Beenhakker arrives tomorrow

NEWLY-appointed Trinidad and Tobago football coach Leo Beenhakker is scheduled to arrive in in Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow from the Netherlands for a four-day stay. The Dutchman will meet local football officials and players and make initial arrangements for his tenure with the Warriors. Beenhakker, the former Netherlands, Real Madrid and Ajax coach will also hold discussions with Special Adviser to the Football Federation, Jack Warner and other members of the Executive and Technical Advisory Committee.

He is also expected to visit some of the football facilities before returning to the Netherlands on Thursday. Yesterday the TTFF stated that there is no truth in an article in the UK Daily Mirror yesterday  which stated that Ron Atkinson was the man initially appointed as head coach before being stripped of the job. The story read: “Ron Atkinson was offered a new job as coach of the Trinidad and Tobago football team yesterday —  then stripped of the position after a furious players’ revolt.

“Delighted team chiefs —  who had ruled out ex-Manchester City boss Kevin Keegan as too expensive —  called the squad together yesterday to announce their new appointment. After a stunned silence, one senior player screamed: ‘You have got to be mad! You are joking me! I am not playing for Ron Atkinson. I don’t care what anybody says, he’s a racist.’ “Other members of the squad —  which includes ex-Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, Portsmouth keeper Shaka Hislop and Southampton’s Kenwyne Jones —  stormed out of the meeting. They warned they would quit the side if he were made boss.

“The meeting was called at 2 pm. The vicious backlash left the embarrassed Trinidad FA with no option but to withdraw the offer to Atkinson —  which had already been signed and sealed, subject to conditions,” the Mirror report stated. The TTFF stated yesterday that they did have Atkinson on a shortlist of coaches and this was mentioned to the players during a meeting at the Crowne Plaza in Port-of-Spain on Thursday but no announcement of his appointment was made. The TTFF said following further discussions, Atkinson and other names were then taken off the list as it was agreed that Beenhakker was the best man for the position and the decision was well-received by the players.

Beenhakker has worked as coach for Feyenoord, Ajax, Real Zaragoza, Volendam, Real Madrid, Grasshoppers, America (Mexico), Istanbulspor, Guadalajara and Vitesse Arnhem. In 1985, 1986 and 1990 he was Dutch national coach and guided the Saudi Arabian national team between 1993 and 1994. He has won six national titles in his coaching career —  two with Ajax, three with Real Madrid and the last, with Feyenoord in 1999. With Beenhakker here tomorrow, newly-appointed Assistant Coach Russell Latapy has indicated that he would return home within the next two weeks.

“Latas” dribbled five players before slotting home in Falkirk’s 3-0 win over St Johnstone yesterday and is likely to see his team clinch promotion into the Scottish Premier League (SPL) by next weekend. “I am grateful for having this opportunity now to come back and exploit this passion that I have for the game by working with the Trinidad and Tobago team in a positive way,” Latapy said yesterday about his new appointment. “I think it’s the best time and way for me to impart my knowledge and I have no doubt that we can pull this off once everything is well orchestrated and the team can rise to the call. I am really looking forward to this challenge,” Latapy said.

In another interview published on the Falkirk Web site, Latapy said the invitation to become assistant coach came out of nowhere and he would leave options open at Falkirk. “This offer came out of the blue. I receive e-mails every day from back home, asking me to come back and help my country out. I love it here at Falkirk, and would not have given any other job any consideration at all,” he said. “I will stay here until we have completed our season, and hopefully see the club back in the SPL. Depending on the results in the three vital qualifiers in June and July, I will make a decision then. If it is a return to Falkirk, I will be delighted because I love the club and have made many new friends here,” Latapy said. “I have confidence that we can work to a plan and come up with the sort of results that we are looking for to take us through the rest of the campaign,” he said.