Beenhakker releases Rougier from World Cup squad.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
National head coach Leo Beenhakker has cut one player from his list of 24 players to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 World Cup Finals. As indicated last month when he announced the squad, one player would be released to make it a 23-man squad for the Finals and following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Peru at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, the lone player to be left out is experienced utility player Anthony Rougier.
Beenhakker had invited Rougier back into the national team for a training camp in Fort Lauderdale in January and subsequently named him on the 24-man squad ahead of the Peru match but has now had the hard task of letting Rougier go and he explained this after having a lengthy discussion with the player.
“The guy worked fantastically and he did everything he had to do to try and make it and in the end I had to make a decision. I am sorry but it was not enough because he showed me he is a great professional and a great guy but he was not enough in terms of the conditions to make the team,” Beenhakker told TTFF Media.
At the same time, with the squad at 23 players inclusive of injured LA Galaxy forward Cornell Glen, Beenhakker has also invited German-based winger Evans Wise to join the team in the Manchester camp up until the end of the training camps in Austria as well in the event that Glen does not recover from his hamstring injury.
“We have the twenty three players now but we also have the Cornell Glen situation. On one side I promised him that he can take his time to recover but obviously with the team preparation in mind. On the other side I promised him that he can take his time and I don’t want to put pressure by giving him a deadline. He will miss a big part of team preparation but he will work everyday with physiotherapist and I will give him a fair chance.
“At the same time I had a very long conversation with Evans Wise and he will come over to England to be involved in the team preparations until the end of the camp in Austria. I told him very clearly that it’s a 50-50 situation because if Cornell is fit then I have to send him (Wise) home and then if Cornell is not fit then I have the bad job to release him from the squad,” Beenhakker explained.
The Dutchman stressed that he did not enjoy the part of having to make the latest decision before the team departs for Manchester on Saturday but he had no choice in the matter.
“This is always the weird part of my profession because you have to make decisions like these just by your head but you are also human and it’s not easy to send a guy home like Anthony who I know has worked hard for the past two weeks. You also have an emotional relationship with your players but that’s part of the job,” Beenhakker added.
He also spoke of ensuring that the entire squad be in ready shape for the matches this country has to play in Germany.
“I will prepare him (Wise) the same as the other guys. Normally you don’t make six changes in a match like last night (versus Peru) but as I said before, I don’t only have to prepare eleven guys but instead the entire squad because if one player gets injured before we play Sweden then the other has to step in,” he said.
T&T Squad:
Kelvin Jack (Dundee), Shaka Hislop (West Ham United), Clayton Ince (Coventry City).
Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham) Cyd Gray (San Juan Jabloteh), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers), Brent Sancho (Gillingham), Ian Cox (Gillingham), Atiba Charles (W Connection), Avery John (New England Revolution).
Silvio Spann (unattached), Chris Birchall (Port Vale), Aurtis Whitley (San Juan Jabloteh), Evans Wise (Waldhof Mannheim), Anthony Wolfe (San Juan Jabloteh), Densill Theobald (Falkirk), Carlos Edwards (Luton Town), Dwight Yorke (Sydney FC), Russell Latapy (Falkirk).
Stern John (Coventry City), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton FC), Collin Samuel (Dundee United), Jason Scotland (St Johnstone), Cornell Glen (LA Galaxy).
Skipper eyeing World Cup before final kick.
By: Shaun Fuentes.[/size]
National senior team captain Dwight Yorke is not yet thinking about once more retiring from international football, but wants to focus on the coming weeks of preparation for the 2006 World Cup.
Yorke made these comments as he was preparing to leave the Piarco International Airport on Saturday evening with the rest of the team for a one week training camp at Carden Park, Manchester via a BWIA flight to London.
Yorke said he was not ready to make that decision, following such an announcement close pal and teammate Russell Latapy.
"At this point in time I just want to concentrate solely on being the captain of this team and giving 100 per cent to my country, and then after that I will sit down around the table with my advisers and people who are important to me, my family, and then make a decision from there," Yorke stated.
"But right now, as far as I am concerned, (the main thing) is that I'm fully focused on doing well in the next five weeks and representing my country. It's a special moment, it's an historic moment for our country and our people."
Yorke, as were most of the other players, was visibly excited to be making the trip that heralds their entrance into the top tier of world football.
"This is the moment we have all been dreaming of," he added, "and I'm really looking forward to it. We're four weeks away from playing in the World Cup."
TTFF special adviser Jack Warner was also very enthusiastic about the team's departure as he wished them well at the check in counter. Several fans also took a last minute chance to express best wishes including little kids with national flags painted on their faces.
"This is history in the making," the FIFA vice-president told the media at the airport. "Whatever happens now, or in the future, this particular point in time will never happen again."
Warner also thanked Traffic Branch police officers for their contributions in providing security for the team during Friday's road tour, which he said is an event he would never forget.
"I've never seen such a mixture of humanity at every level, and in areas traditionally our heroes don't go...It was absolutely super and if anything will remain etched in my memory, it would be yesterday's (Friday's) experience."
