Leston looks ahead to Sunderland training trip.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Leston Paul is seeing the opportunity to train at the Sunderland Academy of Light next month as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Of course, being the captain of the T&T Under 17 team that went to the FIFA Under 17 World Championship, one would think that more opportunities would come the way of someone like Paul but because of the circumstances surrounding the Sunderland visit, Paul is a little more excited.
The Digicel Kickstart clinic which was overseen by former England international John Barnes preceded the selection of Paul and seven other Caribbean youth players for the trip to Sunderland.
Since the Championship in Korea, interest has been expressed in some of the players with US Scholarship offers coming the way of Sean De Silva, Chike Sullivan, Stephen Knox among others. But to spend a week at Sunderland with the possibility of securing a longer stay must come as a major attraction for Paul.
“It obviously is a big opportunity because this doesn’t come along much for people in this region as you might think. Yes there will be scouts around and from time to time a player might get a chance to go on a trial. But this clinic gave us an opportunity to work with a coach in Mr (John) Barnes and eight players won the chance to go on this training stint.
I think for any player going to a Premiership club, it will be a big opportunity because you never know what could happen. And every bit of the time will be an experience for us which we could use to benefit our development for the future,” Paul said.
News from the 27th of February 2008
Whitley motivated under Maturana.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
National team midfielder Aurtis Whitley is confident that he will fit into Francisco Maturana’s plans for this country’s upcoming international programme.
At least the W Connection and T&T 2006 World Cup team member says he’s motivated again and willing to do what is necessary to regain a regular starting role in the team.
Whitley has been present at every training session this month since being recalled to the team that is preparing for upcoming friendly internationals against El Salvador at home on March 19 and Jamaica in Kingston on March 26.
“The sessions have been good and the coach seems to like what he’s seeing so far. The only problem right now is my fitness level but that will come in time,” Whitley told TTFF Media after Tuesday’s training session at the Ato Boldon Stadium.
“It felt good to be back after being out for a while. It’s a great lift from me to get recalled by the coach and hopefully now I can prove my worth.”
Maturana did say that Whitley would have to ensure him of his long-term commitment to the country’s cause.
“We did speak and I think I’m up for it and ready to give it a good shot. It will be a lot of work but as long as I continue working hard… I should be in good shape and able to make a contribution to the team.
“Going towards 2010 I will have some more experience than some of the others and I will try to help some of those other guys this time around to make sure we can get there again.”
Working under the Colombian Maturana is a change from the Leo Beenhakker period but Whitley, formerly of CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, is fancying the style of the ex-Ecuador coach.
‘His style is a different one. It’s a lot of ball possession and more playing with the ball than before. Before (it) was still a lot of ball work with this coach now.. it’s more knocking the ball and if you can take on.. then take on… It suits my game more and maybe I can do what I want to a bit more on the field. I’m looking forward to those next two games where hopefully I can settle back into the team,” Whitley said.
Following his brief stint in Vietnam last year which preceded largely unfavorable comments from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai coach.
“I like when there is some negative because it spurs me on to turn it around into something positive. Even before the World Cup there was a particular coach and some other people who said I couldn’t cut it at that level and we all still went there and held our own,” Whitley added.
The team will train on Wednesday but Maturana will hope to have more involvement from the Jabloteh player as there has not been a full turn out since training commenced last week. Ataullah Guerra and Jason Marcano were present on Tuesday while Khaleem Hyland and Lester Peltier are away on trial.
Joe Public’s Seon Power is out injured while Keyeno Thomas and Gary Glasgow are both recovering from injury. National youth team trio Daniel Cyrus, Leston Paul and Akeem Adams are being interchanged between sessions as the Under 20 team has began training in the afternoon period. The trio did train under Maturana last week.
News from the 24th of February 2008
T&T's Leston Paul among Digicel's selectees for Sunderland training stint.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 17 captain Leston Paul will join his fellow countrymen Dwight Yorke, Carlos Edwards and Kenwyne Jones at Sunderland next month after being one of the eight players selected from the Digicel Kickstart clinic to train for one week at Sunderland’s Academy of Light.
This was announced at the final press conference hosted by Digicel at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston on Saturday morning. Paul, a recent call up to the T&T Senior Team, was rated highly by Barnes who said that despite the fact that the Defence Force player was somewhat small in built for a midfielder, his level of skill and understanding for the game was enough to warrant his selection to go to Sunderland.
Of the eight players selected, two of them being late additions on the request of Barnes, seven are midfielders and one a forward. They include Joseph Guemley and Renaud Brisley (Haiti), Gerard Williams and Devaughn Elliot (St Kitts/Nevis), Akeem Brown (Jamaica), Emilio Limon (Surinam), Andrew Murray of Guyana and T&T’s Paul. The current T&T Under 20 team player, during his week in Sunderland will get time to interact with Jones and company and manager Roy Keane will also view part of the proceedings involving the Caribbean invitees.
Also in attendance at Saturday’s press conference was FIFA Vice President and Caribbean Football Union President Jack Warner, Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves, Jamaica’s Minister of Sport Olivia Babsy Grange and Jamaican FF President Horace Burrell.
According Warner: "These eight players will help bring National pride back into Caribbean football. Guyana, Haiti, St. Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica now have new young football heroes to recognize.
Caribbean football is strong, as recent successes in World Cups have shown, and thanks to this Digicel initiative we have had the opportunity to demonstrate that our young footballers also have the talent and the dedication necessary to make a mark on the International stage."
Delves furrtherexplained: "We are delighted with the fantastic success of our inaugural Digicel Kick Start Clinics and excited about the role this initiative is already playing in the development of our young football talent.
"Sunderland AFC has been a magnificent partner in this initiative and we are confident that their relationship with Caribbean football will continue to grow from strength to strength," added Colm Delves.
The Digicel CEO also acknowledged that the Clinics would not have been made possible without the extraordinary commitment and energy of former England footballer and Caribbean native, John Barnes, who coached all eight clinics in eight countries in the past seven weeks. President Jack Warner and the Caribbean Football Union were also acknowledged as being crucial partners in ensuring that all elements of the Digicel Football Clinics ran smoothly.
Digicel Kick Start Clinics' Head Coach, John Barnes explained the selection: "In the six weeks of travelling, we have seen an abundance of talent, dedication, togetherness and commitment. It is important for all of the boys to know that the chosen eight players will represent every one of them. They are Caribbean Football Ambassadors and my hope, and I know it is also the hope of Digicel and the CFU, is that their journey to the UK will open people's eyes to the potential of the Caribbean as an untapped talent pool."
The eight Caribbean U-20 footballers will begin their Journey of Champions on 23 March where they will spend one week training under the guidance of the English Premier League's Coaches in Sunderland AFC's Academy of Light. At the end of their week's training, the young footballers will visit the Stadium of Light to watch Sunderland take on West Ham in the Barclay's English Premier League.
News from the 18th of February 2008
Chris Birchall fancies a recall.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).[/size]
Coventry City midfielder Chris Birchall is refusing to take his sights off a recall to the Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team as it continues preparations for the start of its 2010 World Cup qualification drive in June.
Birchall, back from a hamstring injury, made a 75th minute appearance but with his team down to ten men and already trailing 3-0, there was little the 2006 World Cup team player could do to prevent the 5-0 whipping from West Brom before 28,163 fans on Saturday.
Birchall’s return to action will come as welcome news for T&T head coach Francisco Maturana who begins training with a newly selected squad this morning at the Ato Boldon Stadium and has indicated his willingness to have some of the old names in his preparations.
Midfielder Aurtis Whitley has been recalled and a call up for defender Cyd Gray is on the cards and Marvin Andrews (who contrary to other reports, never announced his retirement from international football) is also being looked at.
Maturana also inquired about Birchall soon after he joined the staff in Puerto Rico but at the time the player was nursing a hamstring problem. Birchall definitely wants to be involved.
“It’s good to be back playing but I don’t want to be left disappointed for not making the Trinidad team again. I will work for that recall and hopefully by keeping injury free and getting good minutes at Coventry will help me,” Birchall told TTFF Media.
“I don’t think I have to prove myself to be considered. Trinidad knows what I can do and they know I always give it my best once I’m representing the country that carried me to a World Cup. The important thing for me now is to keep playing and hopefully I can get that recall. I am one hundred percent dedicated,” Birchall added.
“The last couple months have been tough for me because in Scotland I felt I had achieved what I wanted to in terms of fitness and playing time at St Mirren but then the injury messed things up. But now I’m getting back to where I want to be and I’m feeling better,” the ex-Port Vale winger said.
News from the 16th of February 2008
Maturana mixes his picks for next warm-up international.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago Senior Team head coach Francisco Maturana has selected his squad of home-based players to prepare for an upcoming friendly international at home to El Salvador scheduled for March 19.
Maturana, after viewing the majority home-based players over three matches and several training sessions, has kept some faces in the mix and has invited three players who represented this country at the FIFA Under 17 World Championship last year – defenders Daneil Cyrus and Akeem Adams and midfielder Leston Paul.
Current National Under 20 striker Jamaal Gay has also been called up. Making a return to the team is Joe Public striker Gary Glasgow, defender Keyeno Thomas and 2006 World Cup team midfielder Aurtis Whitley.
Maturana explained that those players who were not invited will be monitored on an ongoing basis when action resumes in the T&T Pro League.
“The truth is that the players here at home are in their pre-season and you don’t always see their best level outside of when they are into their full season.
But we have also assessed the players who have been with us and we have kept some in the squad and we have also invited some younger faces with an eye on securing the country’s future in the game. If you look at most of the other nations… they are all securing their futures,” Maturana told TTFF Media after a meeting with assistant coach Anton Corneal, Cesar Maturana and Jorge Luis at the TTFF’s Technical Department Office, Kantac Plaza on Friday.
“The door is not closed on anyone but we have to work towards getting a base of local players to compliment the foreign players who we will be invited for other matches before the qualifiers start,” Maturana explained.
“We must be able to see what players can play and compete well at the top level. We must know all the players. We know that the time is near before our qualification but we also have some of the younger players involved because the future must be secured as well. These are the players who have the best potential to maybe make it at the higher level.
The players maintaining their selection after the Guadeloupe friendly include Seon Power, Keon Daniel, Aklie Edwards, Keston Williams, Kern Cupid, Marvin Phillip, Hayden Tinto and Khaleem Hyland. Tinto will not be involved in training next week as he heads out for a trial with MLS club San Jose Earthquake.
Former National Under 20 captain Makan Hislop, who played for the Senior Team in last year’s Digicel Cup has also been invited and will join the training sessions next week. Other returning faces include Lester Peltier, Ataullah Guerra, Daurance Williams, Karlon Murray, Jason Marcano and Silas Spann.
On the selection of Whitley who has been away from the national team since October 2006, Corneal said talks were held with the player on Maturana’s request and he (Whitley) expressed a willingness to return and has pledged his commitment to the South Africa 2010 drive.
“We are very serious about players’ commitment. But the past is history and I am not concerned about that. I am interested in making new history and this is where we will from… the present to the future,” Maturana said. “We told him (Whitley) that we want to know his level of commitment and he has assured us of this. All the players that represent the country must be committed.
T&T will face El Salvador on March 19 and five US/Canadian-based players will be invited for that game. They include National Under 23 members Kevon Neaves and Ancil Farrier, Toronto FC defender Julius James, Randi Patterson of the New York Red Bulls and forward Robbie Findley of Real Salt Lake.
Following the game on March 19, a squad inclusive of the selected overseas-based pros will be picked for the March 26 friendly international against Jamaica in Kingston. The current squad will resume training on Monday morning at the Ato Boldon Stadium and continue throughout the upcoming weeks.
Players Invited: Marvin Phillip, Kern Cupid, Aurtis Whitley (W Connection), Seon Power, Keyeno Thomas, Gary Glasgow, Silas Spann (Joe Public), Aklie Edwards, Keston Williams, Leston Paul (Defence Force), Hayden Tinto (Caledonia AIA), Keon Daniel (United Petrotrin), Jason Marcano, Khaleem Hyland, Lester Peltier, Ataullah Guerra, Karlon Murray, Daurance Williams (CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh), Jamaal Gay, Daneil Cyrus, Akeem Adams (T&T U-20s) and Makan Hislop.
News from the 09th of February 2008
Senior footballers to keep on working.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
National Team head coach Francisco Maturana will return to the training pitch at the Ato Boldon Stadium next week with a selected list of home-based professionals as the “Soca Warriors” continue their preparations, with a focus on the March 26 friendly international against Jamaica in Kingston.
Maturana and his staff are to meet with the T&T Pro League with an aim to having a suitable agreement with regards to the release of players for training sessions during the week. Maturana along with assistant coach Anton Corneal will relay their plans and then get on with the job at hand. Corneal revealed that Maturana is keen to groom young talent.
“He has already indicated how much he wants to groom young talent and that is what we will set about on doing over the next few weeks once we have our program outlined with the T&T Pro League,” Corneal told TTFF Media.
Corneal emphasized the need for the Pro League to cooperate with Maturana and the TTFF during the calendar of World Cup qualification.
“I think they will realize the need to cooperate because it has to work both ways and only the League and the local players and by extension the country will benefit from having these players available as required.”
Already talks are underway with World Cup team midfielder Aurtis Whitley with Corneal having already spoken to him. Maturana is expected to meet with the W Connection midfielder in due course. Corneal has also been in touch with other names who were not part of the squad for the Guadeloupe friendly, saying that the response so far has been positive, bringing an obvious smile to Maturana’s face.
“He is very eager and optimistic at the moment. We know we didn’t get the sort of performance we wanted on Wednesday but there is a lot to work with and a lot more to look at and he (Maturana) is buzzing as it relates to this,” Corneal added, mentioning too that Maturana was impressed with Keon Daniel and Khaleem Hyland and as such is interested in including some other younger faces in his training program.
The Colombian himself added: “I think we have all the ingredients to get the success but there is work to be done and we must do it carefully. We have to focus on the right things and I am confident that we will get the team playing as we need in order for success,” Maturana added.
