Warriors make W/Cup history

Leipzig has already been seized by FIFA World Cup fever with the municipal authorities rising to the occasion by decking out their city as befits a global event: precisely 78 billboards and hundreds of posters are helping citizens get into the mood for the draw on Friday.

Shop windows everywhere have been dressed for the FIFA World Cup, and the Official Logo has been added to the signage at the city limits.

The biggest show in the city’s history, presented by German TV star Reinhold Beckmann and supermodel Heidi Klum, will be broadcast to 145 countries by 150 TV and radio stations. Locals and visitors alike will be entertained by an extensive programme of supporting events.

An exhibition entitled "Germany’s World Cup Winners" opens today. This features memorabilia related to Germany’s three FIFA World Cup triumphs in Bern, Munich and Rome— "The miracle of Bern", "The Kaiser conquers Munich", "One night in Rome".

Tomorrow brings a glittering highlight with the European premiere of the autobiographical film "Pele Forever", featuring football icon Pele. The legendary Brazilian will be present in person at the premiere.

On the same day, organisers are hoping to line up the "biggest German national team of all time" in the form of a human chain leading from the city centre to the Zentralstadion. This will form the centrepiece of Leipzig Welcome Day and will feature a host of actors and sports personalities, including German national team captain Michael Ballack.

FIFA also produced a Facts and Figures piece in which Trinidad and Tobago was featured. It was noted that TT is officially the smallest country to ever compete in the FIFA World Cup Finals. The country’s population is just 1.088 million (last estimate July 2005). TT is also the smallest country at Germany 2006 with an area of 5,128 km.

TT also has the record now for the highest number of World Cup qualifying defeats for a qualified team.. They lost seven of their 20 matches, more than the previous record of six defeats held jointly by Paraguay and Uruguay in 2002, as well as by Costa Rica, Ecuador and Paraguay in 2006.

It was also noted that head coach Leo Beenhakker will participate in a World Cup for the second time after leading Holland in 1990, notching up three draws and one defeat.

Beenhakker is now second on the all-time ranking of longest break between FIFA World Cup Finals as a coach, after Zagallo’s 24-year long break with Brazil between 1974 and 1998.

He will join Austria’s Karl Rappan (Switzerland 1938-Switzerland 1954) and Sepp Herberger (Germany 1938-Germany 1954) who both returned to coaching World Cup teams after a 16-year break.

And for the first time ever at a World Cup, Germany 2006 will feature three Dutch coaches, Beenhakker (TT), Guus Hiddink (Australia) and Marco Van Basten (Netherlands).

It was also mentioned that the TT player to have contested the most FIFA World Cup Qualifying Matches is Marvin Andrews with 38 matches, followed by Russell Latapy with 36 appearances and Dwight Yorke with 35.

Latapy and Yorke have both played in five different preliminary competitions (1990- 2006), along with Michael Maurice who collected 20 caps between World Cup 1982 and 1998.

TT made it through to their first finals on the 11th attempt.