Speak up, Maturana.
...Who is the Warrior chief ?
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).[/color]
Hace mejorar su espanol, Francisco Maturana?
(Has your Spanish improved, Francisco Maturana?)Five months have passed since Maturana accepted the post of Trinidad and Tobago national football team coach. On his inauguration, the Colombian refused to talk in detail about his philosophy and what he brought to the post on the grounds that it was better to be judged on the team's performances.
Perhaps, it is time we had a word then.
Trinidad and Tobago's humbling 3-0 defeat to England on June 1 was a startling example, if one was needed, as to the extent of the team's decline since the summer of 2006 at the Germany World Cup.
The difference in the final score summary is a single goal between June 1, 2008 and June 15, 2006, but that is somewhat misleading.
In Germany, England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was forced to introduce Wayne Rooney, who was not fully recovered from injury, and use David Beckham as an auxiliary right back in a desperate attempt to breach the stubborn "Soca Warriors" side.
Trinidad and Tobago might have even been ahead as England defender John Terry was forced into an acrobatic goalline clearance to deny Stern John, while Peter Crouch's late opener for the English side should have been disallowed for a tug on opposing defender Brent Sancho.
But it is not merely the contrasting performances of the different Trinidad and Tobago teams that worries.
Maturana, after all, cannot be held culpable for the stagnation in our international game since 2006 due, in large part, to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation's (T&TFF) decision to blacklist 16 senior players over a bonus dispute. He just had the misfortune of inheriting it.
The integrity of Maturana's squad was arguably compromised on Friday, too, when, a day after he named an 18-man squad, FIFA vice-president and T&TFF special adviser Jack Warner ordered the inclusion of 2006 World Cup captain and ex-Manchester United star Dwight Yorke.
Again, there is nothing new about a Trinidad and Tobago coach being forced to accommodate a high-profile player. Maturana asserted, days before the Centennial match, that he would not use Yorke but he is not the first to capitulate before his paymaster.
The surprising thing about Maturana's term, thus far, is not the players he was forced to pick or ignore. Rather, it is the players he seemingly found on his own. Kern Cupid was derided by fans and the media alike for an abysmal performance against England. But it is worth noting that he is not the starting right back for his club, W Connection, while his rival, Kareem Smith of United Petrotrin, upstaged him in friendlies against Grenada and Barbados.
So why did Maturana persist with him if he is not in his best form after apparently using similar criteria to exclude the likes of Chris Birchall, Brent Sancho and Cornell Glen?
Presentation College student Akeem Adams was an unused substitute and, almost certainly, a bright prospect for the future. The T&TFF list his employer as W Connection, too, but that is disingenuous.
Adams has never played for Connection's senior team and was only promoted from their youth to reserve ranks after a plea from national assistant coach Anton Corneal. His selection is even more baffling when one considers that Connection's starting left back is a teenager named Kemuel Rivers.
Is youth and promise the criteria for an international cap these days? Try explaining that to Rivers who, at 19, has never been summoned to a national training session.
Kevaughn Connell, who represents France third division team L'Entente, was virtually unheard of before April 27 when he made a promising debut as a second half substitute in a 2-0 win over Grenada. Connell plays as a striker in France but was used on the left flank against Grenada and England.
If he deserved a call-up, though, why did they not have a look at the Belgium-based duo of striker Matthew Bartholomew (19) and left winger Aaron Downing (20), who graduated through the national youth ranks and play regularly in the lower leagues of another European country?
Can anyone explain, too, why Connell was not selected in Maturana's 18-man squad on Thursday and, on Sunday, was preferred to Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA winger Hayden Tinto as a late substitute?
CLICO San Juan Jabloteh playmaker Ataullah Guerra was elated when he was named in the 18-man squad, too. Two days later, he was informed that his place would be taken by Yorke.
The technical staff could have extended their squad to 19 members, if only to avoid the inevitable disappointment of the unlucky player. On Saturday, when Guerra got the news, he was not offered any such sweetener.
Yet, on match day, he saw another five players added to the team while he was still out in the cold.
Connection goalkeeper Marvin Phillip might have been perplexed, too. He was named, alongside Clayton Ince, in Maturana's 18-man squad but suddenly replaced by Sheffield United-bound custodian Jan-Michael Williams on the eve of the match and also forced to watch proceedings from the stands.
Again, no reason was offered for the selection change, leaving conspiracy theorists to come up with their own.
Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell was in the stands. Was there undue influence on the technical staff from others besides Warner?
Maturana no longer appears at press conferences and his assistant, Corneal, speaks on behalf of the technical staff. Does Corneal's influence end there?
At least four players used against England, including Connell, spent part or most of their formative years with the Alcons Football Club, which is run by Corneal and his father, Alvin Corneal, who incidentally worked alongside Maturana on the FIFA technical committee and recommended him for his present job.
Four more Warriors featured in the Centennial game represent Petrotrin, who have a third Corneal, Anton's brother Arnold, in a managerial position.
Granted that the 'Corneal list' includes national record scorer Stern John, who is undeniably worth his pick, while Smith has already been identified as a sound investment and utility player Osei Telesford gave a good account.
Perhaps the progress of such a large group of former pupils is testimony to the coaching prowess of the Corneals.
But the fact that eight from 17 players are linked to the family raises questions, legitimate or not, about whose philosophy directs the team. All coaches pull the odd surprise selection.
In 1996, Bertille St Clair made Ince his first-choice goalkeeper for the Caribbean Cup although, at the time, he was third string at Defence Force. Ince went on to be adjudged the Caribbean's best goalie and, along with Michael Maurice, now holds the record for the most clean sheets by a Trinidad and Tobago custodian in World Cup competition. Dutchman Leo Beenhakker had a few gambles, too.
Midfielder Birchall's stunning volley in the first World Cup Playoff match against Bahrain alone was worth the price of his admission. Goalkeeper Kelvin Jack was superb in the second Playoff leg and virtually flawless when he replaced an in-form Shaka Hislop for the final World Cup fixture against Paraguay, while Jabloteh full back Cyd Gray warmed hearts with a brave and effective display against England's Michael Owen in the World Cup despite being hampered by an injury.
In Beenhakker's camp, there was a consistency in the selection criteria that nurtured a relationship of trust and respect between players and coach.
Even before June 1, Maturana baffled with his choices. He selected a shortlist to face Grenada that did not include versatile bmobile Joe Public attacker Kerry Baptiste and, on the eve of the friendly, recalled Baptiste and started him ahead of players preferred earlier.
It was more of the same against Barbados as United States-based schoolboy Ancil Farrier joined the squad as a late replacement and got the nod over incumbent left back Aklie Edwards of the Defence Force.
The football was patchy and the picks and omissions surprised, but an undefeated stretch of five games, albeit largely against average opposition, preserved the coach's bubble.
It is harsh to suggest that Maturana's stock should fall after defeat to an established football nation like England. But, for all Warner's meddling--and, in retrospect, Yorke was hardly a bad pick--it seems that the Colombian may be the architect for some of his own problems.
Maturana enjoyed a tranquil introduction to life in Trinidad and Tobago on the back of his impressive CV and a string of positive results. It is ridiculous to suggest that the wheels have come off.
In fact, Maturana's marshalling of limited resources remains exemplary and an education to observers. Not even Sunday's one-sided affair detracted from the customary cleverness of his tactical strategies and ability to think on his feet.
Yet, it might be time for him to quell concerns about his selection policy. In January, Maturana, a qualified dentist, promised to be conversing in English within six months.
Una palabra por favor, senor. (A word please, sir).
Dwight Yorke about to make his entrance during Sunday's friendly international between Trinidad and Tobago and England at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Yorke came on too late to save face for the home team, who went under 3-0.
England players, including Dean Ashton, left, and David Beckham, celebrate a goal during Sunday's friendly international against Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. The visitors won 3-0.
RelatedFete over, back to work.
