Rijsbergen looking to future.
By: Joel Bailey (Newsday).[/size]
Wim Rijsbergen has effectively ended his term as coach of the Trinidad and Tobago football team and is looking forward to a new job as soon as possible.
The 56-year-old Rijsbergen made his views known in a recent interview with the newspaper de Verdieping Trouw in his native Netherlands.
Rijsbergen was handed a six-month suspension, without pay, by the TTFF (Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation) on December 4 after a confrontation with a Federation official.
On January 3, the TTFF unveiled 58-year-old Colombian Francisco Maturana as the new coach effective Friday (February 1) while Rijsbergen’s position will be reviewed after his ban is lifted on June 4.
In an earlier story on the Willem II Tilburg (a Dutch First Division club) website, Rijsbergen was quoted as stating that his task with the national team became unworkable.
This he said was mainly due to the strike action between the TTFF and the majority of the World Cup players last year which resulted in a number of friendly internationals being scrapped. The ex-New York Cosmos standout was given a four-year contract to lead the national team to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, having served as assistant to his countryman Leo Beenhakker during the successful 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Rijsbergen’s fellow Dutchman, assistant coach Jan Van Deinsen, resigned last month due to a lingering back problem. And another team assistant, Anton Corneal, who guided the national Under-17 team to the 2007 FIFA World Cup in South Korea, was named as the interim coach until Maturana’s contract officially starts tomorrow.
In the article on the de Verdieping Trouw’s newspaper’s internet edition, Rijsbergen admitted that the transition from qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany to aspiring for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was greatly affected by the player impasse.
As a result, he was left to field a virtual local-based team for both the Digicel Cup (in January) and the CONCACAF Gold Cup (in June). “I worked with players from the local league,” he said. “Their quality is not great. Not for nothing were (with the inclusion of the foreign-based pros), at most, four local boys in the final selection.
“If you want to achieve something as a footballer, you have to leave the island at a young age,” he affirmed. “Only abroad you can teach them the discipline associated with a professional. Their national pastime is liming, quietly drinking, talking and eating under a palm tree,” Rijsbergen said. “That belongs to their culture, but between merriment and athletics is a huge difference.”
Rijsbergen also bemoaned the lack of funding available to the team’s preparation, whereby members of the technical staff were not paid for over a month at a time, and repeated plans for a live-in camp, especially with the youth teams, never materialised.
“It was even worse,” said a disappointed Rijsbergen. “Five of the last six internationals were cancelled due to a lack of money.”
The former 1974 and 1978 World Cup defender also commented on a situation, ahead of last year’s Gold Cup, whereby some members of the squad were stranded in Honduras, en route to Los Angeles, United States.
“From my own pocket, I paid $7,000 for new visas and plane tickets to regulate,” he said. “A half-day before the first game (against El Salvador), did they arrive in the US.”
TTFF special advisor and FIFA vice-president Jack Austin Warner noted last week that the local federation will be firm in their stance against Rijsbergen.
The Dutchman also plan to sue the TTFF for breach of contract, stating that Maturana’s appointment should be null and void until a settlement has been reached between him and the Federation. The six-month suspension was enforced since, according to FIFA rules, it is the length of time stipulated to allow inquires and decisions to be made on the particular issue. When asked about his view on Warner, Rijsbergen said, “Without him, no decision was taken. He bears too much hats.
His party lost the recent elections,” Rijsbergen continued. “The government remained in power. There is also an investigation into financial flows within the football.
“Behind the scenes, things happen which I could not deal with,” he affirmed. “One thing I do know, they wanted to get rid of me. I was expensive and too complex. Sleeping dogs had to be left in peace.”
Pertaining to his future aspirations, Rijsbergen said, “My next job should at least be a nice one. But distances should not deter me.” He does not think his next stint will be in his homeland. “You need a certain qualification,” he admitted. “My life would not be a failure if I was with Real Madrid. Such clubs lean heavier on image than a balanced curriculum vitae (CV). “Look at (Ruud) Gullit at LA Galaxy, really FC Hollywood,” Rijsbergen added. “He will never make that team champions. Together with his wife, Ruud is a nice package to present to the outside world.
“For (current Netherlands coach Marco) Van Basten, is the same. With his status he earned as a footballer, he can get any job. And no one knows yet whether he makes the players better. That is why I prefer to choose the adventure,” he ended