Yorke will tackle England.
...Warrior captain makes about-turn.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).[/size]
Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup captain and former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke will make a surprise farewell appearance tomorrow in the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation's (T&TFF) Centennial match against England.
Yorke seemed to be ruled out of the exhibition match in midweek when talks were believed to have floundered when discussions turned to a match fee and training camp.
However, Yorke's interest in the outing was reignited after England's arrival on Thursday night.
FIFA vice-president and T&TFF special adviser Jack Warner initially invited Yorke to feature as a guest player and he is believed to have advised the national technical staff, headed by Colombian coach Francisco Maturana, that the Tobago-born star must be accommodated.
T&TFF press officer Shaun Fuentes confirmed yesterday evening that Yorke would play on Sunday, although he is yet to train under the present coaching regime.
Yorke is understood to have balked at the idea of joining his compatriots in camp, earlier this week, but was always open to the idea of a workout on the eve of the contest. There is a final session for the "Soca Warriors" from 4 p.m. today at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
His appearance tomorrow might be reminiscent of his last supposed farewell game against Northern Ireland at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet on June 6, 2004, when he sat in the stands for the first half before joining the squad at the interval.
Trinidad and Tobago lost 3-0 to Northern Ireland but, eight months later, Yorke agreed to rejoin the national team.
Unlike 2004, when then coach Bertille St Clair was eager to use Yorke, his cameo tomorrow would represent a climb down for the technical staff who, on Wednesday, claimed credit for the expected non-appearance of the striker-cum-midfielder.
"We see this as a very important preparation match against England and we want to use the players who will be part of the squad that will help us get to the next World Cup," Maturana told the media. "This is not an exhibition match. I have a lot of respect for Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy, but we are working towards the next World Cup."
Fuentes reiterated his coach's sentiments to the 365.com website.
"They will forever remain legends here," said Fuentes, "but the big man wants to continue building a team and he doesn't want to let Sunday's encounter against England go by without giving the current players that exposure-win, lose or draw."
Yesterday, the press officer conceded that someone bigger than Maturana had agreed to entertain Yorke for the Centennial outing.
