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Offline E-man

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‘Soca Warriors’ get Christmas break
« on: December 23, 2006, 12:10:01 PM »
‘Soca Warriors’ get Christmas break
By: T&T Newsday


Saturday, December 23 2006

TRINIDAD and Tobago “Soca Warriors” will resume preparations for the Digicel Caribbean Cup after the Christmas weekend.

Eight nations will be vying for the regional title here in Trinidad and Tobago next month.

Over the last week, coach Wim Rijsbergen has been overseeing training with 42 players at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva and the former Dutch defender is expected to trim the squad by half next week as TT prepares for its Digicel Cup opener against Barbados on January 12 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

The national coaching staff which also includes Jan Van Deinsen, Anton Corneal and Brian Williams also got to see the players up against a team of visiting US-college players as well as local-based ones in a couple of 30-minute scrimmages on Thursday.

The national team players were rotated as they were observed in different positions and roles.

Among the players being assessed by the coaching team is 24-year-old central defender Anthony Noreiga who is coming off a season with Vancouver Whitecaps in the American A-League.

The six-foot-tall Noreiga, who was involved in the pre-Carnival camp with the national team, ahead of their 2-0 win over Iceland in February, noted, “it was a major opportunity to be able to work with our World Cup players and being in the mix so close before the World Cup and that is something that I don’t intend to let go by easily.

“That experience helped me better my awareness of what is required at that level of the game. Even though I didn’t get into the final squad I think there were a lot of positives I got out of it and now with the Digicel Cup coming up, I hope I can get into the team and keep on striving for better things. But seeing that I was considered in February, I think that should mean I am in with a chance for 2010 and I want to make that happen.”

The former Princes Town Senior Comprehensive defender is unattached at the moment but hopes to weigh his options in the United States and Europe.

“The last season was pretty decent. We won the championship but I didn’t play too much coming down to the playoffs. I was a rookie so playing 13 games for them wasn’t bad.

“I had an option for a one year extension but I’ll see what comes up for next year. I was also part of the Kansas Wizards for pre-season but at the time I would have been counted as a senior international after getting into the Trinidad team and they were looking for someone with more experience. The next best option was Vancouver after that.”

« Last Edit: December 23, 2006, 12:29:05 PM by e-man »

 

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