Exclusive Interview with Cornell Glen.
Interview Conducted By Collin 'Mr Mc' McFarlane.On his way back to LA after reprsenting the Soca Warriors in Germany, #13 took some time out to answer a few questions for socawarriors.net.
SocaWarriors.net: Congratulations on a job well done in the World Cup, first question. How extensive is the injury? And, when will you be back on the field playing?Cornell Glenn: it’s a knee injury, I am not exactly sure of the diagnosis, it was done in German and they sent it to translate, and we have not gotten it back as of yet. I have to do a scan sometime soon to find out exactly what it is so I can make a decision if to have surgery or not.
SW: So how does it feel to you, you are up and about walking?CG: It feels good I am walking without my knee brace now; I don’t have the crutches I had for the first few days so it feels good.
SW:Â Can you describe what it was like taking the field for the first time?CG:Â Unbelievable, it was a dream come through, it was one of those things you sit at home as a kid dreaming about, at the same time you have a job to do, so you have to put all the behind you and go out there and fight hard for your country.
SW: Going in you guys trained, you prepared for all the teams. What exactly were the team’s tactics going in?CG: Basically not to concede goals in the first 20 25 minutes. As you see from our warm up games that was our downfall, conceding early goals and our heads drop and we get two, three after that. So we think that if we can hold these teams for the first 20 minutes then we are definitely in with a chance, and we did exactly that against Sweden, and we did a great job against England unfortunately it did not work out, that’s basically it, just hold and after that we start going?
SW: So what were your instructions going in, at one point you came in when we had lost a defender, so what were your instructions when he put you into the game?CG:Â Just to go out there and basically use my speed to take on players, nothing much, a few defensive responsibilities, but not a whole lot
SW: One of the hottest topics coming out of this world cup was Latapy and his playing time. If you were coach would you have played him more?CG: If I was coach, probably yes, probably no, the first two games were real fast for a guy 37 years old, you have to understand what the coach is thinking and where he is coming from and what he is thinking. I definitely thought he could have gotten some more time in the Paraguay game, seeing as how that game was much slower than the first two games.
SW: How are things with you and the coach, you guys have a good relationship?CG: yeah yeah we have a good relationship, we had a few problems during the Gold Cup that’s why I was not on the team for a while, he called me back for the Bahrain game, and we had a meeting we sat down and talked and worked everything out. I thanked him for opportunity he gave me, because a lot of folks wasn’t really looking out for me to go out and play and perform as I did.
SW: Were you able to exchange jerseys with any of the other players? Who with?CG: I got a chance to exchange in the Sweden and the England game. I exchanged with the defender Lucic from Sweden and Lampard from England.
SW: Apart from the 3 games you played in Germany you guys been together for about 6 week, what that experience like the different countries, being with the team?CG: Good, good, as I told some reporters over there, it’s the best dressing room you could ever be in. A great bunch of guys. A whole lot of fun.
SW: What are the future plans for Cornell Glen? Hoping to move to another league? Any interested parties as of yet? Where would you like to go (League or Team)?CG: right now the future plans are to go back to LA, work on my knee and try to recover as soon as possible. Offers, you know will be coming, after performing this good on a world cup stage, they will be coming. But I am contracted with LA and thats my first priority right now is to try and get back to the club and try and get fit.
SW: How have they been doing in your absence, I know they had a few guys out for the World Cup?CG: Not too good not too good, they had 3 guys, myself Landon and Chris Albright. The last game they won was the last game I played so they lost like 7 or 8 straight, so not too well.
SW: What do you think about the future of Trinidad football for 2010? Would you like Beenhacker to stay?CG: Definitely, we have a bunch of good youths. Myself, Spann, Chris Birchall, I can good on and one, and its looking even better now that it looks like the coach will be back.
SW: Who was your favorite team growing up, who are you backing now in the World Cup? Who do you think will win?CG: When I was younger I backed who was winning, so Chelsea was my team. For this World Cup I think Germany can win it all.
SW:Â OK last question, If you were not playing professional football what would you be doing?CG:Â I have always been interested in art, so I would probably be an artist.
Thank You...
Cornell Glen.
Note: On behalf of the Soca Warriors Online I just what to say Thank You to Mr. Cornell Glen for taking the time to do this interview for us. Please keep up the great work you are doing and we all wish you all the best for the future of T&T football...
05-Jul-2006.
Steve Shand of SoccerWorld and Cornell Glen #13Special Thanks to Steve Shand of SoccerWorld for putting the meeting together.