Former national football team physiotherapist Oba Gulston has described his stint with English club Middlesbrough in the Premiership last year, as a fantastic hands on experience. Gulston visited the club as head of rehabilitation at the UTT. Following a short stint with the first and reserve teams, he was invited to remain but declined because of contractual arrangements with UTT. “I got the opportunity to work with the first team and to observe the youngsters and the reserve team,” said Gulston. “They played Arsenal during the first week I was there so I got to experience that and after I was gradually exposed to different situations at the club. Some were real and some were staged to see my response. It was an extremely valuable experience.
“I got an invitation to stay but I have an obligation to T&T. I wanted to assist in developing sports physiotherapy in the country.” Gulston was physiotherapist for the “Soca Warriors” at the 2006 World Cup Finals and also served the T&T Cricket Board during the 2011 regional four-day tournament. He was also physiotherapist for the T&T netball team in Singapore and the Olympic contingent at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India. The 32-year-old La Horquetta resident holds a doctorate of physical therapy, attained at Utica College on a government scholarship and is currently a PhD candidate at Nova Southeastern University, USA, on another Government scholarship.
Birchall, Daniel face Real Madrid
US-based duo Keon Daniel and Chris Birchall will have the mid-season opportunity to test their abilities against Spanish giants Real Madrid.Birchall is expected to be in the starting line-up for LA Galaxy in their World Football Challenge encounter against Madrid at the LA Coliseum on Saturday. On July 23, Daniel’s Philadelphia Union is expected to face the club of Portuguese star Ronaldo who is in the line up with a host of other stars for the clash. Galaxy will also face Manchester City on July 24 at the Home Depot Center with Union taking on another English club Everton on July 20. Birchall who has featured strongly for Galaxy in recent outings was eager to face the Spanish side. Former England captain David Beckham will also line up against his former side for the first time since leaving them at the end of the 2006/2007 season.
Baptiste has goals on his mind
Former Joe Public striker Kerry Baptiste will most likely be presented with several new pairs of football boots when he arrives at Tampa Bay later this month to begin his new contract.But he is unlikely to part ways with his usual favourites as he seeks to continue his hot scoring streak that made him one of the most feared strikers in the T&T Pro League. Baptiste is awaiting a work permit approval before moving to Tampa Bay where he signed a one-year contract with an option to extend another year.
“I’m excited about this new move and I’m looking forward to go up there and work very hard and hopefully bang in some more goals,” Baptiste said on Tuesday. He’s been without a club for 2011, admitting he became frustrated at times. But he’s focused on the task at hand, also hoping to catch Otto Pfister’s eyes. “It’s been frustrating without a club but I kept myself fit. It’s my first time going to the club and I’m anxious to see what the environment is like. I’m looking forward to getting back into the national team. “As a country I think we will eventually bounce back and become a force in the region. I’m really anxious to get the ball in the back of the net again both for my new club and for country,” he added.
Gally: We can qualify again
Former national head coach Everald “Gally” Cummings believes T&T can qualify for another World Cup.
The former New York Cosmos player said that once proper mechanisms are put in place to get the best team, the Soca Warriors will definitely grace the world stage a second time. “T&T can qualify for another World Cup finals but our ultimate goal should always be having good national teams representation at all levels which means having the proper foundation whereby creating continuity,” Cummings stated on the Socawarriors.net Web site in a recent interview.
He said there were far more opportunities for present day players as compared to when he took the field, refusing to label Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy as the two best players ever produced by T&T. “No, there are others. Different eras brought different opportunities and different challenges. They got the big breaks and had people like myself to guide them through rough times. Others like me had no one.” Cummings, who is attached to the University of T&T, revealed how the splitting of players into an A and B team brought the best out of the 1989 Strike Squad with Kenwyn Cooper and Jan Steadman being his assistants with the B team. “Kenwyn Cooper did a fantastic job with the B team which had some of the younger players. This A and B system was used to keep players sharp. If a player didn’t perform well with the A team, he was sent to the B team and a B player would take his place. This kept players on their toes with the correct attitude at all time,” Gally added.
TTFF to conduct course for colleges
Coaches from the Secondary Schools League will benefit from another leg of the Football Federation’s “C” License coaching course in conjunction with the Dutch KNVB Academy from next Monday at the Ato Boldon Stadium. So far the TTFF has crossed 150 mark for the number of coaches that have participated from various corners of the country. A symposium for all local referees and officials on the new laws in refereeing was also conducted last week by former FIFA referee Ramesh Ramdhan as the TTFF attempts to keep up to speed with the developments in the game.National head coach Otto Pfister will also attend an international coaches symposium in Germany this weekend.
Article posted in the guardian , Shaun just for some general info middlesbroughh was relegated in May 2009 and has not been in the premiership since.