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Offline Grande

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The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« on: June 11, 2006, 06:21:29 PM »
The proudest moment of my career
by: Shaka Hislop
The Times (UK)


YOU KNOW, I DON’T THINK AN easy-going Caribbean outlook is the first thing managers look for in a goalkeeper, but there is the odd occasion when it is just what you need. At 5.40 on Saturday evening, I was preparing to be on the bench for the biggest match in Trinidad & Tobago’s history, but then my good friend Kelvin Jack suffered an injury in the warm-up.
“Shaka, you’re playing.”
“No worries, boss.”

There was no time for stage fright or pre-match jitters. It was the game that I’d dreamt of my whole life, but I didn’t have to contend with any of these kind of emotions. One minute I was out, the next minute I was in. That suited me fine.

To be honest, though, I did feel something different out there. I’m a guy who likes to soak up the atmosphere in games I play in. I like games to hold lasting memories and maybe that has been to my detriment at times in my career, but here things were happening and they were just flashing by. I don’t know whether it’s a case of being “in the zone”, as they say, but it was different from what I’ve felt for a while — understandably so because of the game and what it meant to us.

What did it mean to a 37-year-old who has been around the block? It meant everything. It was the proudest day of my career. I think it would have been even if I hadn’t played — I was happy with the role I played in the qualifying campaign and I didn’t really expect too much more — but Saturday’s match completed the jigsaw for me. I know now I’ll be a happy man when I retire.

I was always going to be once we qualified, but from the time the first whistle went I knew that a big part of the jigsaw had been fitted. And then for things to go as they did, well, I think I’ll die a happy man.

It was a perfect day. Well, not quite perfect because I really felt for Kelvin, but I was just so proud. For us to get a draw against Sweden in our first game in the World Cup finals and for me to make a few decent saves along the way, it felt great.

But, to me, even more important than the point we won was the point we proved — not only to ourselves, but to the people of Trinidad & Tobago and I think also to people all over the world.

When we went out on to the pitch before the game, it seemed that 75 per cent of the crowd was made up of the yellow of Sweden. The rest of the stadium seemed to be neutral except for a few little pockets of the red, white and black of Trinidad & Tobago. OK, I thought. But then, with ten minutes remaining, it seemed the whole crowd was chanting for us. That was mouthwatering. It told me we were winning some friends, which is what we came here to do.

That probably meant more to me than any of the saves I made. That and the smiles on the faces of my team-mates and our supporters at the final whistle. It was an incredibly proud moment, but more as a Trinidadian than as a footballer.

What do we play football for? Contrary to what you might think, we play to make people happy. To see those smiling faces and then to hear from friends and relatives all over the world what it meant to them, that made it even better.

Apparently, the people were celebrating like mad back home and the scenes on our team bus were pretty frenzied, too, for a while. We were all taking calls from family and friends — Dwight Yorke even got a call from our Prime Minister, Patrick Manning — and the atmosphere was buzzing, with everyone singing and laughing. Luckily, the three-hour drive back to our base in Rotenburg calmed us down a bit before we got back to our hotel just after midnight for some cheese toasties before we went to bed, exhausted but still buzzing with excitement after an amazing day.

WE WILL FACE ENGLAND WITH NEWFOUND SELF-BELIEF

IT’S TOO EARLY FOR ME TO SAY whether I’ll keep my place against England on Thursday, but I can tell you that the sense of anticipation in the Trinidad & Tobago camp is soaring after our goalless draw with Sweden.

People from our part of the world are eternal optimists and there was already a lot of belief in our camp, but this result, especially after we played the last 44 minutes with ten men, has really raised expectations. If we go into the England game with our newfound self-belief, who knows what can happen? It can be done. We know it can. Dwight Yorke said straight after the draw in December that we could take heart from Northern Ireland’s victory against England in the qualifiers.

He’s right about that, but now we can take even more from our performance on Saturday.

A lot of people have asked me about the prospect of coming up against Steven Gerrard again after he beat me with two thunderbolts (and a penalty in the shoot-out, don’t forget) in the FA Cup Final. I joked last week that if I never see that guy again, it will be too soon, but as much as it would be nice to put one over him for a change, this is a totally different ball game and a totally different set of emotions.

Like I said, I don’t know whether I’ll be playing yet. What happened to poor Kelvin Jack on Saturday reminded me that you can’t take anything for granted. But it’s not about me or Kelvin. It’s about Trinidad & Tobago. And if we show the spirit we did on Saturday, who knows what might happen?

T&T welcomes back...the King

Offline trinbago

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2006, 06:34:01 PM »
Shaka...you are Trinindad and Tobago !!   :applause: :applause:
Warrior For Life !!

Offline triniboots

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2006, 06:53:45 PM »
"What do we play football for? Contrary to what you might think, we play to make people happy. To see those smiling faces and then to hear from friends and relatives all over the world what it meant to them, that made it even better."

Shaka:

That whole piece yuh right (along with coach's "Football is not Mathematics") needs to be put in a book about T&T 2006 World Cup journey. I think the world could and is learning a lot from our cool Caribbean approach to football and life.  Trinbagonians worldwide are standing taller, prouder and happier because of your guys. Keep it going!

Offline royal

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2006, 07:22:32 PM »
If anyone know sports,yuh could see Shaka was in a zone.It did'nt matter if we were playing in front of 1,000 or 100,000 people .Yuh so focus dat nothing else matter.I've never seen a Trinidad keeper so focus,no lapses and so cool for an entire game.

Offline Source

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2006, 07:40:17 PM »
Shaka not only was that game your finest moment but it was the defining moment in our sporting history. Your (in fact the entire team's) performance was sublime and will certainly be the defining moment in your illustrious career. How can we ever repay you for your dedicated service to our footballing cause.  Thank you for the joy and tears (tears of joy) you brought to us yesterday.

Offline Dutty

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2006, 07:56:01 PM »
Yuh mean after ALL dat work...plus ALL de celebratin afterward plus de man must be hadda talk to all he family
Dat man still have time to write ah long article for a newspaper?????



Shaka makin me look real lazy oui
Little known fact: The online transportation medium called Uber was pioneered in Trinidad & Tobago in the 1960's. It was originally called pullin bull.

Offline Storeboy

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2006, 07:57:54 PM »
Shaka, thanks for being a great patriot and footballer, but more importantly you are a great role model, intelligent (Engineering degree and NASA intern (ESPN) ) and a great tem mate.  No one deserves more and T&T are pleased and proud to call you a son of the soil.
Never, never, ever give up! Go T&T Warriors!

Offline rippin

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2006, 08:16:39 PM »
Shaka is a rare individual. To have such a great sporting career and be an engineer is really impressive. Graduating as a Mechanical Engineering  is special. Any Engineer can tell you that Mechanical is probably the most challenging engineering degree you can get. The man also had the time to take the Howard University football team to the NCAA final.

 :beermug:
Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration. (Thomas A. Edison )

Offline The_Ice

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2006, 08:19:54 PM »
shaka yuh gain ur place in history and the stories i will tell my granchildren... lol... seeing a man of ur age and after everyone doubt you playing ur heart out like that was spectacular... plus in terms of the team u show us that nothing is impossible  :beermug:

Offline morvant

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2006, 08:22:50 PM »
Shaka...you are Trinindad and Tobago !!   :applause: :applause:

so who iz me??? whey i form??? i need ah new passport cause i need one to say movahhh ;D
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Offline whayuhsay

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2006, 08:35:14 PM »
Big up Shaka!  Beautiful article!

Offline Tenorsaw

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2006, 08:54:48 PM »
De man is the epitomy of humility, and what is ironic is that he has such an accomplished resume.  We need more role models like him. 

Offline capodetutticapi

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2006, 10:23:18 PM »
de man was absolutly brilliant.shumacher,barthez,van de sar, none ah dem could come close to the display we saw on saturday.i look at the game 3 times already,next time allyuh watchin de game,focus on shaka. :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
soon ah go b ah lean mean bulling machine.

Offline Eh!

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #13 on: June 11, 2006, 10:47:34 PM »
Graduated with a mechanical engineering degree WITH HONOURS!!!

Offline ladywarrior

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #14 on: June 11, 2006, 11:31:27 PM »
I watched from the stands here in Germany and Shaka was my man of the MATCH!

 Watching those guys do it was an all time high for me! Shaka is a class act!
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Offline morvant

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #15 on: June 11, 2006, 11:37:36 PM »
I watched from the stands here in Germany and Shaka was my man of the MATCH!

 Watching those guys do it was an all time high for me! Shaka is a class act!

i was waiting to hear yuh. i know he is yuh boy ;D
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"

Offline StoreBayLimer

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Re: The proudest moment of my career (article by Shaka)
« Reply #16 on: June 12, 2006, 12:01:54 AM »

......

When we went out on to the pitch before the game, it seemed that 75 per cent of the crowd was made up of the yellow of Sweden. The rest of the stadium seemed to be neutral except for a few little pockets of the red, white and black of Trinidad & Tobago. OK, I thought. But then, with ten minutes remaining, it seemed the whole crowd was chanting for us. That was mouthwatering. It told me we were winning some friends, which is what we came here to do.

....

This is the first time that I am seeing that  info on the winning over of the crowd.

Thanks for everything Shaka.  A job well done

 

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