards, Atiba Charles, Ian Cox, Avery John, Christopher Birchall, Brent Sancho, Marvin Andrews, Shaka Hislop, Anton Pierre, Silvio Spann, Glenton Wolfe, Densil Theobald, Scott Sealy, Aurtis Whitley, Cyd Gray, Kelvin Jack and Lebanon-based scout David Nakhid who also participated.
Jason Scotland, a late call-up for the injured Kenwyne Jones and Dennis Lawrence who will be illegible for the Costa Rica match on September 7, were expected to arrive last night.
Watched by a small group of spectators, Latapy settled in quickly during the first hour of training and looked comfortable on the ball while participating in a 30-minute half-field ball exercise under the watchful eyes of coach Leo Beenhakker and his two assistants.
The presence of the former FC Porto and Rangers midfielder seemed to have already injected new life into the players, who for the first time in the three sessions had coach Beenhakker nodding his head in approval.
On Tuesday, with only nine players available then, Beenhakker was forced to stop the session on numerous occasions to explain thoroughly what he wanted done on the field. He also asked for more urgency.
But with the experienced core of players coming in from Europe led by Latapy, team captain Dwight Yorke, Stern John, Birchall, Hislop and Jack all present, the national coach looked relaxed.
Latapy, Yorke, Stern John, Andrews, Theobald, Aurtis Whitley, Spann and Avery John were put on one team and given orders to attack with confidence and pace, against Jack and company.
The “Little Magician” known to be a master of that craft, wrong-footed the opposing defenders and on one occasion, left defender Ian Cox of Gillingham for dead, with one of his “Sugar Ray Leonard” body fakes, which resulted in the defender tripping him up.
Later on, Latapy in a flash-back to his days with the national team, worked a quick one-two inside the 18-yard box with close pal Dwight Yorke.
With little time to find the target, the “Little Magician” then composed himself and chipped the ball over the head of lanky T&T goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, which quickly drew applause from the few who had braved the steamy conditions to get a glimpse of the midfield wizard.
Despite his brilliance, coach Beenhakker had hinted that Latapy will have to prove himself for his pick in the final squad. But following yesterday’s session, Beenhakker should have little difficulty in making his decision.
Following the session, Beenhakker had one injury concern, that of right winger Carlos Edwards.
Edwards, who missed the Concacaf Gold Cup Finals and USA qualifier due to injury, picked up a slight knock on his right foot in a tackle with Whitley and had to sit out the remainder of the session.
But it is not said to be a serious injury and he was expected to train in the afternoon session.
Today the Warriors will resume training from 9.30 am followed by an afternoon session from 5.30 pm.
However only the afternoon session will be open to the media.
Guatemala meanwhile arrived in T&T today, but have not scheduled any training session until tomorrow.

51
Football / Pros Come Home
« on: August 29, 2005, 02:56:17 PM »
Looks like our pleas to Beenie have fallen on deaf ears :notlistening: no mention about Glen in here.  I guess we'll go with who we have already in the squad.

29-Aug-2005
Shaun Fuentes
..... Shaka credits Dwight, Russell for T&T pick


English-based goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has revealed that persuasion from Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy was the main factor in him making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in a friendly match against Jamaica in 1999.
In a recent question and answer segment, the West Ham United custodian said that he had thought long and hard about his international career after trying to make his debut for the England following several call ups by that country’s senior team.
But then Yorke, a Manchester United star at the time and Latapy told him the time was suitable for him to wear the T&T shirt.  Latapy and Hislop will be part of the traveling party coming in from London on BWIA 900 on Tuesday at 4:35pm for Saturday’s 2006 World Cup qualifier against Guatemala.
The other pros coming in will be Chris Birchall, who will meet Latapy for the first time, Kelvin Jack, Ian Cox, Marvin Andrews, Stern John, Carlos Edwards and Brent Sancho. They will all be met by Special Advisor to the TTFF Jack Warner and other TTFF officials upon arrival and a media briefing will be held in conjunction with Saturday’s match at the Piarco VIP Lounge. Yorke arrives at 1:35pm on American Airlines.
“The reason was Dwight and Russell convincing me that it was the right time (back in 1999) to come back and to put my differences with the TTFF behind me in an effort to see this team qualify for the World Cup. The differences before has  been a down point in my career. It’s not a lot to say about it but without going into much detail, they are differences which have not really been directly addressed but maybe those differences will be better served with my representing T&T and my dealing with them at  a higher level. I definitely see the potential for things to happen better from here on,” Hislop told TTFF Media, adding that he was again pleased to be part of the current squad with the selected players trying to  help T&T realize its World Cup dream
During a period leading up to his eventual debut for T&T, Hislop had been in line for selection on the England first team. He added “I have no regrets at all”  about having gone on to don the T&T colours.
For the past three World Cup qualifiers, Kelvin Jack has been the first choice and both ‘keepers have developed a good on and off the field relationship.
“Even though I am the man in the goal of recent I still have the utmost respect for Shaka and he’s a great professional to work with. Whether I’m in or he’s in there’s always that mutual respect,” Jack said.
Hislop believes that currently, T&T still holds a formidable chance of finishing in the top three teams for the World Cup qualification.
“Without a doubt, this game on Saturday is a huge one for us. I don’t think anyone needs to put that down for us to understand it. Even with the last two losses, I still think we have what it takes to get there. The entire team including the home-based pros have kept their efforts up and we all must put in everything for the remaining games if we are to pull off the sort of results to take us through,” Hislop ended.
Japanese-based midfielder Silvio Spann and US-based duo Scott Sealy and Avery John came in on Monday and will be part of the Tuesday morning training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Scottish-based striker Jason Scotland comes in Wednesday while the Guatemalans are scheduled to arrive on Thursday.

52
Football / Colin Samuel got subbed in the 28th minute
« on: August 28, 2005, 10:45:51 AM »
hope he's not seriously injured

53
Football / Samuel's Finnish-ing lessons.
« on: August 27, 2005, 11:47:25 AM »
Samuel's Finnish-ing lessons.
By: Lasana Liburd


Trinidad and Tobago national winger Collin Samuel was unsure whether to laugh or cry yesterday after he played superbly on Thursday evening but still had to watch helplessly as his employers, Dundee United, were eliminated from the UEFA Cup by virtue of a 2-2 home draw against visiting Finnish club, MyPa 47.
MyPa advanced to the next round of European competition on the away goals rule, which doubles the value of goals scored away from home, after the Finns held United goalless in the first leg at the Scandinavian country.
Samuel, who had not scored for United in over a year, was caught between personal satisfaction and the club's collective disappointment as he spoke to the Trinidad Express on Friday afternoon.
"It was definitely my best game for the season," said Samuel, who played on the right side of the United midfield. "I did everything the manager asked, which was to be positive and to create chances. I felt we had an outstanding first half when we passed them off the park and I still can't believe we (failed to advance)."
The draw cost Samuel and his teammates a hefty $67,643 win bonus (£6,000) while United supporters were deprived of the thrill of more European nights-a first for the club since ex-T&T international Jerren Nixon inspired United to a UEFA Cup berth in the 1992/93 season.
United, who briefly employed Trinidad and Tobago football icon Russell Latapy in 2003, has been a happy host for T&T talent with mutual benefits.
National striker Jason Scotland, who sat in United players' lounge on Thursday night alongside compatriot and Dundee goalkeeper Kelvin Jack, scored the goal that took United to Europe last season before he was controversially denied a work permit to remain with the Tayside club. While Scotland was an instant hit for "The Tangerines", Samuel struggled to match the hype that preceded his arrival following a freescoring season in the Scottish First Division with former club, Falkirk, and was told to find a new club by ex-United manager, Ian McCall, in January.
This season, McCall's successor, Gordon Chisholm, returned the converted striker to his preferred wide position and he reaped early dividends for his faith on Thursday as Samuel made a fiery start in the cold conditions. Samuel, a former Mayaro Composite and CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh utility player, just missed the far post with a strike on the break in the 14th minute as his pace constantly troubled MyPa left back, Tuomo Kononen.
A minute later, Kononen conceded a free kick that led to United's opener as Mark Kerr drove home from the edge of the area after the Finnish defence failed to clear Mark Wilson's set piece.
Samuel doubled their advantage in the 29th minute with a composed finish after charging inside the penalty area to side foot a Barry Robson cross past opposing goalkeeper Janne Korhonen.
However, MyPa grabbed a lifeline in the 74th minute when Adriano pulled one back from the penalty spot and the Brazilian broke the United offside trap to draw the visitors level in the 81st minute. Samuel had already been withdrawn from the match by that stage-he was substituted to a rousing ovation, seconds after Adriano's first item.
Chisholm had no answer for the late "Finnish."  Samuel hopes to build on his own performance, though.
"I am trying to meet a target of 10 goals or more this season," he said. "I had a real hard time for the last two seasons so I just want to make it much better for myself than it was last year."
He confessed that next week's crucial World Cup qualifier against Guatemala was at the forefront of his mind.
"We have to run ours balls off," said Samuel. "(Leo) Beenhakker has been telling us that we are not far off from the other teams but we just have to put in a little more effort. I just want to put my best foot forward and hopefully we will get a result."

54
Football / Scotland score today for St. Johnstone
« on: August 27, 2005, 10:29:49 AM »
Congrats on starting the season with a bang although yuh team loss  :applause:

Almost everybody else from de national team bench today, even Dog. 
Jones start but only play 54 mins. 
Stern came on in the 90th minute!

55
Jokes / Riddle for the true intellectual
« on: August 25, 2005, 11:57:28 AM »
Riddle for the true intellectual

Here is a riddle for the true intellectual. Try to come up with the answer
on your own...The answer is at the end for those who are unable to think
this one through!!

At the exact same time, there are two 35 year old men on opposite sides of the earth:

One is walking a tight rope between two skyscrapers.
The other is getting a blow job from an 85 year old woman.

They are both thinking the exact same thing. What are they both thinking?

 
scroll down



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down...........

56
Football / Latapy comes home on Tuesday.
« on: August 24, 2005, 03:25:31 PM »
Latapy comes home on Tuesday.
By: Shaun Fuentes


Scottish-based midfielder Russell Latapy is scheduled to arrive in the country next Tuesday August 30 to join coach Leo Beenhakker’s training camp ahead of the next 2006 World Cup qualifier against Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on the Saturday.
Latapy, who made himself available to the National team again following a discussion with Jack Warner on Monday, is expected to play for Falkirk against Aberdeen on August 27 and then has to tie up some personal business before taking the flight out of London along with the rest of the selected UK-based players. Latapy’s local representative Wayne Mandeville also “confirmed that Latapy was scheduled to touch down on the stated date.
Team skipper Dwight Yorke is scheduled to arrive in Port of Spain on Monday August 29 and should be available for the start of the training camp the following morning.
“Russell is set to come in on the 30th after a game with Falkirk that weekend. He has a couple things to see about and then he will be here with us,” team manager Bruce Aanensen said on Wednesday. “He will come in with the rest of the guys on that flight and Dwight along with Silvio (Spann) are expected to be with us the day before.”
Latapy added, “I have commitments at the club and obviously that has been the big thing in my career up to recent times but I have made this decision to come back and be part of the national team and the necessary procedures will follow from here.”
The former T&T captain played 90 minutes and set up one of the goals in Falkirk’s 2-1 win over Partick Thistle on Tuesday. He cleverly split the Thistle rearguard allowing  Stephen O'Donnell to steal in behind and slam a left-footed shot from 16 yards past Kenny Arthur and into the corner of the net.
Several of the current members of the team have expressed enthusiasm in playing with the “Little Magician” again and so far the general feeling has been a positive one regarding the sort of contribution to former FC Porto player can make at this stage of the campaign.
“I met with Russell several times when I was at Dundee and the thought of his return would always pop up but back then it seemed it would never happen. But now that he’s decided to rejoin the team, it definitely will add something extra to what we have at the moment,” Sancho said on Wednesday.
Local-based pro Densill Theobald couldn’t hold back his feelings adding “Since the start of the final round I kept saying how great it would be to have the ‘boss’ back in the team. Even when he said he wasn’t coming back a few weeks ago I still kept my hopes up and now my wish seems to have come true. Even as a young player in the team, I am really anxious to see him on the field for us again,” Theobald said.
Meantime, team doctor Terrance Babwah has been monitoring Brent Rahim’s strained calf and the midfielder is expected to be ready for training again by this weekend.
But there was unfortunate news for striker Hector Sam who suffered a broken leg in Port Vale’s 3-1 loss to Rotherham United in English League One action on Tuesday. Agent Mike Berry said the player may be out for up to three months.
The home-based pros trained on Tuesday under assistant coaches Wim Rhisbergen and Theo de Jong who had a look at the Guatemalans in their last World Cup qualifier against Panama earlier this month. Beenhakker returned to Holland to tie up some personal business and returns here on Thursday. He will no doubt also be keeping a close eye on the Guatemalans who face Jamaica in a friendly on Saturday in Kingston.
Latapy looks to a memorable ending.
By: Shaun Fuentes.


Returning national soccer midfielder Russell Latapy says he intends to finish his international career with pleasant memories and he is intent on helping T&T to get to a World Cup final before he hangs up his playing boots.
Latapy revealed on Monday that he is willing to return home to be in the national team for T&T’s next two World Cup qualifiers against Guatemala (September 3) and Costa Rica (September 7) in the first instance, after being convinced by FIFA vice-president Jack Warner and his pal, Dwight Yorke, that his services are sorely needed by the country.
And Latapy, now back with Falkirk in the Scottish top flight, added to reporters that he’s now having a time on the pitch.
“Maybe it seems as though I’m enjoying it more, and maybe I am, because I’m kinda seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he grinned.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to play at the highest level, so I’m really enjoying the last of it. One of the reasons I didn’t quit when I left Rangers is because your last memories of the game stick with you for a long time and I want them to be positive,” Latapy said.
Those words can surely be an indication that the way in which he hung up his T&T shirt in 2001 never really left his mind and now the “Little Magician” is hoping to finish his international playing career with flourish.
“The country needs me now and I’m definitely up for playing at a time when I’ve been asked to come back and make this sort of contribution,” Latapy added. The Scottish media continues to stress that Latapy is the main force in the Falkirk team these days.
Evans Wise signs new deal in Germany.
By: Shaun Fuentes.
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Evans Wise of T&T is once again back on the overseas professional circuit.
The left-side player, known for his eye-catching dribbling ability, signed with German Third Division club Waldhof Mannheim earlier this month, after being a free agent from September 2004 when he last played for Wacker Burgerhausen.
Wise said he went back to his family in Washington DC to take care of some personal business but has re-entered the football scene and is even hoping to get a look from national head coach Leo Beenhakker.
“I have been a free agent since September 2004 when I ended my last stint in Germany. I took time off to go back to DC to handle some personal business, but now I’m back on the playing field and I’m enjoying my football again with Waldhof,” Wise said. So far, Wise has appeared in the two matches the Waldhof team has played so far this season, winning one and drawing the other.
Kevin Nelson off to Australia.
By: Shaun Fuentes.


Tobago-born striker Kevin Nelson took a gruelling 48-hour plane trip for the chance to have a trial with Adelaide United in Australia last week.
The former T&T Under-23 player arrived “Down Under” on Friday and is under consideration at United, to take the place of retired midfielder Aurelio Vidma.
The 26-year-old Tobagonian is hoping to join Dwight Yorke as the second T&T player to play in the Australian League. He played with Ottawa Wizards in Canada and has also had stints in Belgium, Venezuela and England.
"Kelvin" Jack in the box.
By Lasana Liburd (Express).
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"To be a good goalkeeper, you need to have complete belief in your ability and yourself," said Trinidad and Tobago and Dundee goalkeeper Kelvin Jack. "And you can only get that by training hard and being totally at ease with your own game because it is a very lonely position.
"For example, you will never see a striker put his hand up if a goal scores through his own goalkeeper's legs even if the play broke down when he lost the ball. Who would they blame? The goalkeeper is always to blame.
"That is the nature of the position and you have to be a strong character to deal with it."
In a sport built on scoring rather than preventing goals, most goalkeepers have their gloves forced upon them. A youth team coach might have forced them between the uprights because they were taller than their teammates or awful in every other position.
The 29-year-old Jack may be one of the strangest in a weird bunch. As Trinidad and Tobago tuned into the televised 1982 World Cup and mesmerised children declared an affinity with Italian top goal scorer Paulo Rossi, Brazilian attacker Zico or Argentine midfield playmaker Diego Maradona, a six-year-old Jack chose English and Belgian goalkeepers Ray Clemence and Jean-Marie Pfaff respectively as his idols.
"I loved the sound of Ray Clemence's name and that attracted me to the position," said the Scotland-based custodian, with a laugh. "I also remember Jean-Marie Pfaff wore a bright yellow kit and I fell in love with it."
His rise in the game, thereafter, was steady and sure; more a testament to hard work than freakish fortune.
On September 3, Trinidad and Tobago coach Leo Beenhakker will face his toughest job in charge of the national team when T&T tackle Guatemala in a decisive World Cup qualifier.
Beenhakker's use of team captain and ex-Manchester United star, Dwight Yorke, as well as all-time leading scorer and Coventry City forward, Stern John, will be issues for national debate.
Jack, almost certainly, will start in goal with minimal fuss. It is a notable achievement considering that the goalkeeping position is the most hotly contested berth in the squad with the likes of Shaka Hislop, the country's most successful export, and multiple Caribbean Goalkeeper of the Year, Clayton Ince, in reserve.
Remarkably, in a rare moment of self-doubt, Jack nearly conceded the fight for the number one shirt before it began as he was mentally drained by an injury ravished 2004/05 season when Beenhakker initially invited him to stake his claim.
"I was not going to take the invitation," said Jack, who played just five times for Dundee last term. "Last season was a nightmare for me. It was the first time in my career that I ever had so many injuries and it affects your self-confidence because you start wondering if you could just get back to your best level straight away.
"I only had two reserve games as preparation (before the World Cup qualifier against Panama) and I wondered if it was sufficient preparation. I also wondered if I should rest through the summer to get my body right after a serious injury.
"But, at the last minute, I decided to go."
The six-foot-three and 215-lb goalie might remember his decision to rejoin the national team in June as a pivotal point in his career.
Jack beat Ince to a starting place in the qualifier against Panama, which Trinidad and Tobago won 2-0, and was already entrenched in the position by the time Hislop turned up at the July CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament. He started in all six competitive matches under Beenhakker.
The ex-CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh custodian and Holy Cross College student credited the friendly rivalry for his form since inheriting the number one position.
"Trinidad has three other very good goalkeepers as well as young Duarance (Williams) who will eventually take over," said Jack. "So you know that to get the number one jersey, you have to be on top of your game for not just every minute of every game but of every training session too. I think that is only a positive thing.
"Everyone wants to be number one but, saying that, Shaka is a top pro and we talk a lot and always bounce things off each other so it is a very healthy rivalry."
Jack did not say it but, in some ways, his single-mindedness and work ethic might mirror his coach's intensity.
Beenhakker, who prefers points to panache, does not conform to the Dutch stereotype while Jack's obsession with punctuality and perspiration also seems at odds with the image of Trinidad and Tobago athletes.
"The comment about Trinidadians that most upsets me (in Britain) is that we are lazy," said Jack. "As a goalkeeper, I am very intense and work very hard. I am also very vocal because I think communication is crucial I don't play with a smile on my face because it is not in my personality.
"Although off the field, my friends usually say I am one of the biggest clowns around who likes to have fun and joke around and wind up people."
Jack is adamant that Trinidad and Tobago will qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany while he also set himself the target of leading the newly- relegated Dundee back into the Scottish Premier League (SPL).
He has already played four games for Dundee in the 2005/06 season and is yet to taste defeat while he picked up a Man of the Match award and was selected as the First Division's "Goalkeeper of the Week" by the Scottish Sun newspaper.
"The pace of the (First Division) game is frightening," said Jack. "From what I have seen so far, it is better than many people think and it is certainly quicker than the SPL. You have to be switched on all the time because it is end to end football.
"There is much more physical contact here and you can't come gracefully and take a ball in the air without someone challenging you. So you have to be strong physically and have an aggressive mindset." Jack, one thinks, has the tools for the job.
Sam blow leaves Vale looking for attacking options.
By James Robson.
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Port Vale striker Hector Sam could be out for up to three months after it was confirmed he broke his leg in Tuesday's Carling Cup defeat at Rotherham. The Trinidad and Tobago international is still awaiting confirmation of how long he will be sidelined, but it looks certain he will miss the next two months at least.
Vale manager Martin Foyle bemoaned Sam's luck after only just getting back to match fitness following an injury in pre-season.
The latest blow leaves Foyle short on attacking options, with Lee Matthews still not considered ready to start a match.
The Vale boss said: "He's definitely got a crack in the bone, but it's hard to guess how long he'll be out. We should have more of an idea when it's looked over again.
"But we are looking like eight weeks plus.
"It's a massive blow for him and me because he did well in pre-season, but got an injury at the wrong time. Then he gets back to a position where he's pushing for a place in the team and this happens."
Foyle spent yesterday trying to secure some loan signings before the weekend, but as yet has been rebuffed in his approaches.
But he revealed he has received the backing of the board to strengthen his squad after injuries this week to Sam Collins, Mark Innes, George Abbey and Mickey Bell.
Foyle said: "I've got no problem with the board, it's getting people who want to come and play that's difficult. I've got players in mind, but it's a bank holiday and clubs don't want to let them go. "A lot of clubs have got small squads this season."

57
Football / Update: CONCACAF Hexagonal, Round 6
« on: August 23, 2005, 05:33:18 AM »
Update: CONCACAF Hexagonal, Round 6
By Peter Goldstein


Mexico-Costa Rica

    With a trip to Mexico City on the schedule, it was nostalgia time in Costa Rica. With mist in their eyes, old-timers recalled the Aztecazo, the team's famous 2-1 win in the Azteca. With storied veteran Hernán Medford providing the winning goal in the 87th minute, the ticos handed Mexico their one and only home loss in all their history of World Cup qualifying. Ah, those were the days--four whole years ago.

    These days nostalgia seems Costa Rica's best bet. Whether under Jorge Luís Pinto or Alexandre Guimaraes (or, for that matter, Steve Sampson), the team hasn't once looked like repeating the feat. And in looking over the roster for this year's trip, Guima found himself distressingly shorthanded. Captain and defensive anchor Luís Marín was suspended, and keeper Álvaro Mesén was hurt. And midfield was a nightmare. DM is the team's deepest position, but with Mauricio Solís and Douglas Sequeira suspended, and José Luís López injured, there was suddenly a shortage of bodies. Then just before the trip, Carlos Hernández, both attacker and defender, came down with a high fever. And for some reason the team's most dangerous attacker, Alonso Solís, didn't even make the initial callup.

    Then there was the tactical uncertainty. The battle over 3 vs. 4 in the back has been going on for ages now, ever since Sampson switched to 4 at the last minute against Cuba. Pinto went with 4, then Guima came back with his usual 3, then announced that 3 wouldn't work and played 4 at the Gold Cup, then said he'd switch back to 3 for the game against Mexico. Nothing wrong with tactical flexibility--Bruce Arena switches formations all the time--but you got the feeling the whole thing was more desperation than strategy.

    As for Mexico, the runup was the same as usual--in fact, as a public service, I've put together an All-Purpose Mexican Football Paragraph, designed to simulate the local discourse about the national team. Each sentence has three options at the finish, so just mix and match. By my count there are over 6000 combinations, which should do for the rest of the qualifiers:

    "Ricardo LaVolpe is (a loser) (a charlatan) (a bad person). He has absolutely no respect for (his players) (the club owners) (Hugo Sánchez). He may have (beaten the USA in the qualifiers) (beaten Brazil in the Confederations Cup) (qualified for the World Cup with ease), but he's still a (cabrón) (pendejo) (hijo de puta). Reliable sources say he (drinks toilet water) (practices human sacrifice) (goes on the roof to wave at sailors). Besides, (he's Argentine) (he's Argentine) (he's Argentine). We'd be much better off with (Hugo Sánchez) (Fernando Quirarte) (an amoeba)."

    After the first half against Costa Rica, this might have seemed a bit mild. As expected, CR had come to defend, playing a 3-6-1 with Paulo Wanchope alone at the point and Ronald Gómez dropped into left midfield. So how did LaVolpe respond? Well, it looked like a cross between a 3-5-2 and a 4-4-2, but the numbers didn't matter, because there weren't any attackers. On the wings were Gerardo Galindo and Francisco "el Maza" Rodríguez, both defensive players. In the midfield were Pavel Pardo and Gerardo Torrado, also both defensive players. OK, so Salvador Carmona was suspended for a year, Luis Pérez was suspended for a day, and Jaime Lozano was injured--still, there were plenty of other options. Ramón Morales was on the bench. Gonzalo Pineda was on the bench. Jesús Arellano, match fit for the first time in ages, was on the bench. Cuauhtémoc Blanco had been left off entirely, perhaps in revenge for refusing to play over the summer. Jared Borgetti, Kikín Fonseca, and Sinha were left to carry the can by themselves.

    So of course Mexico got nothing in the first half. They had only one chance--in the 10th minute Borgetti should have put away Pardo's cross, but hit the post. Costa Rica did a little bit of counterattacking early (and in fact had been caught upfield on Borgetti's miss), but then settled into the bunker. Cristian Bolaños was having a good game on the right, and both Gilberto Martínez and Michael Umaña were standouts on the back line. Sinha did his best to move things along, but with nothing at all from the flanks, the middle was way too populated, and Pardo and Torrado weren't the sort to help much there anyway.

    It was no surprise when Morales replaced Torrado to start the second half, but the realignment put Rafa Márquez in a strange position, right midfield. How Rafa felt about the switch is unknown, but a minute later he leveled Walter Centeno with a vicious elbow to the face. Only God and Jack Warner know why referee José Pineda didn't red-card him. Meanwhile, Morales added a little attacking pressure on the left, but nothing came of it. Costa Rica got into the game a tiny bit more, and in the 58th minute a spectacular run by Gómez was stopped on a last-ditch tackle by Pavel Pardo.

    So in the 61st minute it was time for Gonzalo Pineda, with Márquez, of all people, getting the hook. At this point one of the TV commentators called LaVolpe's tactics "una verdadera ensalada," a real salad, and it badly needed some ranch dressing. There was absolutely no indication that two minutes later Mexico would be ahead.

    But ahead they were, if somewhat unstylishly. After a throw-in on the right, Ricardo Osorio sent in a bouncing cross, and Gilberto Martínez, who had been impeccable for the first hour, simply failed to mark Borgetti. The ball deflected off Victor Cordero, Martínez flailed at it, and Jared smashed it home from close range an instant before Jervis Drummond got there to cover. Not exactly a Diego Rivera, but it killed off the game. Costa Rica were unprepared for a full-out assault, and Mexico held them off with all the anxiety of a guy lying on a sofa watching a telenovela. Fonseca got the nominal clincher in the 86th minute after a blunder by keeper José Francisco Porras.

    For Costa Rica the result had been far less worrying than the way it came about. Aztecazos come only once in a lifetime, but the team had shown little enthusiasm for anything except manning the ramparts. Guimaraes is far too popular in Costa Rica to get the LaVolpe treatment, but the waves of pessimism from San José are starting to disrupt air traffic a bit.

    And what about Public Enemy Number One? As the winners celebrated on the field, the cameras caught a touching scene: LaVolpe was heading off the pitch with a reporter, but Oswaldo Sánchez broke off from the group and pulled him back to join the party. The players bounced up and down excitedly, and a few patted LaVolpe on the head with what seemed like genuine affection. For a few moments he smiled, obviously moved--and then went off once more to purgatory.

USA-Trinidad & Tobago

    Without much pressure on either side, this was the ultimate low-key qualfier. Both coaches called in the legionnaires, counted their wounded, said respectful things, put eleven men on the field, and didn't worry that the stadium wasn't filled. It was kind of touching, actually.

    Bruce Arena had by far the longer injured list, missing a top striker (Eddie Johnson), a top midfielder (DaMarcus Beasley), all four potential starters on defense (Eddie Pope, Cory Gibbs, Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo), and assorted other possible contributors. But Together Again For The First Time, miraculously, were Claudio Reyna and John O'Brien, last seen on the pitch together in some game against Germany in some tournament in Korea (how long ago was that, anyway?). The central defensive pairing was Gregg Berhalter and Oguchi Oneywu, who had flopped at the Azteca but presumably would be sufficient for T&T at East Hartford. The surprise was on the left side, where Bobby Convey, on a roll at Reading, nabbed the midfield spot, and Eddie Lewis, an attacker to the core, got shunted to left back. (Think the USA has become a real footballing nation? The New York Times referred to Lewis' new position as "left defender," and the Hartford Courant said he went to the "backfield." Sheesh.)

    Leo Beenhakker had only one important injury, but it was a big one: Carlos Edwards, the team's fastest and most creative midfielder. He made the logical adjustment, moving Chris Birchall to his Port Vale position on the right, and adding Silvio Spann to partner Aurtis Whitley in the middle. The rest of the side was the same as against Mexico, with one interesting choice: although Shaka Hislop had been called in from England, Beenhakker stuck with Kelvin Jack, who had a good Gold Cup and was more match fit.

    Unfortunately, the first time Jack touched the ball was to pick it out of the net. Less than two minutes in, Convey's run beat Atiba Charles, O'Brien found him with a pass, and his cross was tapped in by Brian McBride, who had glided completely unmarked into the middle. It was the USA's second fastest qualifying goal ever, just behind Ante Razov's tally against the same team four years ago. It would also be the only goal of the game.

    Not that there looked a chance of that early on. For most of the first half the Yanks dominated midfield, rotated the ball well, made intelligent runs, and generally looked like a side ready to rack up a few. Although T&T looked decent on set pieces (and actually scored an offside goal on a free kick scramble), they had no effective counterplay. The USA's main weakness is a lack of pace, and the Beenhakker-era Warriors, deliberate and technical, aren't the kind of team to take advantage.

    It didn't help that T&T was making schoolyard mistakes. In the 31st minute, a nervous-looking Jack kicked the ball straight to Landon Donovan--who rolled it weakly back. But in the 41st there was no reprieve: Marvin Andrews' feeble backpass was picked off by Donovan, and Dennis Lawrence had little choice but to pull him back. Marco Antonio Rodríguez duly produced the red card, and a rout seemed inevitable.

    But the scoreboard wouldn't budge. The USA had already missed several chances before the sending-off, and in the second half, Jack suddenly became Shaka in his prime. He denied Onyewu and Donovan with spectacular dives, and Convey and Donovan with marvelous charges off his line. It also helped that Taylor Twellman's 86th minute goal was erroneously ruled offside. But to T&T's credit, they stiffened in midfield, with Dwight Yorke dropping back from striker to make room for Scott Sealy. They passed the ball around a bit better, and got close in the 66th minute, when Sealy sent sub Kenwyne Jones in, only to be denied by Berhalter's desperate tackle. But Kasey Keller never actually had to make a save, and in the latter part of the game T&T had nothing but the longball. Onyewu and Berhalter won everything in the air, and that was that. The final stats showed the USA with 18 shots, T&T with 1.

    It had been a courageous second half for the Warriors, but to be frank they had dropped a notch since the Mexico game. The USA were missing several starters, but without Jack's brilliance and the Yanks' wastefulness, the score could have been much higher. Although Yorke made a difference in the second half, overall there was little fluency in midfield, nothing like the precise passing and intelligent decision-making we'd seen in Monterrey. But certainly you couldn't fault the effort. So--was the glass half-empty or half-full? The Trinidad Express had it both ways: Ian Prescott enthused about Sealy's "high work-rate," Jones' "never-say-die attitude," and Spann's "total assurance"--but Fazeer Mohammed called the performance an "embarrassment" and a "deplorable showing," with "the almost complete absence of any of the fundamentals that you would expect from even a half-asleep Sunday morning side." I think I'll be an editor when I grow up.


Guatemala-Panama


    After seven losses in eight games, how low was the mood in Guatemala? Oscar Berger, the President of the Republic, stopped by training camp and boldly predicted victory over Panama--by only 1:0. But not to worry: he also reminded the players to "leave everything on the field, because on that day 12 million Guatemalans will be watching you." (I can count 20 votes he just lost.) The papers chimed in, with comments anywhere from "Winning is an obligation" to "A loss or draw would be a catastrophe."

    Which was odd, because there was more pressure on Panama. With the Gold Cup ancient history, the team was last in the standings, and a loss would make the hole too deep to climb out of. But by all reports Cheché Hernández was uncharacteristically relaxed at practice, at one point even telling a couple of jokes. (Of course, knowing Cheché, they were something like "How many ignorant Panamanian reporters does it take to screw in a light bulb?")

    But maybe he was relaxed because no one was paying attention. The big story was the Jaime Penedo saga (or perhaps "fiasco" was the better word). Penedo had been the star of the Gold Cup, and word soon came that the young keeper would be signed by no less than Cagliari of Serie A. The club had even announced the signing on its website. So he flew in clouds of glory to Europe--but was suddenly in Spain, not Italy. Reports were conflicting: he had turned down the club's offer, he hadn't been given an offer. All at once Cagliari was out of the picture, and he was training with Birmingham City of the EPL, currently in Coruña for a preseason friendly. Reports were conflicting again: he hadn't played at all; he had played, but only for the reserve team. While all this was going on, home club Árabe Unido wheeled out a five-year contract they said Penedo had signed--but Penedo claimed he was a free agent. So by the time he flew back to play against Guatemala, he had signed with absolutely nobody. Worst of all, he had angered Julio César Dély Valdés, who had played a prime role in setting up the Cagliari opportunity. Who to blame? The general consensus: his agent, Luís González, described by one paper as "Argentine-German." It's always the foreigners, isn't it?

    One way or another, Cheché had to hope that Penedo was ready to play, because he had no other keepers. Ricardo James hadn't been called since he skipped a game at Jamaica last year; Donaldo González had taken a hike after Hernández put him on the bench at the Gold Cup; Oscar McFarlane had been tossed out for disciplinary matters. At least the rest of the side was intact, although with José Luís Garcés under a disciplinary cloud of his own, Jorge Dély Valdés started up front with Luís Tejada. (By the way, Tejada, another Gold Cup success, had no trouble at all finding a new club…in the United Arab Emirates. Think his agent was Argentine-German too?)

    Ramón Maradiaga had a lot more decisions to make--in fact, almost every position offered a choice of some kind. Two of his regular defenders, Gustavo Cabrera and Nestor Martínez, were suspended, and the back line had been so bad that an overhaul was necessary anyway. He went with a 4-man defense: Pablo Melgar and veteran Selwyn Ponciano in the middle, Ángel Sanabria on the left, and Elmer Ponciano in his first WCQ start on the right. At left midfield, the fans had been clamoring for Fredy Garcia, quick, creative, and excellent on set-pieces, and with Pando Ramírez suspended, it was time to take the plunge. In other head-to-head decisions, it was Miguel Klee over Paulo César Motta at GK, Julio Girón over Fredy Thompson at DM, Carlos Figueroa over Mario Rodríguez at RM, and Juan Carlos Plata over Edwin Villatoro at F beside Carlos Ruiz.

    With so much at stake, the game started out predictably intense, and just a bit too physical. In the 12th minute a fight almost broke out after a collision between Figueroa and Penedo. For the most part the action was in midfield, but Guatemala was getting some traction on the left, with Garcia and Sanabria combining effectively. In fact, in the 10th minute Garcia's pass found Ruiz behind the defense, and he put it past Penedo, but the goal was correctly called back for offside.

    Although they were winning most of the air battles, Panama had shown little so far. But in the 19th minute they opened the score. An excellent passing sequence from Julio Medina to Tejada to Ricardo Phillips to Luís Moreno found the fullback in space on the right. His low cross was missed by Tejada--which acted as a perfect dummy for Dély Valdés, who finished neatly at the far post. This was Panama, Gold Cup Edition, and all at once Guatemala were in big trouble.

    But they responded aggressively. With Garcia and Sanabria a constant threat on the left, the attack had Panama in danger several times. A tight Garcia cross was cut out by Penedo; a Garcia-Sanabria combo got the ball to Ruiz, who fired straight at the keeper; another left-side combo found Plata, who headed just over the bar. Of course, if you're attacking, you can't be defending, and Guatemala were wide open for counters. In the 32nd minute, with Garcia and Sanabria pushed up, Phillips found Tejada free on the right. He powered past Melgar, closed in on Klee, picked his spot low to the keeper's right--and was denied on a textbook dive. In stoppage-time, Penedo answered with a dive of his own to keep out a long-range blast from Julio Girón. Halftime 1:0 to Panama, but it was still anyone's game.

    At the interval, needing more balance in attack, Maradiaga put Fredy Thompson on the right for an ineffective Figueroa. Two minutes later he should have been rewarded: Thompson started a sequence which found Elmer Ponciano in the area, and Carlos Rivera brought him down. The replay showed a clear penalty--but Rodolfo Sibrian didn't call it. A minute earlier, Medina had come in hard on Garcia, an obvious yellow. It would have been his second yellow--except Sibrian didn't call that either. This is the Mateo Flores, Rudy, can't we get a home call around here?

    But a few moments later Guatemala's luck changed. Medina, perhaps figuring he could get away with anything now, slid into Gonzalo Romero. It was nowhere near as bad as the tackle on Garcia, but this time Sibrian went to his pocket. Medina fell to his knees, imploring, but out came the second yellow, and the red, and with an entire half to go, advantage-Panama had become advantage-Guatemala.

    And suddenly we had a classic on our hands. The chapines, a man up and desperate, poured into the Panama half. Left, right, center, over, under, the attack came from everywhere. Thompson, Garcia, Romero, Sanabria, maybe Maradiaga himself. Panama wasn't on the ropes--they were knocked flat out in the third row. But Penedo punched, leaped, dived, stood tall, kept the ball out. Panama countered bravely, with Moreno's cross just missing Dély Valdés for the clinching goal. Thirty seconds later Ruiz's cross just missed Plata for the equalizer. The half was still less than ten minutes old--how long could this last?

    The rest of the night, seemingly. Guatemala was sending ball boys, equipment managers, and vendors into the attack, and astonishingly, a man down, Panama refused to bunker. In the 60th minute came the most spectacular moment of all, as Klee flew high to his left to stop a scorcher from Phillips. A minute later Penedo positioned himself perfectly to deny Sanabria. In the 65th Garcia, charging into the area, blasted over the bar. Somehow, somewhere, someone had to put it in the net.

    And it was Panama first. In the 68th minute Penedo booted it long, and sub Ángel Rodríguez got possession. He sent it to Phillips, and a one-two put Tejada in alone, absolutely alone, coming in on Klee. With the game, and maybe a World Cup berth, on his right foot, "El Matador," the man who had shocked Mexico, shot--sort of. In fact, he trickled the ball embarrassingly wide of the net. You can't miss any worse.

    But it was still Panama first. Because thirty seconds later, at the other end, Thompson found Sanabria on the left, he crossed to Ruiz, and Felipe Baloy, flying to block the pass, redirected it past Penedo. Even a Serie A keeper couldn't have stopped it. Own goal. Tie score.

    With 20 minutes left, Guatemala held all the cards. Panama was devastated, had to be. But no--they tightened the defense, with veteran Anthony Torres leading the way. They kept countering, putting Guatemala off balance. Maradiaga, who had already subbed Villatoro for Girón, played his last card, Mynor Dávila for a tiring Plata. But the only chances came from long range--in fact, the best chances were Panama's. In the 82nd Rodríguez sent in sub Roberto Brown, who rounded Klee but missed from a narrow angle. In the 86th Klee dove to his right to parry Brown's header. The clock kept ticking. Panama were in control, and Guatemala had missed their way.

    Sibrian signaled for three minutes of extra time. For two-and-a-half of them, nothing much happened, unless you count Phillips' yellow card for knocking down Selwyn Ponciano. But that meant a few extra seconds tacked on at the end. And so at 2 minutes 50, with Alberto Blanco in possession, there was still some time to kill. He could have whacked it long; instead he tried for Rodríguez near the left touchline. But Villatoro intercepted and sent it toward the corner for Fredy Garcia, who ran it down inches short of the byline. He turned, got it on his left foot, and crossed. Ruiz and Torres collided, and the ball fell free in the area. Blanco got to it first, and this time he really did whack it--but he was off balance, and it only went as far as Sanabria, 35 yards out. He sent it to Davila, back to goal at the top of the arc. Davila's first touch was off, the ball rolled out a few yards, he went to retrieve, stopped--because there was Gonzalo Romero coming right at the ball. Romero, the man with the magic left foot, who tonight had delivered his best game of the qualifiers. At 3 minutes 11 seconds, he met it sweetly, crisply, decisively. The ball stayed on the grass, and lost part of its pace, but was hit too hard and placed too well. Penedo went full stretch to his left, but it was by him and into the corner.

    As the players leaped on each other, embraced, and cried, streamers flew out from the crowd, and about eight billion pieces of confetti cascaded onto the pitch. After the game, as Cheché Hernández addressed the press, his voice broke, and for a few moments he couldn't continue. It's the oldest cliché in the book: for every winner there's a loser. You can't have the thrill of victory without the agony of defeat. You had to feel for Panama, a team with skill and a colossal amount of heart, a team that has brought a special fire and fascination to the competition. They just fell short, in the worst possible way. It was a sad day for them. But--isn't football a great, great game?


WHERE WE STAND NOW


    I'd love to say something profound about Mexico and the USA, but all I can think of is "they're beating the crap out of everyone." They've played a combined 10 games against the rest of the field, scoring 9 wins and 1 draw, with a GF/GA of 20-3. And the three opposing goals, each in their own way, have been flukes. Paulo Wanchope scored by accident on a corner when Oscar Pérez swatted the ball into his foot; Angus Eve scored on a narrow-angled shot that deflected off Kasey Keller's hand; Luís Tejada scored on a once-in-a-million-years bicycle kick.

    But on September 3 at Columbus the teams finally get some real competition. With an unexpected bonus: the winner of the game absolutely, positively, Sepp-Blatter-guaranteed, qualifies for the World Cup. The loser? Sadly, if things break right, they can qualify too--and both might make it with a draw. But let's hope it doesn't happen that way. What's the point if you can't beat your bitterest rival, draw yourself up to your full height, beam with pride, and shout "nyaah, nyaah, nyaah"?

    On the surface the numbers look gloomy for Costa Rica. Tied with Guatemala, with the final-day rematch in Guatemala City, it's time to read up on Uzbekistan. But look closer at the schedule, and you'll see the ticos aren't in bad shape at all. Besides the head-to-head finale, the teams have three games apiece. Both face the USA at home, but CR's game is a round later, when the Yanks are less likely to care. Both face T&T, but Costa Rica gets them at home, Guatemala on the road. And in the remaining game, Costa Rica goes to Panama, while Guatemala goes to Mexico. If CR get their act in gear, they could be more than three points clear by the final round.

    But that's a big "if." Guimaraes has been in charge for three qualifiers, plus the Gold Cup, and there's no sign of the spark that drove the team four years ago. A big worry is Paulo Wanchope, who's dreadfully off form, and out of desperation will play in Qatar so he can get some first-team football. He's suspended for the Panama game, but that's probably just as well, because right now he's a liability. Maybe Rolando Fonseca can make a comeback, or Winston Parks can be coaxed out of Russia. The team also badly needs punch in midfield, and I can't imagine Alonso Solís will be left off again. On defense things look better: Luis Marín will be back, plus midfield enforcers Mauricio Solís and Douglas Sequeira. Michael Umaña showed against Mexico that he's ready for the big time. The team still has more pure talent than Guatemala, not to mention World Cup pedigree. But Guimaraes has been playing it absurdly conservative, even more than Jorge Luís Pinto, if such a thing is possible. That's not the Costa Rica way. If he lets it rip, there's still an excellent chance for third place.

    Guatemala is amazing. They can flail around helplessly for months, their back line can look downright excremental, they can lose game after game--but when you look up they're always in the middle of the table. The chapines now find themselves the favorite to make the playoff, and an even bet to qualify directly. But as we've seen, the schedule goes against them until the final day, and it's a long road home. The defense hardly distinguished itself against Panama; in fact, it may finally be time for Pablo Melgar to take a seat. Luis Swisher, who plays in Poland, is recovering from a rib injury, but if healthy is worth a try. At least Gustavo Cabrera will bring his air game back for T&T. Up front, the longtime absence of Dwight Pezzarossi has taken a toll; neither Plata nor Villatoro has been consistently up to the mark. The good news is in midfeld, where they struck gold with Fredy Garcia. He has to stay in the lineup. Pando Ramírez usually plays on the left, but he's naturally right-footed, and can go either to the right or DM. Gonzalo Romero has come out of hibernation, and just in time. September 3 is the big one, at Port-of-Spain. A draw there and they should finish no worse than fourth. A win, and they're in excellent shape for third. A loss, and anything is possible.

    Trinidad and Tobago didn't expect a result at the USA, but they lost ground in the race when Romero hit the net. They now must absolutely beat Guatemala at home on September 3. It's doable. Dennis Lawrence will miss the game, but Brent Sancho looked like his old self against the Yanks. Dwight Yorke remains in good form. And this is still the team that beat Panama and scared Mexico. My advice, Leo, since you asked? Bench Stern John. Let me say it a little louder. BENCH STERN JOHN. He's kept his spot because he's a technical player in the Beenhakker mold. But he's not producing, period. Kenwyne Jones isn't as polished, but he's scoring for Southampton and matches up well against the short Guatemalan defense. Scott Sealy has the hot hand in MLS, plus the smarts to beat an inconsistent back line. Dwight Yorke says he wants to play in midfield, so let him run the attack. You've got one shot: a win and there's all to play for, anything else and it's back to the tulips. Roll the dice.

    Panama isn't quite eliminated yet. If they beat Costa Rica and T&T at home, and pick up a point at a sleeping USA on the final day, they finish with 9, and there are several semi-plausible scenarios. But rather than go through the possibilities, let's ask why they're on the brink.

    First, a lack of scoring punch. José Luís Garcés, a player of such promise, never found the range. Up until last week, Roberto Brown was invisible. Panamanians are rightly proud of the Dély Valdés comeback, but they only returned because the front line had failed. Even Luís Tejada missed, twice, when he could have put Guatemala away.

    Second, tactical inflexibility. Cheché Hernández deserves a medal for bringing the team so far, but ultimately he may have been a bit too rigid. Julio Medina, by far his most creative midfielder, is at his best in the middle of the pitch, and Hernández' system put him out wide too often. If you saw what Medina did during the UNCAF tournament in a central position, you'll know what I mean. In the qualifiers Cheché never really changed his approach, and in the end I think it made a difference.

    Third, inexperience. Panama had the talent, but at a whole new level they were never quite confident enough. Opening at home to Guatemala, they seemed unready, and never found their rhythm. In round 2 at Costa Rica, they failed to press their advantage. After the fighting draw with Mexico, they didn't quite know what to do. And even after the marvelous Gold Cup, they lacked killer instinct. No disgrace--it's happened to a million teams just that way. And yes, they're still mathematically alive. But if you're a member of the marea roja, you have to be deeply disappointed. The World Cup comes around only once every four years, and who's to say when you'll pass this way again?

58
Football / Sancho credits Cox for new club.
« on: August 22, 2005, 05:34:42 AM »
Sancho credits Cox for new club.
By: Lasana Liburd.


Trinidad and Tobago defender Brent Sancho praised the influence of former international teammate, Ian Cox, in helping him restart his club career at England League One team, Gillingham.
Sancho debuted for the "Gills" on Saturday afternoon as they edged out Bournemouth 1-0 at home to move to fourth place, one point shy of leaders Brentford.
He was introduced in the 68th minute, just a day after signing for the club, as Gillingham manager Neale Cooper effectively shored up his defence to maintain their slender lead.
Sancho credited the 34-year-old Cox, who was man of the match on Saturday, as well as agent Mike Berry, in getting him the opportunity to move to England from relegated Scottish Premier League (SPL) club, Dundee.
"Cox recommended me (to Cooper) who spoke to me and the rest is history," said Sancho. "It really helps having Cox around and he is one of the nicest persons you can meet. He has helped me settle down and, in a perfect world, we will play together in the middle of the defence."
Cooper hinted to Sancho that he might be utilised this season at right back or as a defensive midfielder although he made his first appearance as a central defender as Gillingham switched from 4-4-2 to a 5-3-2 formation to keep out Bournemouth.
Sancho was not too surprised at his early debut after an emotional week for club and country.
"They made a big deal of beating the registration deadline on Friday when I signed," he said, "so I kind of knew that I had a chance of playing. It's been some week for me after getting my work permit on Monday and then playing my first competitive match in a long time against the United States.
"It was disappointing losing against the US but it was just good to be playing again. And then I made my debut yesterday (Saturday)."
Sancho signed a two-year deal on improved terms than his previous contract at Dundee and hopes to benefit from playing in England as well as his close proximity to London, which is 30 minutes away by train.
"I think I am in the right place now because more clubs look at you when you are in England," said Sancho. "I am also looking forward to living closer to London because of the big West Indian community there including some family members."
He thanked girlfriend, Jana, as well as national teammates, Kelvin Jack, Stern John and Shaka Hislop, and family members-mom, dad, sister and cousins-for helping him through his most difficult summer as a professional.
"It wasn't an easy summer going from hotel to hotel and team to team and not knowing where your future lies," he said. "But God is good. I would like to thank Berry too for sorting out my work permit and contractual stuff."
He looks forward to a successful spell with club and country, with Trinidad and Tobago's upcoming World Cup qualifier against Guatemala at the forefront of his mind.
"We have to win against Guatemala and then have to get a result against Costa Rica," said Sancho. "I think those two games are like Cup games. Those will be the biggest games of my career because they might determine whether or not we qualify for the World Cup.
"My goal right now is to qualify for the World Cup and to do well at Gillingham and stamp my authority at this level and, eventually, to play in the Premiership."

59
Football / Stern willing to sacrifice place
« on: August 21, 2005, 08:38:06 PM »
Source: Trinidad Guardian

No one was more disappointed than Stern John with last Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier loss to the United States.
The Coventry City striker is the leading goalscorer for T&T in international matches.
The Warriors are now faced with a must win situation when they host Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on September 3.
John is willing to play whatever role he is assigned to see the team progress, even if it means coming off the bench.
“Everyone was disappointed with the way we started and the way we lost,” John said.
“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb with the first goal and we panicked after that. You could see that by the way we just kept giving the ball away.
“We conceded a stupid goal and we paid the price and hopefully we can learn from this and pick ourselves again. We have done it before, but now is when it matters the most.
“The next few weeks will be the most critical of our careers,” John concluded.
Commenting on his substitution in the second half, replaced by Kenwyne Jones, John didn’t take it in bad stride.
“I ran about the pitch but it wasn’t enough. The service wasn’t coming our way and it showed that when Dwight dropped back into the middle our game changed a bit.
“But now it’s not about Stern John anymore. It’s about what’s best for the team and the country getting to the World Cup.
“I was disappointed about the performance when I went off. I think any manager will be disappointed with any player who comes off the pitch because he knows he can do better.
“All we needed was just one chance. We have strikers who can score goals in myself, Kenwyne and Dwight, but the service wasn’t there.
“We just need to work on that... get more balls into the box.
“We missed Carlos with the crosses. At least I think Dwight needs to play in the middle because he’s more into the game playing behind the strikers.
“All in all, I think we have what it takes to come back stronger than before. The game itself showed Kelvin (Jack) was brilliant and Silvio Spann had a good game in the right back position.
“Brent (Sancho) was also really good for us when he came on. But we need more than four or five players to do better, including myself, if we are to get results.”
John was not in the Coventry team which defeated Queen’s Park Rangers 3-0 on Saturday.

60
Football / Anything can happen!
« on: August 19, 2005, 05:48:00 AM »
By: Fazeer Mohammed
Trinidad Express
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ONE step forward, five steps back.

At least there are two weeks to go before the next game, more than enough time to crank up the public relations machine into full gear before the national team steps onto the field again against Guatemala at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.

But it will take more than a flurry of catchy jingles and loud-mouthed appeals to our sense of loyalty to shake off the effects of what could only be described as a deplorable showing against the United States on Wednesday night.

Despite the 1-0 loss, Trinidad and Tobago are by no means out of the qualifying race for next year's World Cup football finals in Germany. There are still four more games to go, and with just three points separating the local side from fourth-placed Costa Rica and the Guatemalans, anything is possible. However on the evidence of that performance in East Hartford, coach Leo Beenhakker has his work cut out to keep hopes alive before the

last of the qualifying games at home to Mexico on October 12th.

Something has gone desperately wrong since they played a disciplined and determined game against the Mexicans in Monterrey almost two months ago before conceding two late goals. In the interim, there was a poor showing and early elimination from the Gold Cup, yet nothing could have prepared anyone for an encounter that proved more of an embarrassment than an advertisement for the beautiful game.

Conceding the early goal was not the worst aspect of the night, although Brian McBride's second-minute strike was enough to earn the Americans the three points that virtually assures them of a fifth consecutive place in the World Cup finals. No, it was the almost complete absence of any of the fundamentals that you would expect from even a half-asleep Sunday morning side that suggests this entire campaign should already be dismissed as another lost cause.

Of course there will be all sorts of allegedly rational explanations for what transpired on the night, while the enthusiastic flag-waving apologists will be quick to point out that just one goal separated the two teams, so what is all the fuss about, especially as Trinidad and Tobago were much more in the game in the second half, even though they were down to ten men.

Believe that if you want. No amount of cokey-eyed analysis is going to change the fact that a team of professional footballers, several of them with years of experience at the highest level, could hardly string a few passes together. Not even the most rabid fanatic can avoid the stark reality that the defence didn't so much leak as it gushed wide open like a burst WASA main. Are Carlos Edwards and Brent Rahim such essential members of the team that their absence renders the midfield totally ineffective, barely able to control the ball and giving away possession as if they were promised precious Green Cards to do so?

A few excellent saves by Kelvin Jack might seem to have prevented a complete annihilation, however the reality is that it was over-confidence and gallerying, plain and simple, by the American forwards that prevented a scoreline close to double figures. For McBride, Landon Donovan and company it was like speeding down the Manzanilla stretch, racing effortlessly past stationary coconut trees dressed in red and black. The goalkeeper himself was unable to escape the generous Trini mood of the night, making one clearance right into the path of a striker who then chose the more difficult option of blasting his shot wide.

Stern John may be just a simple side-footer away from regaining his scoring touch, but at the moment he is about as intimidating as a teddy bear. Dwight Yorke must be wondering if all the travelling from Sydney is worth it given the disjointed, pedestrian effort put out by his team. At least he is racking up a considerable amount of frequent flyer miles, so it should not be a total loss.

Is a turnaround possible before the game against Guatemala? Of course it is.

If Yorke can change from a brooding, disinterested prima donna who could care less about representing his country to the committed, agitated leader we saw Wednesday night, then anything can happen.

Can an upturn in form be sustained and even improved upon further in the following games against Costa Rica, Panama and finally, Mexico? It doesn't seem so, simply because this team, even when playing at its best, remains extremely vulnerable at the back. It's hard to storm someone else's fortress when you're pinned behind your own crumbling walls.

Beenhakker has an outstanding track record and it would only be expected if he is already planning the strategy to take on Guatemala. But it doesn't help any coach trying to work out his opponents when he has to worry about the obvious failings of his own squad. More than anything else, the Dutchman has to get this crop of talented but inconsistent individuals to play as a team. That should be obvious, especially in the fluid, fast-paced game of football. Achieving that unity, however, is often easier said than done.

Instead of ducking behind paper-thin excuses, everyone associated with the national football team should acknowledge that what went on two days ago was utter rubbish and try to ensure that things don't get any worse if the lingering images of a fast-fading dream are not to vanish altogether in less than a fortnight.

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