It is time we separate all the hype surrounding the Soca Warriors qualification to the 2006 World Cup in Germany and deal with the harsh realities that abound.
We were floundering in the qualifictions with only one point after 3 qualification games. Bertille St Clair did his best, but it appeared that his best was NOT good enough….Enter Leo Beenie –Man Beenhackker.
A more determined and organized team took to the field and we made it to a play off with Bahrain after slipping past Mexico 2-1 at home on the final day of qualification.
We met a very poor Bahrain team and had much trouble penetrating their defenses at home in the first leg of the play-offs. In fact they had many hearts beating awry when they scored on us, albeit against the run of play, with a header. I was in the Haseley Crawford National Stadium that day, and I saw a man left unmarked to bang a header home. A screamer from Chris Birchall restored the parity, but not entirely the confidence of the fans.
In all honesty, the players felt that they could still outplay Bahrain in Manama and qualify, and so with the stuff that bounds eternal, we went into their home and did what other teams before failed to do….Make it to the World Cup, when Dennis Lawerence rose to meet a Dwight Yorke header and blast it between a Baharani defender’s legs and into the net. GOAL!!!!!
Celebrations! I was in T&T and after walking unto the streets from my favourite watering hole where I had watched the game I was feeling like a new man. “We make it!” “We make it!” I told a man who asked me what was going on. “Make what?” He queried. I gave him one bad eye and kept walking without answering his question.
The streets began to swell with people and the air was filled with the honking and blaring of car horns. I was wearing my Finta team shirt and plenty others were decked out in red shirts of some variety.
For a good week after that victory, the talk of the town was the Mighty Soca Warriors. Even the fractioning politicians were talking about unifying power of the team. I was proud as proud can be.
Fast forward to today.
We have played several warm-up matches and amid all the talk of “Beenie-man knows what he has to do to get the team ready,” to “we going to make it to the second round,” to the talk of “we winning the Cup,” needs to be put to rest.
We need to enjoy the fact that we, Trinidad and Tobago, are in our first ever Finals! We need to relish the fact that Cinderella has been invited to the Ball and we are going to dance, dance, dance!
We need to stop with the fantasy that this is going to be some sort of platform for future successes on the international football scene. Because if history is a guide, nothing is going to change in terms of our football administration. The TTFF will continue to be high handed and refrain from development, the Government will continue to display apathy toward sports and sportsmen/women, using them only for political mileage. The vast majority of fans will continue to be fair weather fans….supporting only when things are going right.
Let me remind some of you who may have been too young to recall what happened when Crawfie won what remains to this day, our only Olympic Gold medal.
Big talk about “money is no problem.” The government will ensure that we produce many more Haseley Crawfords.” The stadium was built and that was it. To this day we have not seen the fulfillment of that promise. Look at how Ato Boldon was treated when he was denied his home. When the man asked for his house they out a cap on how much the home was to cost. Violating the promises made.
Have they built the swimming pool that they promised Mr. Bovell?
When we had a narrow miss against the USA in 1989, did the TTFF implement any programme to ensure that there would be no repeat of that occurrence? Has the TTFF developed any semblance of accountability? Instead of developing football, the top dog of the TTFF is smack dab in the middle of political shenanigans or defending himself amid a flurry of accusations that he is corrupt!
Trinidad has been playing international football from before I was born. So the lame excuse that we are unprepared for international football is passé. We were not prepared well enough, before the advent of Beenhackker to acclimatize ourselves to the highest quality of international football. That is the problem! If we were to compare ourselves to Jamaica, you would see the glaring differences! But despite that we are in the World Cup and Jamaica will be looking at the games on television.
So let us enjoy the dance, let us celebrate our involvement in what is the world’s biggest and best sporting celebration and event, and put to rest all the unrealistic expectations, praying for the best, but preparing for the worst.
Amen!
