New TT Warriors coach ready for challenge

NEW National football coach Leo Beenhakker has expressed his readiness and desire to guide the Warriors to a spot in the 2006 World Cup in Ger-many. In saying this, Beenhakker said he was offering the National team his 39 years of experience. “I can tell you I’m prepared for the new challenge,” Beenhakker said during yesterday’s press conference at the Athletes’ Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucu-rapo.

The briefing was held to formally introduce the new technical staff to the media.“I’m impressed  with the kindness and hospitality everybody has shown me,” Beenhakker said, adding that his time in Trinidad was filled with meetings with coaches of the various local clubs. “I made a very good choice in accepting this job and this challenge.” However, the 62-year-old Dutchman remained philosophical about his job.“In football, there are no miracles. You can be hopeful, but the main part is doing a good job, doing a professional job, working very hard and if we can realise that in the coming weeks, I’m sure with the support of everybody, I can do a good job.” On Wednesday, Beenhakker held a meeting with coaches of the TT Pro League clubs. “I told them that with all due respect to the players abroad, we need to pay much attention to the players that are in the local leagues,” he said.

Beenhakker noted that he intended to attend league matches “to be aware of what happens on the national club levels.” The former head coach of the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia National teams will return home today for a two-week stay where he will complete his relocation process as well as travel to both England and Scotland to interact with TT’s British-based players. Beenhakker intends to return to Trinidad by the end of April to begin his stint as coach, which runs from May 1 until October 12. Yesterday’s proposed training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium was rescheduled to May 2. Beenhakker revealed training matches were being planned for May, while as far as local-based players were concerned, “we’ll have every week, a camp for two to three days, to prepare a team.”