Bruce banking on TT team

Bruce Aanensen is the new manager of the “Warriors,” Trinidad and Tobago’s National Football Team which is currently attempting to qualify for the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany. A retired director of the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, the 57-year-old vice president of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club, played football and cricket at St Mary’s College, football for Casuals Club, Lantern Giants in the Southern Football Association, Endeavour Club in Montserrat, and the Montserrat National Football Team vs Antigua, Dominica and two English ships.  After being sidelined through injury, the keen sportsman turned his hand to assisting with the 1988 CONCACAF Under 16 tournament in Trinidad, and between 1990 and 1992 with management of the Shell Caribbean Cup. 

Bruce was one of many in a list of sweeping management changes announced earlier this month by Jack Warner, Special Adviser to the Football Federation, which saw Dutchman, Leo Beenhakker, replacing Tobagonian Bertille St Clair as head coach of the national team. This appointment has come at a good time for Bruce who retired from RBTT on January 31, 2005, as Director Group Human Resources, after eight years in the position. Bruce had also been involved in the bank’s business side as chairman RBTT Caribbean Limited, RBTT Grenada Limited and RBTT Services Limited; and director of RBTT Bank Limited. Managing the “Warriors,” says Bruce, “was an opportunity to come and help to do something for the national team.” He speaks only positively of Jack Warner: “I have been a strong supporter of his over the years, I have always respected his work ethic and also his forthright manner in speaking his mind.

And, I think Jack has single-handedly done more for football in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean than anyone else, by bringing major tournaments to the English speaking Caribbean. He is personally the driving force in bringing improved football to the smaller islands because more tournaments are being played in the Caribbean where they can participate and are not faced with a lack of money to go to Central America tournaments.  Also, Jack has gotten FIFA to assist financially in the islands.” Bruce saw this as an opportunity to regain a stronger faith in the national team which to date has not been successful on its “Road to Germany.” “If I can make a contribution to the overall effort then I am happy to do so,” says the father of three adult children and five grandchildren.

He admits to not being too familiar with most of the younger national footballers. “I knew some of the older ones as I was vice chairman of the Organising Committee on the 1989 “Road to Italy” campaign, but did meet them at the recent session with the new coach and I am going to try my best to get them to qualify. “Among the problems is the fact that football in Trinidad now does not have the same spectator attraction of years ago hence the reason why people here don’t know the players on the national team. That was also so to some extent at the beginning of the Road to Italy but once you are winning support swells and escalates.” Bruce is appealing to the media which appears to have lost interest in the national team, to come back on board.  “Every single one of them was represented at Beenhakker’s introduction.”

The next qualifying game is against Panama on June 4 in Trinidad, followed by the June 8 game in Mexico. “Every game from here on is a virtual final so we have to find a way to get the population’s support behind the team,” says the new manager. “A win against Panama is absolutely essential at this time to resurrect our hopes of qualification. Right now the new coach is on a visit to England and Scotland assessing the fitness levels of our overseas players.  He returns end of April and our first camp starts May 2 at the Centre of Excellence, and camps will continue Monday to Wednesday each week in May.” Bruce and the two assistant managers George Joseph and Lincoln “Tiger” Phillips, are already putting together plans as to what needs to be done from now to the end of the game vs Mexico.

“The players have been faced with a lot of recent changes. We need to provide them with an environment which allows them to properly focus on their football, such as accommodation during camps, training and physio equipment, out of pocket allowances so they don’t have to worry about how they are coming to practise and such. They have to have a sense of comfort and be able to relate to the management team so that we also have to very quickly find ways to reach out to them and understand what are some of the problems they may be experiencing in their personal lives that may be affecting their ability to focus on the game.”

Bruce came out of football in 1992, became vice president of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club and got very involved with cricket.  At the end of 1995, he gave up as VP to chair the club’s Centenary Committee which brought Sri Lanka, who had just won the World Cup, to play two games at the Oval against a past and present WI team. By August 1996 he was back as vice president to new president Willie Rodriguez, and remains VP to this time. In 1998 he managed the club’s cricket team on a one month tour of Australia.