Go guys go
(Newsday)Wednesday, May 10 2006
TODAY all eyes are on the Soca Warriors as they play their last local match against Peru before heading off to Germany to seek World Cup glory. Trinidad and Tobago will play other warm-up matches en route to Germany including against the Czech Republic.
Cold logic should dictate that since we have already qualified for the World Cup, it is immaterial whether we win or lose today’s practice match against lowly ranked Peru, who are not even in the World Cup.
However, in practice fans are expecting a good showing from the Warriors. A victory will serve to continue to build up our still fledgling national confidence since beating Bahrain before we face the big fish of Group B - England, Sweden and Paraguay.
Today’s match is also important for practical reasons. The Peruvians will expose the players to the tough South American style of football they can expect from Paraguay. The Soca Warriors, in beating Iceland, have already seen the Scandinavian style they can expect from Sweden, and in their individual clubs abroad they would be familiar with the English football style.
In addition, today’s match will give our team a chance to gel, remembering that they have not played together since the Iceland game in February.
The match will give the Warriors a chance to practise some safe set pieces, and also provide them the opportunity to try out some creative innovations, although there is a feeling that coach Leo Beenhakker will lean towards playing it safe. Indeed, while a victory will be a great morale-booster and equally a loss could be a real setback to our collective psyche, it would be foolish to take any wild chances which might put the players at risk of injury.
While the match has been described as an international “friendly”, it may in fact turn out to be not so friendly. South Americans have a tough reputation on the football field. Moreso, while Peru has had a glorious footballing history in qualifying for three out of the four World Cups held from 1970 to 1982, they have recently nose-dived to place ninth out of ten countries in South America, and may now feel like playing us as if they have nothing to lose.
Another outcome of the match is that it will project Trinidad and Tobago on the world stage even before the World Cup kicks off. Many foreign media personnel are present in Trinidad and Tobago for the match, including from the United Kingdom and Sweden.
Today’s match will also give us some indication of the prospects for the Warriors in Germany. Coming under the microscope will be the strategising of coach Beenhakker, and the command of captain Dwight Yorke.
Beenhakker is expected to play his strongest side today. He will be very mindful of the terrible psychological blow that a loss to Peru could inflict on the Soca Warriors and our citizens.
So all in all, people will be watching the match for an indication of the performance that our players are capable of taking to the World Cup.
Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago will today expect a nice little local demonstration of what a world-class football team can do, as a preview to Germany.
So with a capacity home-crowd expected to flood the National Stadium in a sea of red, notwithstanding the high price of the tickets, Trinidad and Tobago has everything to play for.
Good luck, Soca Warriors! Go guys go!
GO WARRIORS GO!
JOEL BAILEY (Newsday)Wednesday, May 10 2006
Sell-out crowd for last home game LOCAL football fans will have a final chance to see both Russell Latapy in his final international game on home soil, as well as the national team in action, before the Warriors leave for a pre-World Cup training stint in Europe.
With the 37-year-old Latapy affirming his decision to retire from national duty following next month’s FIFA World Cup in Germany, it may also be the last chance for the Trinidad and Tobago public to see his close friend captain Dwight Yorke, on the field of play.
Both Latapy and Yorke, who are undeniably the country’s most popular and yet controversial players, made international comebacks at various stages in 2005, in order to guide TT from rocky waters to the joys of World Cup participation.
The duo, who are the only members of the revered Strike Squad still involved in the top flight of the game, will be seeking to leave lasting memories on the home fans when Trinidad and Tobago oppose Peru at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo today from 6.30 pm.
Other players who may be pondering their future after the World Cup are Shaka Hislop, Clayton Ince, Kelvin Jack, Avery John, Marvin Andrews, Cyd Gray, Dennis Lawrence, Ian Cox and Anthony Rougier, all 30 years and over.
In that regard, it will be heartening to note that Chris Birchall, Silvio Spann, Kenwyne Jones, Collin Samuel, Densil Theobald, Cornell Glen and Anthony Wolfe — the future flagbearers of the national team’s dreams and aspirations — are all 25 years and under.
Therefore, today’s match, and the World Cup in general, are important moments for the short and long-term future of Trinidad and Tobago football.
Despite the high cost of a ticket, a sell-out crowd is expected at the Hasely Crawford Stadium for today’s highly-anticipated match.
Hislop and Glen are out of today’s fixture, with Hislop’s attention focused on this weekend’s English FA Cup final against Liverpool, for his club West Ham, while Glen suffered a hamstring injury a fortnight ago with his US MLS club Los Angeles Wizards.
Andrews joined the squad yesterday from his Scottish Premier League team Rangers and will be doubtful to play this evening.
Another important focus of today’s game will be the fact that it will be the last international before coach Leo Beenhakker finalises his 23-member World Cup team, meaning an omission for one of his 24-man provisional squad.
With FIFA mandating that the full team be announced by May 15, it is the final opportunity for Cox, Rougier, Samuel, Wolfe and David Atiba Charles to book their places to Germany.
During their World Cup test-run, the national squad will meet Wales on May 27, Slovenia on May 31 and Czech Republic on June 3, while their World Cup Group “B” campaign kicks off against Sweden on June 10.
Today’s game will, in a variety of ways, be a gauge for the squad before leaving for Europe on Saturday.
Teams:
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Kelvin Jack, Clayton Ince (goalkeepers); Dennis Lawrence, Avery John, Ian Cox, Brent Sancho, Cyd Gray, David Atiba Charles (defenders); Anthony Rougier, Dwight Yorke (capt), Russell Latapy, Densil Theobald, Carlos Edwards, Chris Birchall, Silvio Spann, Aurtis Whitley (midfielders); Stern John, Kenwyne Jones, Collin Samuel, Anthony Wolfe, Jason Scotland (strikers).
PERU: George Sommer, Erick Vasquez, Leao Gotuzzo (goalkeepers); Santiago Pena, Manuel Gonzales, Miguel Hurtado, Amilton Barron, John Castro, Ernesto Donayre (defenders); Aldo Vasallo, Paulo Durand, Rainer Salas, Carlos Zamora, Miguel Abad (midfielders); Roberto Jimenez, Wilmer Vasquez, Douglas Santillana, Pedro De La Cruz, Gustavo Ferrari (strikers).
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