Corneal already looking beyond Korea experience.

[Flex]

As Warriors shift location.
… head coach already looking beyond Korea experience.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]

With just over a day left before this country’s game against Germany, which could yet turn out to be the toughest of the matches thus far, head coach Anton Corneal and his team arrived in Changwon on Friday night after being on the road for just around six hours on their way out of Cheonan.
Both T&T and Germany are staying at the Changwon Hotel. And what should have been a routine three hr bus journey for the young “Soca Warriors”, turned out to be six hours on the move as the bus’ air condition supply shut down midway through the journey which forced T&T to delay some time before the German team bus arrived to pick the contingent up. The temperature was already around 34 degrees Celsius  and there was still some distance to the Hotel before the German bus arrived to assist.  With that aside though, T&T settled at the hotel and was scheduled to head off for  morning session at the nearby Volvo training pitch before a 45 minute session at the Changwon Main Stadium.
Changwon itself is located on the south east coast of South Korea and has a population of 500,000 It is said here that when it comes to development, this city is second to none in terms of speed and size. The Stadium has capacity of 27,000 fans. T&T Honorary Consulate in Korea Seung Choi has also confirmed to FIFA Vice President and tournament chairman Jack Warner that all is in place to accommodate a T&T delegation of 200 supporters at the game which kicks off at 7pm, 6am T&T time on Sunday.
With the 5-0 defeat still very much fresh on the minds of those here in the T&T camp, Corneal insisted that it follow through  to some deep thinking among the players as he met with the players and staff members at the hotel in Cheonan, shortly after dinner following the loss. The meeting was really a post mortem of the experience where several interesting matters were raised and discussed as it related to the lessons learnt and the movements towards producing better players and teams for future tournaments.
Players also spoke of the false sense of security they had been getting playing back home and called for players at the national youth level to resist from playing in the Colleges League once it interfered with preparations at the national level for international competition. For some though the views expressed, particularly by Corneal could be looked at as being a typical story being repeated but definitely the foundation is there with the participation at this World Championship and the assurance that efforts will be made to take T&T’s preparation and participation to a next level. The question asked was whether T&T was ready to make the commitment that it takes to be competitors at the world level or are we as a people simply satisfied with reaching the world stage and it could relate to football, cricket and other sports or related matters which allows the world to take note of the twin-island Republic. The question lies as to how many actually care about whether T&T is bullied or rather boosted on the world stage.
“That meeting was really about a reflection on where we are realistically. I gave the players the opportunity to say what aspects of the game we need to work on now because we were beaten in all aspects. They said it themselves then we had to figure out what can we do differently to make a change and its not just initial preparations,” Corneal told TTFF Media.
“They are saying it now that they played many times before when they were never really challenged and this is the first time they saw the game at  a different speed, tactically it was different and physically as well. And there was a different level of  passion to get things done.
“It’s clear to them because we have  been preaching it all the time but you know you can say it but to experience it is what they have done now and you realize it takes more than what we have done and then there is an off season where we don’t get to use them or have them play as much.  I’m glad the meeting was not just about the defeat but we also that we had to learn lessons from the defeat. The change must come from a little bit younger and we must prioriterize what is best for our development all of the time. Yes we were beaten but we had to learn lessons from it.”
There is the fact too that too much players at this age group in T&T have been babied but Corneal said he was glad to see them take on the responsibility and be willing to make adjustments as they also have an Under 20 World Championship qualifying campaign to look forward to.
“But they are thinking ahead now and they realize we must do a lot more individually and as a team. It they have to compete against teams of this caliber it will take more from players and even us as those who prepare the them, the players admitted they were fooled into a false sense of security at the local level and now they came into the real world. If a team beats us in certain areas of the game then it’s not only tactically and players saw this too,” added the TTFF development officer.
“The only way to make possible change to be at this level is being able to meet the call for a lot of sacrifice. We are a small country with a limited pool. It means we may have to change some parts of our development programme at our clubs and how we handle our high school  and Primary School leagues. A lot of people on the outside talk the talk but we are afraid to walk it yet we want the results.
“It must be everyone on the same page doing it for the same reason. It means being bold and making change and you need that to make progress. It’s a matter of time and it’s similar for other sports as well. Some of the clubs will like to get their players at a higher level whether they have the necessary personnel, facility and finance to do it is another question. Because we are a small country its very possible if you get the backing of the government, the corporate sector and the Federation. The difference is that we must do it. We have to decide if we want to compete at this level consistently.
He did point out to some headway made by the Federation as qualifying for two World Cups in succession didn’t come overnight while coaching development programmes have come off the ground in collaboration with the Dutch Royal Academy.
“That’s correct as the Federation has a role to play and it has played that role for the past few years. Two years have shown semblance of a development programme taking place and the financial backing may not be able to come alone from the Federation for this. The TTFF has in fact put a lot into this Under 17 team and it has resulted in qualifying for the World Cup. We have something now that should be set for the development of our players from Under 13 right through to the U17s and the higher age groups,” Corneal concluded.

[palos]

I like what I read dey.

Dem fellas eye like it really open.  As Marley did sing...."Who feels it knows it Lord".  Bess part.....according to the article, dey takin ownbership.  Dat is so great to see.  Hopefully dey will get de necessary support from the Federation to help them follow through on that sense of ownership they have.

One thing we as a people need to understand is when others make suggestions about things that may affect that which we have grown accustomed, we need to try and take it in the spirit in which it was meant and not necessarily as an attack.

Case in point.....the Colleges League issue.  Men suggest takin dese players out of Colleges League to prepare them for the qualifiers.  people get vex.  Doh touch Intercol and Colleges League (SSFL).  Daz where man like dis one and dat one get "produce".

The reality is......even with better than normal preparations for THIS U 17 side....we still get wash in world competition.  In the grand scheme of things, SSFL and Intercol AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS and has always been to date is a jokey league.  There is no real development there.  And this is not to cry down the very real and substantive efforts many have put into that competition.  But if we intend to say we competin at the international level, SSFL IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH AND NEVER WAS.

This is not JUST about SSFL.  It's about how we look at football in general.  Either we are a player in international football or not.  If we content to make a WC every 20 years or so....den continue as is.  Nobody go vex.  We know de expectations.  But if we aspirin to international standard, wha we currently have in place not good enough.  As they realized in the article....it need to start from earlier.  In a sense....it already too late for this bunch of players.  The U 10's....U 12'.....U 15's at the latest is where it's at.  We need to concentrate on these youths...NOW.

If we truly serious that is.

But heartening to see the introspection from the U 17 guys and regardless of what happen....I'm still very very proud of them and what they've accomplished thus far.

[asylumseeker]

Should we question the pre-tournament preparations in that we did not give the fellas an opportunity to play clearly superior opponents (based on this and other Fuentes articles and Anton comments) en par with what would have been on display in Korea?

[Cowen]

Interesting read.

On a side note .....did anyone happen to hear any comments made concerning the tactics emloyed over the 2 games by Anton? I know we have alot of coaches in T&T who are overly analytical of every and all Tactics used by any coach of the national teams ....................Did anyone here anything from Alvin or other ??


 

[palos]

Interesting read.

On a side note .....did anyone happen to hear any comments made concerning the tactics emloyed over the 2 games by Anton? I know we have alot of coaches in T&T who are overly analytical of every and all Tactics used by any coach of the national teams ....................Did anyone here anything from Alvin or other ??


 

Gally say Kaisocasoccer woulda win de tournament...

[MATADOR]

What tactics can you truly employ when the team is not fully prepared for battle?? According to one self proclaimed coach on here defense defense defense...so what you going to stand up all 11 men on the goal line...Does it really matter if the team looses 2-0, 5-0, or 2-1?? A loss is a loss full stop and we have to, if ever start blaming from the top. These young men together with the senior team should truly be prepared for any tornament they go into representing our country. As Whim said our best local players are not ready for the TOP professional level in Europe.

Half of you on here with your quick comments have never been under the current adminstrators that dictate the future of the sport in our country. These imps with no professional experience just want to sit back and point out directions etc which not just Anton but any coach who take up the position must follow. (Yes even Whim)

Professionalism is not bred into our players as it should be from a young age...where by players will truly breathe the sport, hunger for the sport and more so the level of competition to make them truly champions and the best!

I would like to see a total revamp of the system and administrators of whom governs our sport, for they have and will continuously fail us time after time and their only solution is to seek a coach from overseas.

Good luck.

[KND2]

Palos Gally Have a point

you cannot copy a next man style and expect to be better than him.

Lincoln calling for us to addopt the Dutch system.

This makes no sense what will happen when Wim gone...we will have to try to find another dutch coach?

We have to develop we own system based on we own culture and values.

Call it Kaisocasoccer or what ever you want.

but to simply take dutch training methodology and drop it in trinidad is not going to work.


All we need to do is be professional in we approach with regard to football development.

It will have to be a private venture because nothing Government does every work.

W-connection is a start.

you see how they trying to develop youth players with a plan that they could reap the benefits in the future.

That is the solution.


Private Clubs that are willing to put the time and effort to develop the players.

It have to be Local invented and Driven.

[Storeboy]

Should we question the pre-tournament preparations in that we did not give the fellas an opportunity to play clearly superior opponents (based on this and other Fuentes articles and Anton comments) en par with what would have been on display in Korea?

That point has been discussed incessantly on this Forum  You can't practice against teams you beat by 4 and expect to go on the world stage and represent.  We must play many more friendly internationals and expose our players at every level to competition that is better than ourselves if we are going to improve.  Would all of this talk now make any difference? I hope so but given past history I doubt it!

[FF]

Palos Gally Have a point

you cannot copy a next man style and expect to be better than him.

Why not....?

History is littered with examples of people/organizations copying others blueprints for success!

Nobody didnt say you cant put local flavour in it

Why re-invent the wheel? Just copy it and make it better

[dumpalewie]

Palos Gally Have a point

you cannot copy a next man style and expect to be better than him.

Lincoln calling for us to addopt the Dutch system.

This makes no sense what will happen when Wim gone...we will have to try to find another dutch coach?

We have to develop we own system based on we own culture and values.

Call it Kaisocasoccer or what ever you want.

but to simply take dutch training methodology and drop it in trinidad is not going to work.


All we need to do is be professional in we approach with regard to football development.

It will have to be a private venture because nothing Government does every work.

W-connection is a start.

you see how they trying to develop youth players with a plan that they could reap the benefits in the future.

That is the solution.


Private Clubs that are willing to put the time and effort to develop the players.

It have to be Local invented and Driven.

This is utter and complete rubbish.

The "We thing" approach might work for soca cause we invented it but it certainly won't work in football. Time after time we have seen this and still you insist that we can do it. Even the mighty Americans and English had to turn to foreigners for help.

If we don't have the professionalism amongst our coaches, administrators and leagues, how can we really expect our players to be have a professional mentality.

We need help. Maybe once that foundation is laid we can build on it and add our personality to it but we have no foundation right now. Making these FIFA tournaments is analagous to building a nice house on sand. Looks great but as soon as they put it on "Cribs" it falls apart.

Fact: Kaisoccer failed!
Get over it already.
 

[kaiser]

i often try not to berate my own people as i beleive that as trinidadians we should have trinidadians at the helm of our push toward 2010,that being said corneal is an ASS, mccomie is an ASS,ttff and anyone accociated with the current ttff administration is complete and utter ASSHOLES,people will say that i cant do better but we continue to make the same mistakes over and over, our selection process is complete nonsense and if you don't beleive me look at the current u 15 side talent and skill are definitely not lacking but size and strength certainly are, case in point little keane mc ivor the kid may have a big heart but he is to small, carrington falling into the same trap the previous fools before him fell into, we beat some shitty carribbean nations bad catch hell against jamaica and be embarrassed by international teams,but as they say we like it so

[WestCoast]

Fact: Kaisoccer failed!
Get over it already.

it is not as simple as that and my opinion below may be simplistic as well........but
May I suggest that the ONLY reason that we do not do well is because Jackula is at the helm of the TTFF.
With all the talent that TnT has I am dumbfounded that we are in the position that we are.
looking back at the Fiasco at the Stadium with the overselling of Tickets it has been made VERY clear to me that Jackuls is ONLY in the BUSINESS of football to get as much money out of football as he can. there is no other reason.....then he turns around and BLAMES Gally for the loss.

Doing well does not make money for him....it cost money to develop our system as it should be developed.

[royal]

good observation made in dat meeting.Hope the info is pass unto de uner 15's.One of the best way to solve these problems is a truly responsible and reliable SPORTS ACADEMY.

[kounty]

I ent quite see it like palos or corneal nah...from my negative minded vantage point I see a coach who fail miserably this time around and ent even man enough to even hint that he to even share not even a chinky piece of the blame.  Instead he look to promote he own agenda and convince a set of young boys who cyah see pass further than an armslength, that a) is their fault and b) forget the 52 weeks in a year the reason they fail is because of the 8 weeks SSFL going on.  thanks to the teacher we now realise...yeah boy I seein' it real clear now.  we go beat Ghana and Germany if we doh kick no SSFL ball this year comin'.

[weary1969]

The tail does wag d dog all d time in TNT. That is y the players rep their schools last yr. However, that eh y we look like pickney in SK

[fishs]

Interesting read.

On a side note .....did anyone happen to hear any comments made concerning the tactics emloyed over the 2 games by Anton? I know we have alot of coaches in T&T who are overly analytical of every and all Tactics used by any coach of the national teams ....................Did anyone here anything from Alvin or other ??


 

Gally say Kaisocasoccer woulda win de tournament...

And you doh believe him 

[Coop's]

You all have really put together some good views and thoughts on this Korea experience,having said that i just want to add this,if my knowledge of T&T Football serves me right every Coach T&T have ever tried Snr/Jnr/Women local or foreign have failed,the problem is not only Coaching it's players mentality and attitude towards the game,we just not disciplined enough to produce the kind of players people talking about here.

I've often said we don't play enough Football,in the US Soccer is played year round,when i say year round i mean you can find a league/tournament to play in any time of the year,Football is still seasonal in T&T,no Indoor leagues,Minor leagues (dead),Sand Soccer etc etc every body playing international friendlies when was the last time we played one,teams don't want to play us because nobody going to see T&T play,in this present time we still bringing players home a week/days before a big game and expect the team to click,when i see how many of our highly rated T&T players struggling to start on their respective teams abroad it tells you the quality of players we have here,qualifying for the WC does not make us WC level players,as one who have worked with T&T players there isn't much a Coach can do,i personally think Anton did a very good job considering what he had at his disposal,is just that it's not enough for a tournament of that magnitude.

[ZANDOLIE]

Greetings all
I tried to post this earlier tonight so if it comes up twice dais why. I am no football expert but to me team preparation is very simple, at least on paper. The TTFF could start Monday morning.


September 1st. 2007. -Start the process of finding a national under-12 coach and management team, select coach and team officials by November.

January 2008. -Team selection done, training begins 1 X week for 3 months.

April-July. -Play a Tobago U-12, pro-league U-13s. Go a mid-table CFU nation like Grenada, Vincy, Bim etc. to play 2 games against their U-12 team.


January-April 2009. -Our now U-13s train 1X week for 3 months.

April-May. - Play pro-league U-13 XI, Tobago U-13, Tobago U-15, joint training sessions and games against the T&T U-15s. Pick a CFU minnow like Aruba and play 2 games against their U-15s . They will be grateful for the practice minus the massive cut-ass. Go another CFU mid-power and play 2 games against their U-15s.

August - Enter the the U-13s in the 2009 U-15 CFU tournament, expecting victories against CFU minnows and competitiveness against mid-table teams. We advance from our group prepared to go down fighting against Jamaica, Haiti and T&T U-15s.


January-April 2010. -Resume training. 1X week.

May-August.  Pro-league U-15 teams, a pro-league U-15 XI, Tobago U-15s, and joint training with T&T U-16s. Play 2 games against one of Haiti, Jamaica, or Cuba U-14s .

January-March 2011. - Resume training 1X week.
April- August. Enter Dallas Cup tournament in U-17 category. Play Pro-league U-15 XI, Pro-league U-17 teams, Tobago U-15, and play 2 games each against two mid-table U-15 CONCACAF teams (Honduras, El-Salvador, Cuba Guatemala and Panama, Haiti).

August- Enter CFU U-15 tournament. After 4 years together and at least 6 internationals, we clean fackin house. 

October-December. Resistance training. Play U-20s, Pro-league teams.
January- April- Two of USA, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada. 1 Mid-table African team, 1 mid-table UEFA or academy team.
April- CONCACAF U-17 WC qualifications. At this rate we should be superior to all but Mexico, US and Costa Rica, following history.
June-August. Friendlies against 1 African top 2 qualifier, 2 European top 4 qualifiers and a top 3 S.American qualifier.

This is very simplistic  but something along these lines is the kind of investment required of US to reap the benefits of qualifying and advancing in successive U-17, U-20 and Senior WCs. Fancy plans and talk will never make this happen. The financial, organizational and political challenges would require exceptional initiative, innovation and execution on the part of the TTFF, like  getting government, pro-league, private sector involved. I donèt know if this is achievable under this TTFF.

Blessings

[ZANDOLIE]

From the last poster, Coops:

 ÈI've often said we don't play enough Football,in the US Soccer is played year round,when i say year round i mean you can find a league/tournament to play in any time of the year,Football is still seasonal in T&T,no Indoor leagues,Minor leagues (dead),Sand Soccer etc etcÈ

I read some of your posts and you are more definitely knowledgeable than me in football. But I feel if we play in T&T all year round our small size means we play

the same set of people over and over and the best players feel they are THE standard.  Hence the shithong-starboy syndrome AKA

 big fish small pond that hindered the careers of some of our more gifted T&T players in the past (I refuse to call names  ). Development of the young player

comes mainly by adaptive adjustments the player makes when stretching themselves to meet established standards.  According to Corneal the U-17 players have

 said that the speed and technique of the Ghanaian and Colombian players was like

nothing they experienced before. The old barriers have been exceeded and they have a new threshold to aspire to which is what everyone knows is the silver

lining.  A usefull analogy might be a boxer that has plenty potential but only fights in his small club. He may accumulate a 100% victory rate in the club but he

would  be a better fighter if he fought better quality opponents and had an 80% victory rate. The best solution is a lot of playing time at a level where you are

forced to  fight for every touch of the ball. I feel that only possible in a big pond environment.


Blessings

[Coop's]

From the last poster, Coops:

 ÈI've often said we don't play enough Football,in the US Soccer is played year round,when i say year round i mean you can find a league/tournament to play in any time of the year,Football is still seasonal in T&T,no Indoor leagues,Minor leagues (dead),Sand Soccer etc etcÈ

I read some of your posts and you are more definitely knowledgeable than me in football. But I feel if we play in T&T all year round our small size means we play

the same set of people over and over and the best players feel they are THE standard.  Hence the shithong-starboy syndrome AKA

 big fish small pond that hindered the careers of some of our more gifted T&T players in the past (I refuse to call names  ). Development of the young player

comes mainly by adaptive adjustments the player makes when stretching themselves to meet established standards.  According to Corneal the U-17 players have

 said that the speed and technique of the Ghanaian and Colombian players was like

nothing they experienced before. The old barriers have been exceeded and they have a new threshold to aspire to which is what everyone knows is the silver

lining.  A usefull analogy might be a boxer that has plenty potential but only fights in his small club. He may accumulate a 100% victory rate in the club but he

would  be a better fighter if he fought better quality opponents and had an 80% victory rate. The best solution is a lot of playing time at a level where you are

forced to  fight for every touch of the ball. I feel that only possible in a big pond environment.


Blessings

          You could not have said it better and i totally agree with you,this is definitely one of our biggest downfalls,playing against local Pro teams,Tobago etc etc still does not give us that edge but that's what we have,to really prepare a team properly is very costly and if you are talking about all our national teams it's a huge undertaking,i think today it's much better than in the past,we never had any warm up games or live in camps it was just get together and play international games,i remember the 73 squad playing us the Defence Force before going to Haiti,if the level of our game is to raise the level of everything that concerns it has to raise.     

[trinbago]

Yes for eg the U23's using the WI cicket team for warmups..

[pardners]

Yes for eg the U23's using the WI cicket team for warmups..

 

They didn't even have the nerves to say is a publicity stunt...a gimmick...a crowd puller...nothing like that to make people feel is just a sweat.  They actually say the U23's will be using the game as a warm up to the upcoming tournament.