9 June 2006
LATAPY'S WORLD CUP DIARY: MATCH OF THE PRAY
DailyRecord.co.uk
WORLD CUP 2006: TODAY'S THE DAY... Latapy's WORLD CUP DIARY
No need for archbishops now we've got Marv doing services before games
WAY back when I first started playing for Trinidad & Tobago in 1989, we had a ritual of stopping off at church on the way to games.
I don't usually talk about religion but there's no getting away from it when you are from Trinidad and Tobago.
To give you a little idea of how steeped in faith my islands are, let me tell you that our No.1 fan is no less than the Port of Spain's Archbishop.
He travels to our games and will sometimes say a word to us as a group on the eve of matches. He'll be here in Germany too.
But he might not get so much of a look-in at these Finals. Sorry, your Grace but we've now got our own fully-qualified man of the cloth sitting right next to us in the dressing room.
You all know about Marvin Andrews' work away from football - not that he distinguishes between what he does on the field and how he spends his time off it - so we're certainly delighted to have him as our pastor on match days.
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Tomorrow and the opening of our World Cup bid against Sweden will be no different.
When we get to the stadium in Dortmund, we'll follow our usual routine in terms of getting ready to play the game. And just before we run out the tunnel, we'll complete that ritual with Marvin leading us in prayer.
He'll have a very simple message although he might have something a little bit extra to say on this occasion.
Basically, he'll thank the Lord for getting us to these Finals and for getting us to the dressing room safely.
Then he'll ask God for protection once we get out on to the pitch but he'll ask Him to protect both teams from injury. He doesn't ask God to give us the results we're looking for, that's not the point. But it's a special moment in which we all share. I don't know if other teams do that but I doubt many other sides have someone with Marvin's qualifications.
In terms of the actual football, the key to doing well in any tournament is peaking at the right time. And that's something Leo Beenhakker knows a lot about having managed a Holland squad famous for their fall-outs, not to mention giant club institutions in Ajax and Real Madrid.
Obviously, Leo's been concentrating on different aspects of what we have to do at different times over the last few weeks. Fortunately, the emphasis now will increasingly be on rest ahead of Sweden.
I'll be honest, I wish we had the luxury of being together for two or three months ahead of the Finals, as some of the other nations have enjoyed. Everyone saw how Guus Hiddink welded South Korea into such a strong force at the last tournament.
Guus has told Leo he would never have reached the semi-finals had they not been given that opportunity.
Unfortunately for us, that's not been possible. We have had to fit in a lot in a relatively short space of time and while there might be some things we'd have liked to have spent more time on, we have quite a lengthy list of things we're not so good at - all of which needed working on.
Still, we're as ready as we'll ever be and the truth is we can't wait for Sweden. I think alot of people in England have been overlooking the Swedes, just assuming the group will be sewn up for them with wins against Paraguay on Saturday and then us next Thursday.
But by my reckoning, Sweden have three outstanding front players who could damage just about any team in the competition.
He may be almost as old as your very own Methuselah here but Henrik Larsson showed once again his world-class ability in last month's Champions League final. Few at Barca, apart from maybe Frank Rijkaard, really knew just how good Henrik was when he first left for Spain but everyone else certainly found out that night in Paris.
I'm quite friendly with his team-mate Deco, who has kept a home near to mine in Oporto from his days at my old club, Porto.
We'll share a drink when we're both back chilling on breaks and I can tell you they know fine well what a loss his returning to Sweden with Helsingborg is for them. Deco already knew that having been on the opposing side that night in Seville ...
Fortunately, Marvin also knows what a handful he will be. Also on our side is the fact we have one of the tallest players at 6ft 7in in our squad, Dennis Lawrence. In saying that, though, Henrik is also one of the most agile players I've ever seen in the air.
I remember watching him as a young substitute at USA 94 and having played against him often enough in Scotland - when people didn't always give him the credit he gets now - there's something quite comforting about knowing I'll have played on the same stage as Henrik right at the end of our international careers.
With Henrik, Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Freddie Ljungberg the pick of a very strong bunch, Sweden is probably an even tougher test for us than England.
Most of our players play in England or Scotland - and their style of play will come naturally to us. But while I expect both teams to be a little cautious initially, and I think Sweden will show us more respect than the English pundits have, we have to guard against it turning into a rude awakening.
Football isn't only about great players with extraordinary talents. It is also a game of errors and we've been working hard to try to limit the number of unenforced mistakes we make.
Mexico are no mugs and we beat them to earn our play-off berth against Bahrain.
But if we managed to limit the errors in qualifying, especially after Leo came in for the run-in, we know we have to reach an altogether different plane now.
If I'm honest, I'd have to admit we're not yet at the level I'd hoped we would be. But, equally, we are a much better team now than we were before Leo took charge.
Praise be for that...
