Preparing for Germany

[E-man]

Preparing for Germany
By Franka Philip (BBC Caribbean)

31 May 2006

Packing to follow the Soca warriors


Trini beer might not be on tap in London but there's a ready supply if you know where to look.
 
You could excuse me for feeling a bit homesick, what with Trinis getting on scandalous, Carib beer selling like hot hops bread, and soca blasting from the speakers.

I felt like I was in Trotters Bar in Port of Spain.

But the “excuse me mate” from the Australian bar attendant who came to pick up our empty bottles quickly brought me back to reality.

I was in fact at the Walkabout Pub, an Australian bar in North London hanging out with a bunch of my fellow countrymen (and women).

We were all there to see how the Soca Warriors would fare against Wales in a vital pre-World Cup warm up match.

 
A 2-1 loss but supporters thought the side looked good.

Unfortunately, Trinidad and Tobago lost by two goals to nil, but the team’s performance gave Soca Warrior fans a lot to take heart from.

Looking better

I saw the Soca Warriors play here against Iceland in February and they have vastly improved between then and now.

They now look like a unit, they’re holding their structure, the passing is very good and they’re playing with confidence.

But everyone I spoke to at the Walkabout hopes that in the coming weeks, coach Leo Beenhakker will focus on cutting out defensive errors and urge our strikers to make the most of scoring opportunities.

“We need to be more goal hungry, we need to really want to put the ball in the back of the net,” said Damien, a one-time Queen’s Royal College football hotshot.

“Sometimes the guys get into the box and it looks like they’re not sure what they want to do at that point.”

Others were glad the Soca Warriors are playing with more self-belief and they attribute that to coach Beenhakker.

They "believe in themselves"

“I think what Leo Beenhakker has been able to do is not only consolidate the talent we have as a football playing nation but also he’s also got the players to believe in themselves,” said Lawson, a Trini who lives in the seaside town of Brighton.

“I think going forward, once we believe in ourselves, we can be competitive in Germany.”


All to play for in Germany

When the game was over, I spoke to a few people about their plans for going to Germany. Some were virtually packed and rearing to go, while others were still waiting for their match tickets or their German visas.

Mark , who arrived in London from Trinidad that morning, told me he didn’t have any difficulty organising his World Cup trip, and had no problems getting a German visa.

“The German Embassy is usually the most difficult embassy but luckily, I was with a tour group so it wasn’t that hard for me,” he said. “I haven’t had a problem with tickets and not many people I know have had problems getting tickets in Trinidad.”

Soca Warrior fans in the UK however; tell a different story.

Oliver, a London-based Trini who is organising the World Cup trip for him and his group of friends said he had a hard time getting match tickets.

“I got my tickets through a variety of sources and that was very hard, especially getting tickets for the Trinidad-England game, but for the other games, it was much easier.”

Damien said he tried to go through the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation but found it difficult.

“It was a problem for people living outside of Trinidad who applied through the TTFF, you either had to have a good contact in Trinidad or keep calling the TTFF to find someone who could put your name on the list.”

Historic event

With less than two weeks before our first game, the vibe among the Trinis in London is one of eager anticipation. We’re all extremely excited about being a part of this historic event in some form or fashion.

 
Of course, the party started at home.

After the positive performance by the Soca Warriors against Wales, we’re pretty sure that we’ll give teams a hard time, and a lot of people are even saying we could pull off an upset win against England.

But it always comes back to that one thing that Trinis love, and that’s having a good time whether we win, lose or draw.

Echoing the sentiment of a classic Kitchener calypso, No Wuk For Carnival, this is what Oliver had to say; “I’m in training for Germany right now, as you can see by my Carib in my hand.

I already tell my boss that when I come back from Germany productivity is going to be very low because it’s going to be a party for 12 days!”