T&T veterans ready for redemption.
By: FIFAworldcup.com.[/size]
On 19 November 1989, little Trinidad and Tobago were so close to reaching a first FIFA World Cup finals they could taste it. With steel drums splinting away and irresistible rhythms hanging in the thick Caribbean air, 24,000 red-clad fans packed into the rickety stadium to watch their fancied Warriors seal the deal.
All they needed was a draw against a comparatively modest United States side and the entire nation of just over one million was watching intently. But despite such a rosy outlook, it all ended in tears for T&T as a 31st-minute cracker of a volley from Paul Caligiuri sent the US, not Trinidad, to Italia 90. "We celebrated like there was no tomorrow," recalled former American great John Harkes.
For the crushed Trinidadians there was no tomorrow and no celebrations. After the initial shock wore off, what followed was a sickening tailspin and 16 years of ignominy for the football-mad nation. "I was just a boy and I watched it on TV like everyone else and I remember the sadness I felt when the final whistle went," current T&T striker Scott Sealy recently told FIFAworldcup.com. "There was this sense of remorse that you could feel on the streets for weeks after the game."
Now, nearly 16 years to the day, two current members of the Soca Warriors side, who were both hopeful rookies in 1989, will be more keen than anyone to avoid a similar slip-up in what is the closest the island nation has come to the FIFA World Cup finals since then. Dwight Yorke, who went on to reach great heights at club level, and the aptly named 'Little Magician' Russell Latapy are once again on the cusp of the finals and desperate to make amends for that previous lost chance.
"I was a 21-year-old kid back then and I had my whole career in front of me," Latapy, now 37 and player-coach of Scottish club Falkirk, told FIFAworldcup.com. "We were so close to reaching the World Cup and then we all woke up the next morning to realise our dreams had been dashed."
Latapy, who once played for Sir Bobby Robson at Porto, was well into his international retirement when, midway through T&T's troubled Germany 2006 qualifying campaign, a call came through from an old friend looking for a big favour. The man on the other end of the line was Dwight Yorke – a former European Cup winner with Manchester United and a team-mate of Latapy's on that ill-fated November day back in 1989.
"I could never turn my back on my country," Latapy said. "As long as I can still contribute and help the team, I will do my best. Everyone who knows me knows that. I think if we can concentrate on ourselves then we are definitely in with a chance." Latapy's return opened up options for the team in attack and, coupled with the shot in the arm brought by new coach Leo Beenhakker, put T&T almost immediately on track for a fourth-place finish and a spot in the crucial two-legged play-off with Bahrain.
Now they are ready to make amends for 1989. "Back then I was just a little kid," recalled Yorke, who went on to become his country's greatest-ever footballer, with a stadium named after him on the island of Tobago. "It was a huge time for the entire country. We knew we would never forget that moment. And in losing, we haven't.
"This is our best chance now and that's part of the reason that I'm here now," added Yorke, who now plays for FC Sydney in the Australian A-League. "I see us in with a great chance. Once we can put our heads together and get the support of the entire country, then we definitely stand a great chance."
When asked what was different about this year compared to '89, Latapy pointed to preparation. "We have worked together on basic issues that were a problem in the past," he said. "It is crucial to keep the ball and not give it away cheaply and this is something we are doing now. Aside from that we are all very motivated and have the right mental attitude."
Led by their two ageing maestros, this Caribbean nation is ready to believe again. Coach Beenhakker reminded the team in a recent meeting that they were "only 180 minutes away from glory". But for Latapy and Yorke at least, it has been a great deal longer than that.
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