David Nakhid backs Soca Warriors.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).[/size]
Former Trinidad and Tobago national football team captain and two-time Caribbean "Footballer of the Year" David Nakhid yesterday voiced his support for the embattled "Soca Warriors" as they dispute their share in income generated by the country's appearance at the 2006 Germany World Cup.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) claimed they received just under $18.3 million in sponsorship and marketing money and the players were entitled to only $141,102-once expenses were deducted. The players did not accept that figure last week or the T&TFF's stance that expenses be subtracted from their bonus.
The players met T&TFF general secretary Richard Groden yesterday morning to continue discussions.
Nakhid, who had several run-ins with the T&TFF as a player and assistant coach, claimed the organisation was being true to form.
"The info I have is only from the newspapers and from the outside," Nakhid told the Express, "it seems that (T&TFF special advisor) Jack Warner and the TTFF are pretty much double billing everybody.
"You can most surely verify this but the government was billed for a variety of expenses and now they are taken out again from the sponsorship money."
Nakhid, as captain, played a key role in threatened strike action over unpaid salaries on the day of the 1994 Caribbean Cup final in Port of Spain. The T&TFF bowed to the uprising and, with Brazilian legend Pele looking on, the national team recorded an emphatic 7-2 win over Martinique. It remains the largest victory in the final of the regional tournament.
"Our strike at the 94 Shell Cup was one of solidarity and bettered the conditions of local players," said Nakhid. "We went on to produce one of our best performances... So I hope, above all, the actions taken by the players will improve their lot and of course enable them to get the money that was promised to them."
Nakhid, who worked as assistant coach and scout for much of the 2006 qualifying campaign, might be the only member of the technical staff who did not receive financial reward for his effort. He admitted that he was upset about the failure to recognise his work despite the controversy which marked his departure.
The Lebanon-based former standout player joined Bertille St Clair's technical staff in late 2004 and continued to work under his Dutch replacement Leo Beenhakker up until the final Concacaf qualifier against Mexico. In Warner's biography, From Zero To Hero, the FIFA vice-president credited Nakhid for the recruitment of Beenhakker who once coached him in Switzerland.
But Nakhid's relationship with Beenhakker and the T&TFF broke down last October after a flare-up between Nakhid and the Dutchman's compatriot and assistant Wim Rijsbergen, who has since inherit the post of head coach. Rijsbergen and Nakhid came close to blows on the eve of a crucial qualifier away to Panama and the Trinidadian alleged that he was insulted by the national coach because of his Muslim religion.
The T&TFF fired Nakhid a week later and he was subsequently accused by Warner of spying on the Warriors for their final rival, Bahrain. Nakhid filed a lawsuit against Warner, T&TFF press officer Shaun Fuentes and the Newsday for slander and the matter is still before the local court.
Nakhid, who also played in one World Cup qualifier, claimed that he was still owed money by the T&TFF for his work while he blamed Warner for blocking him from being rewarded by the government although other players and coaches who did not travel to Germany were paid.
He said that his name was recommended for financial reward by the players' committee when the team returned from Germany but was struck off by the T&TFF. National goalkeeper Shaka Hislop confirmed that Nakhid's name was on the initial list handed to the T&TFF.
"I have not been paid a single cent owed to me by the TTFF for my work with the team," said Nakhid. "Moreover, Jack and the T&TFF decided that they had the power to veto any compensation to me by the government by taking my name off of the list presented to them by the players committee."