Russell Latapy Thread

[palos]

Here's one who thinks that despite Latapy's superlative technical ability, he wasn't the greatest. Simply because he wasn't adaptable. He is most effective playing in an advanced position which means that he needs a water carrier/indian to free him up to display his chieftain qualities. However,  more often than not when I've seen him play, he was not provided that "luxury" resulting in a very enigmatic performance. I've seen him play live on only 3 occasions, and on television in another handful of games. While this only represents a small sample, that observation wasn't lost on me. There were odd moments of brilliance interspaced between loooooooong periods of obscurity in the engine room at that. Unfortunately the engine wasn't on auto-pilot

If this says anything, it's that he wasn't put in a position to really flourish. Which is why I can hold Beenhakker in high regard - deploying him in a very advanced position, except in Bahrain game two where his task was to help keep the ball another of his strengths. Oh how I would have loved to see him given the freedom he deserved, but pragmatism sometimes have a greater sway.

Great post doc.  I cyah disagree with yuh at all.  Still love meh Latas doh..

Respeck.

[Mango Chow!]

Russell Latapy is truly the greatest Player I have ever seen play with my own two eyes!!  My memories of him go just a little further back than his U-16 days for T&T.  I had the extreme honour of being on a team that played against him in a Secondary Schools' Under-14 match right in front of the pavilion on QRC Grounds and we had all been quaking in our boots in Fear of Russell's arrival for that game, such was the reputation as a footballer that had preceeded him. It was the first time I had heard of him and saw him play and I was COMPLETELY bowled over by his entire game!!   As a schoolboy in his Tranquil days, Latas had an opportunity to go play for a team in england: Blackpool (i'm not sure if it's United, FC, or what.) but he did go and try out for the team, and this was at a time when players from the caribbean like him were not getting those kinds of opportunities.  I will leave the rest of the memories and postings to the rest of the men on the forum.  There will be PLENTY, but as one poster noted earlier, it seemed as though he ALWAYS gave his best effort in a T&T uniform even at times when Dwight didn't.  One of  (as far as I have seen).  Truly a class act.    

[doublet750]

Midknight ill help deal withthe bold part of your text



I canot give you any hard stats however i can tel you at Porto he was the mentor to palyers that are now in teh ranks like quaresma and Deco and all these exciting young portugese players.....he was well respected and i believe that it was madness who pointed out to me that at Porto he had the name Lil magician and Deco so wanted to emulate him that he called himself MAGICO .....to mean the smaller version of little magician (do rember that deco and these guys were prolly on the fringes of the teams back then trying to make a break through as youths.

i believe latas was well respected at porto but he wanted a change of scenery and thus the move to scotland.....your right he isnt recognized as much as dwight and i thik thats cause in all reality Dwight yorke has palyed for at least 4 premiership teams ....and while only manchester united can stand on par with porto ...the EPL is more broadcasted than the Portuguese SUperliga....so therfore more exposure.

Remeber exposure is key ....and while latas has been regarded as a exceptonally talented player  by each and every one of his clubs  ..these clubs play in leagues where they don't have games broadcasted on major channels that would air throughout our region of the world....There is prolly someone in this world better than Michael Jordan ..Tiger woods hell there could even be a lil fella somewhere in some dark corner of the world with more ball skills and touches than Ronaldinho.....but if they arent being noticed will they ever get anywhere..no

[ttcom]

My memories Latas was from the U16  tornument. San Fernando Tech. Was a player to watch. I think the main reason he didn't be as big as yorke was his size. 5'6 130 lbs wont stand a chance in in europe than. When he went to Port Morant in Jamdown he tuffen up.

[Filho]

Midknight ill help deal withthe bold part of your text



I canot give you any hard stats however i can tel you at Porto he was the mentor to palyers that are now in teh ranks like quaresma and Deco and all these exciting young portugese players.....he was well respected and i believe that it was madness who pointed out to me that at Porto he had the name Lil magician and Deco so wanted to emulate him that he called himself MAGICO .....to mean the smaller version of little magician (do rember that deco and these guys were prolly on the fringes of the teams back then trying to make a break through as youths.

i believe latas was well respected at porto but he wanted a change of scenery and thus the move to scotland.....your right he isnt recognized as much as dwight and i thik thats cause in all reality Dwight yorke has palyed for at least 4 premiership teams ....and while only manchester united can stand on par with porto ...the EPL is more broadcasted than the Portuguese SUperliga....so therfore more exposure.

Remeber exposure is key ....and while latas has been regarded as a exceptonally talented player  by each and every one of his clubs  ..these clubs play in leagues where they don't have games broadcasted on major channels that would air throughout our region of the world....There is prolly someone in this world better than Michael Jordan ..Tiger woods hell there could even be a lil fella somewhere in some dark corner of the world with more ball skills and touches than Ronaldinho.....but if they arent being noticed will they ever get anywhere..no

hmmm? doublet..u making up some serious tings dere.

Latas played for Porto between 1994-1996
Deco, didn't arrive in Portugal until 1997...from Brazil. Magico also does not mean little magician in portuguese..and I doubt Latas was even known as the Little Magician in Portugal..That is almost exclusively a Trini thing which has caught on a little in Scotland.
Quaresma was 13 years old when Latas left Porto...and even so, his team was Sporting where he came up as a trainee before going to Barca in 2003 and didn't go to Porto until 2004..and he didn't even want to go there, even though he desperately wanted to leave Barca.
Latas was no mentor to any of these players. He left Porto 10 years ago. I don't think there are any young exciting portuguese players he would have been mentor to. If he influenced anyone, they would probably be well into their mid to late twenties or early 30s by now.

After Porto, he spent another 2 years in Portugal at Boavista. So he didn't leave for Scotland right away for a change of scenery.

Latas is a boss. I went to business school with a fellas called Joao. When he learned I was from T&T he went on to tell me Latas was a great player at Porto, but he didn't stay very long, but fans still remember him and this fella would pronounce is name Latahpee, with an emphasis on the 2nd syllable. Latas never ahd the profesional accolades as Yorke, but his talent was matched by no other T&T footballer I have ever seen. And Yorke never came close to him in a T&T shirt, except for a short period in WC 2002 qualifiers (semi-final stage) and now that Latas is really in his twilight.

Doc...Latas definitely had his shortcomings, but in a comparison to Yorke in that regard...well Latas was far more adaptable in a more important sense (imo). Yorke seems more adaptable as he has proven he can play midfield or up front...but in terms of being able to play at a high level in Europe in one system and then transform your game back to being able to play at a high level in Concacaf, in a completely different system, different type of football, different weather. Well, Latas could almost always do it. For ages, Yorke just couldn't and he would look a shadow of himself for T&T...until now. I still calling it a tie. Our two prodigal sons are the greatest!

[dumpalewie]

If Latas was European we would be talking about him as one of the greats.

[trinbago]

There was only one player better than Latas and Yorke ! 

[Midknight]

Midknight ill help deal withthe bold part of your text



I canot give you any hard stats however i can tel you at Porto he was the mentor to palyers that are now in teh ranks like quaresma and Deco and all these exciting young portugese players.....he was well respected and i believe that it was madness who pointed out to me that at Porto he had the name Lil magician and Deco so wanted to emulate him that he called himself MAGICO .....to mean the smaller version of little magician (do rember that deco and these guys were prolly on the fringes of the teams back then trying to make a break through as youths.

i believe latas was well respected at porto but he wanted a change of scenery and thus the move to scotland.....your right he isnt recognized as much as dwight and i thik thats cause in all reality Dwight yorke has palyed for at least 4 premiership teams ....and while only manchester united can stand on par with porto ...the EPL is more broadcasted than the Portuguese SUperliga....so therfore more exposure.

Remeber exposure is key ....and while latas has been regarded as a exceptonally talented player  by each and every one of his clubs  ..these clubs play in leagues where they don't have games broadcasted on major channels that would air throughout our region of the world....There is prolly someone in this world better than Michael Jordan ..Tiger woods hell there could even be a lil fella somewhere in some dark corner of the world with more ball skills and touches than Ronaldinho.....but if they arent being noticed will they ever get anywhere..no

hmmm? doublet..u making up some serious tings dere.

Latas played for Porto between 1994-1996
Deco, didn't arrive in Portugal until 1997...from Brazil. Magico also does not mean little magician in portuguese..and I doubt Latas was even known as the Little Magician in Portugal..That is almost exclusively a Trini thing which has caught on a little in Scotland.
Quaresma was 13 years old when Latas left Porto...and even so, his team was Sporting where he came up as a trainee before going to Barca in 2003 and didn't go to Porto until 2004..and he didn't even want to go there, even though he desperately wanted to leave Barca.
Latas was no mentor to any of these players. He left Porto 10 years ago. I don't think there are any young exciting portuguese players he would have been mentor to. If he influenced anyone, they would probably be well into their mid to late twenties or early 30s by now.

After Porto, he spent another 2 years in Portugal at Boavista. So he didn't leave for Scotland right away for a change of scenery.

I din't want the man to look bad so i keep quiet 

[Lower St. John]

Big Topic Midnight.

I have been looking at Latas since the Under 16 tournament to the present.  I lost track of him for a long period of time after I left home and I was not able to follow his career in Portugal.  On the other hand I was able to follow Dwight because of the fact that he played in the EPL.  As men have said in prior posts Latas skills were evident from the early days and for men who looked for more than the fancy beat from the likes of Colin Rocke and Clint Marcelle, your eyes were attracted to the little man in the middle from his youthful days.  He had the full package vision, passing ability, for a small man remarkably he could strike the ball well with both feet, and a great first touch.

Now it is important to note that we always refer to Latas as the "Little" Magician.  It is because of his size that I believe Latas never made it in the EPL.  The EPL in tha past and even to this day was always a very physical league with big size players and Latas size most likely scared off teams back in the 80's.

The funny thing is that it was hard to discern a drop-off in Latas game when he played for the National Team because I never saw him play at the Club level.  On the other hand with Dwight I was never totally convinced that Dwight was playing at the same level and with the same conviction as he did at Man U.  I always felt he was on vacation and had an understanding with Jack to schedule National games the week of Carnival so he could jump up in Poison. 

One noticeable difference between the two was Dwight being a fitness fanatic.  Dwight was always remarmably fit (although he never truly exerted himself in the national colours) but I never felt that Latas could run all out for a full 90-minutes.  HAving known Latas since the early days the stories about his smoking is not exaggerated and it should ne noted it was not only cigarettes.  The moments Latas turned up the heat in the midfield it was pure magic to behold, but it was not a constant.  He picked his points in the game and paced himself well.

Latas was the best I have seen with Dwight close behind.

Blessings.

[Filho]

Midknight ill help deal withthe bold part of your text



I canot give you any hard stats however i can tel you at Porto he was the mentor to palyers that are now in teh ranks like quaresma and Deco and all these exciting young portugese players.....he was well respected and i believe that it was madness who pointed out to me that at Porto he had the name Lil magician and Deco so wanted to emulate him that he called himself MAGICO .....to mean the smaller version of little magician (do rember that deco and these guys were prolly on the fringes of the teams back then trying to make a break through as youths.

i believe latas was well respected at porto but he wanted a change of scenery and thus the move to scotland.....your right he isnt recognized as much as dwight and i thik thats cause in all reality Dwight yorke has palyed for at least 4 premiership teams ....and while only manchester united can stand on par with porto ...the EPL is more broadcasted than the Portuguese SUperliga....so therfore more exposure.

Remeber exposure is key ....and while latas has been regarded as a exceptonally talented player  by each and every one of his clubs  ..these clubs play in leagues where they don't have games broadcasted on major channels that would air throughout our region of the world....There is prolly someone in this world better than Michael Jordan ..Tiger woods hell there could even be a lil fella somewhere in some dark corner of the world with more ball skills and touches than Ronaldinho.....but if they arent being noticed will they ever get anywhere..no

hmmm? doublet..u making up some serious tings dere.

Latas played for Porto between 1994-1996
Deco, didn't arrive in Portugal until 1997...from Brazil. Magico also does not mean little magician in portuguese..and I doubt Latas was even known as the Little Magician in Portugal..That is almost exclusively a Trini thing which has caught on a little in Scotland.
Quaresma was 13 years old when Latas left Porto...and even so, his team was Sporting where he came up as a trainee before going to Barca in 2003 and didn't go to Porto until 2004..and he didn't even want to go there, even though he desperately wanted to leave Barca.
Latas was no mentor to any of these players. He left Porto 10 years ago. I don't think there are any young exciting portuguese players he would have been mentor to. If he influenced anyone, they would probably be well into their mid to late twenties or early 30s by now.

After Porto, he spent another 2 years in Portugal at Boavista. So he didn't leave for Scotland right away for a change of scenery.

I din't want the man to look bad so i keep quiet 

I talk to the man and the truth is, he had some good info from different sources, but in putting it all together, I think he misinterpreted some of the info. Hard to explain. It was a hard luck on his part but it was not like he was making up stuff or anything like that. For example, he was able to show that Latas and Deco have respect for each other, and they knew each other and they obviously played for the same team. But they weren't there at the same time, so Latas wasn't his mentor in that sense.

Anyway....I should have just hit doublet a PM. After speaking to him, I would have seen where he was coming from and worded my response in a different way.  

[saga pinto]

All I have to say is Latas is a legend in the making...............

[dinho]

responding to the first post..

my memory is not 100% on but i remember at porto when latapy was there, there was another midfielder who was preferred to him, i think because he was a more physical presence if not nearly as skillful as latas.. he started a few more games..

i think it was rui barros but then i remember he being a forward so cyah be him.. but they also had latas playing a kinda defensive mid position like where nakhid was playing behind him for t&t in those days.. i dont think that was his best position..

 i will never forget switching on espn, porto vs panathinaikos i think, and latas sweating.. i was so proud.. but he ent share no beat that game, if fact hardly kept the ball for more than 2 touches and u could see he was playing a role.. collect and pass.. no dribbling allowed..

anyway just my 2 cents

[JDB]

Latas WAS Boavista when he was there and that is why Porto bought hime. he was part of the team that went from a small side to a serious title contender.

When he went Porto he suffered from a mix of stepping up to a big club and a change in team management.

[duscam]

want it emerson? not the one from brazil but i think it was emerson..could be wrong

[morvant]

spanners with de best of dem bar none

[Gladman]

Looking at a midfielders contribution to football as compared to a striker is very difficult and especially if the striker is very prolific.SO comparing Yorkie and Latas and tryin to distiguish who is better is a waste of time,its should be jus noted that the both of were the best in the respective positions for this country.

[ZURITRESS]

dont post much, but this is close to me. the first time i saw russel was 1980, i was ten and he was 12. on qrc grounds back when big men was playing collage lleague ttranquillywas playing qrc. the field had alot of current members of the nnationalu19  team including my brother who played for ttranquillyand the buzz around the ground was the 12 year old phenom who was on the tranquill bench, rRusselllatapy every ppossiblevviewingangle was taken. tranquill coach sSgtlamkin was going to play rRussellwas the word. with about 12 mMin'sto go he came on and proceeded to eembarrassthree respect players down by the left side corner flag with his first, second and third ttouchesof the game. his fourth touch he was almost kick out of the grounds. message sent, come back when you can defend yourself, but everybody who saw new the legend had begun. my was a top youth player in tTrinidadand he took me everywhere including to newtown coaching school where jah lillywhite a neighbour and family friend started the school and where latas fine tuned his god blessed talent. i played with rRussellfor two years in tranquill so i also saw it up close. back then because of his size he was played as a forward so that he could use his skills more in and around the box. my most mmemorablemoment he scored with his eye vs cic in an u16 semi to this day still proably the only header he ever scored. guys i could go on and on but rRussellprobelm has always been his size talent wise he has always been the best player on the field. back when Yorke who i also played with on nNat'su14 and u16 teams went to england the game was not as sophisticated as it is today it was more voom kick and run only a few teams played knock and keep it on the carpet most notably liverpool and even the skilled guys roughed it up abit so latas just did not fit in there ,it was not the only reason but it is not my place there. it is also why it took Yorke awhile to establish himself, for those who don't know yorkie could match skill with anybody out there back in the day, he and Russell lived with that ball night and day together because Dwight stay with Russell alot of times when he came over from Tobago he changed his game to adapt to the English game what the youths don't know is that strike squad run was one of the most naturally talented group of players they never got to see in their prime Russell and Dwight was just the best of the lot and not just those who played on the strike squad let me leave you with a name Sean constantine aka yellows or red ants was  almost as talented as Russell but even smaller

[vb]

Just some quick points.

Russel played for four years in the Port. Second Div. before he was hand picked by Robson for Porto. The team had 11 internationals on it including 7 members of the Portugues team.

He earned a starting place on this team. He and Yorke both turned down offers from the Italian Seria A. I believe the team was Sampdoria for both.

He moved to Boavist to make more of a name for himself and won the the League Cup with them.

Villa try to sweet talk Yorke to stay by dangling the idea of having Latas join the team. Well when Yrke moved over to MU, they overs Latas and a man of his amazing talent end up in the Scottish Sec. Div. with HIbs.

He became a Hibs legend and took them to the First Div.

Rangers only sack him because his ex Hibs Manager at Rangers had a chip on his shoulder about Latas behaviour during the Hibs days.

I personally believe that the most of the tens was a waste of Latas career as he should have been playing for a team of a much higher standard.

It's AMAZING that a midfielder in his late 30s could still manners top players like that.

Peace,
VB

[palos]

It's AMAZING that a midfielder in his late 30s could still manners top players like that.
Peace,
VB

Is GENIUS yuh dealin with.  Once yuh put it into dat perspective...it eh really all dat amazing.  GENIUS IS GENIUS...dat doh dead.

[trinbago]

dont post much, but this is close to me. the first time i saw russel was 1980, i was ten and he was 12. on qrc grounds back when big men was playing collage lleague ttranquillywas playing qrc. the field had alot of current members of the nnationalu19  team including my brother who played for ttranquillyand the buzz around the ground was the 12 year old phenom who was on the tranquill bench, rRusselllatapy every ppossiblevviewingangle was taken. tranquill coach sSgtlamkin was going to play rRussellwas the word. with about 12 mMin'sto go he came on and proceeded to eembarrassthree respect players down by the left side corner flag with his first, second and third ttouchesof the game. his fourth touch he was almost kick out of the grounds. message sent, come back when you can defend yourself, but everybody who saw new the legend had begun. my was a top youth player in tTrinidadand he took me everywhere including to newtown coaching school where jah lillywhite a neighbour and family friend started the school and where latas fine tuned his god blessed talent. i played with rRussellfor two years in tranquill so i also saw it up close. back then because of his size he was played as a forward so that he could use his skills more in and around the box. my most mmemorablemoment he scored with his eye vs cic in an u16 semi to this day still proably the only header he ever scored. guys i could go on and on but rRussellprobelm has always been his size talent wise he has always been the best player on the field. back when Yorke who i also played with on nNat'su14 and u16 teams went to england the game was not as sophisticated as it is today it was more voom kick and run only a few teams played knock and keep it on the carpet most notably liverpool and even the skilled guys roughed it up abit so latas just did not fit in there ,it was not the only reason but it is not my place there. it is also why it took Yorke awhile to establish himself, for those who don't know yorkie could match skill with anybody out there back in the day, he and Russell lived with that ball night and day together because Dwight stay with Russell alot of times when he came over from Tobago he changed his game to adapt to the English game what the youths don't know is that strike squad run was one of the most naturally talented group of players they never got to see in their prime Russell and Dwight was just the best of the lot and not just those who played on the strike squad let me leave you with a name Sean constantine aka yellows or red ants was  almost as talented as Russell but even smaller

It is stuff like this that defines this TnT hero, we can not let this be lost.....A Football Archive/Hall Of Fame  needs to be put in place..

[vb]

It's AMAZING that a midfielder in his late 30s could still manners top players like that.
Peace,
VB

Is GENIUS yuh dealin with.  Once yuh put it into dat perspective...it eh really all dat amazing.  GENIUS IS GENIUS...dat doh dead.

Boy Stoichkov and Hagi were "geniuses," and they couldn't last that long.
And I'm pretty sure Beckham won't either.

VB

[palos]

It's AMAZING that a midfielder in his late 30s could still manners top players like that.
Peace,
VB

Is GENIUS yuh dealin with.  Once yuh put it into dat perspective...it eh really all dat amazing.  GENIUS IS GENIUS...dat doh dead.

Boy Stoichkov and Hagi were "geniuses," and they couldn't last that long.
And I'm pretty sure Beckham won't either.

VB

Breds.....wit all due respeck....if Stoichkov and Hagi was playin in de SPL...even up to today, dey woulda still be rippin, jes like Latas.

As fuh Beckham....I real surprise a man like u could even put Beckham name in de same post to imply genius.

[palos]

It's AMAZING that a midfielder in his late 30s could still manners top players like that.
Peace,
VB

Is GENIUS yuh dealin with.  Once yuh put it into dat perspective...it eh really all dat amazing.  GENIUS IS GENIUS...dat doh dead. 

Boy Stoichkov and Hagi were "geniuses," and they couldn't last that long.
And I'm pretty sure Beckham won't either.

VB

Breds.....wit all due respeck....if Stoichkov and Hagi was playin in de SPL...even up to today, dey woulda still be rippin, jes like Latas.  It IS de SPL we talkin bout.

As fuh Beckham....I real surprise a man like u could even put Beckham name in de same post to imply genius.

[andre samuel]

Latas WAS Boavista when he was there and that is why Porto bought hime. he was part of the team that went from a small side to a serious title contender.

When he went Porto he suffered from a mix of stepping up to a big club and a change in team management.

Juma, latas was at Porto first.  He suffered at Porto because bobby robson had a rotation policy at the time and never really settled on a starting midfield, due to the number of good players at his disposal.

Latas is the best player that Trinidad and Tobago ever produced.  Both he and Yorke and world class, but i would put Yorke as the greatest because he did something that a Trinidadian might never do again.

He topscore in de flicking champions league!!

ah love it!!

[Mango Chow!]

dont post much, but this is close to me. the first time i saw russel was 1980, i was ten and he was 12. on qrc grounds back when big men was playing collage lleague ttranquillywas playing qrc. the field had alot of current members of the nnationalu19  team including my brother who played for ttranquillyand the buzz around the ground was the 12 year old phenom who was on the tranquill bench, rRusselllatapy every ppossiblevviewingangle was taken. tranquill coach sSgtlamkin was going to play rRussellwas the word. with about 12 mMin'sto go he came on and proceeded to eembarrassthree respect players down by the left side corner flag with his first, second and third ttouchesof the game. his fourth touch he was almost kick out of the grounds. message sent, come back when you can defend yourself, but everybody who saw new the legend had begun. my was a top youth player in tTrinidadand he took me everywhere including to newtown coaching school where jah lillywhite a neighbour and family friend started the school and where latas fine tuned his god blessed talent. i played with rRussellfor two years in tranquill so i also saw it up close. back then because of his size he was played as a forward so that he could use his skills more in and around the box. my most mmemorablemoment he scored with his eye vs cic in an u16 semi to this day still proably the only header he ever scored. guys i could go on and on but rRussellprobelm has always been his size talent wise he has always been the best player on the field. back when Yorke who i also played with on nNat'su14 and u16 teams went to england the game was not as sophisticated as it is today it was more voom kick and run only a few teams played knock and keep it on the carpet most notably liverpool and even the skilled guys roughed it up abit so latas just did not fit in there ,it was not the only reason but it is not my place there. it is also why it took Yorke awhile to establish himself, for those who don't know yorkie could match skill with anybody out there back in the day, he and Russell lived with that ball night and day together because Dwight stay with Russell alot of times when he came over from Tobago he changed his game to adapt to the English game what the youths don't know is that strike squad run was one of the most naturally talented group of players they never got to see in their prime Russell and Dwight was just the best of the lot and not just those who played on the strike squad let me leave you with a name Sean constantine aka yellows or red ants was  almost as talented as Russell but even smaller

      I would like to know who your brother is that you talk about.  I grew up around Jean (Jah) Lillywhite and quite a few men that were solid players in SSFL at that time: a couple men from Tranquility, including a fella named Noel, the Blades brothers, from Trinity, and I was a big, big fan of Richard Hood.  If only I knew then, what I know now, I woulda go and play under Jean and just followed Latas career from day one.  The man is truly a BOSS!

[College]

Russell Latapy is truly the greatest Player I have ever seen play with my own two eyes!!  My memories of him go just a little further back than his U-16 days for T&T.  I had the extreme honour of being on a team that played against him in a Secondary Schools' Under-14 match right in front of the pavilion on QRC Grounds and we had all been quaking in our boots in Fear of Russell's arrival for that game, such was the reputation as a footballer that had preceeded him. It was the first time I had heard of him and saw him play and I was COMPLETELY bowled over by his entire game!!   As a schoolboy in his Tranquil days, Latas had an opportunity to go play for a team in england: Blackpool (i'm not sure if it's United, FC, or what.) but he did go and try out for the team, and this was at a time when players from the caribbean like him were not getting those kinds of opportunities.  I will leave the rest of the memories and postings to the rest of the men on the forum.  There will be PLENTY, but as one poster noted earlier, it seemed as though he ALWAYS gave his best effort in a T&T uniform even at times when Dwight didn't.  One of  (as far as I have seen).  Truly a class act.   

Bradford City

 
 

[Jah Gol]

NCC 4 should have all those National game videos.Maybe the Warrior  Nation could organise to make a DVD box set. And  if we really serious contact Potuguese and Scottish media to get the videos of him that none of us seem to have.

[Mango Chow!]

Russell Latapy is truly the greatest Player I have ever seen play with my own two eyes!!  My memories of him go just a little further back than his U-16 days for T&T.  I had the extreme honour of being on a team that played against him in a Secondary Schools' Under-14 match right in front of the pavilion on QRC Grounds and we had all been quaking in our boots in Fear of Russell's arrival for that game, such was the reputation as a footballer that had preceeded him. It was the first time I had heard of him and saw him play and I was COMPLETELY bowled over by his entire game!!   As a schoolboy in his Tranquil days, Latas had an opportunity to go play for a team in england: Blackpool (i'm not sure if it's United, FC, or what.) but he did go and try out for the team, and this was at a time when players from the caribbean like him were not getting those kinds of opportunities.  I will leave the rest of the memories and postings to the rest of the men on the forum.  There will be PLENTY, but as one poster noted earlier, it seemed as though he ALWAYS gave his best effort in a T&T uniform even at times when Dwight didn't.  One of  (as far as I have seen).  Truly a class act.   

Bradford City

 
 

  College, boy, yuh sure it was Bradford City and not Blackpool??

[Midknight]

And  if we really serious contact Potuguese and Scottish media to get the videos of him that none of us seem to have.

I was thinking about this. Do we have any Portuguese speakers on the board?

[ZURITRESS]

yes it was bradford city and it was not football reasons he did not get the contract, also jorge casagrande the brazillian coach got trails and scholaships for quite a few guys back in those days . to tell how trinidadians taught and still think today one guy who he got a trial with stoke city said he came back because all they did was play two touch football