Leo feels no W/Cup pressure

LEO BEENHAKKER was in full flight in his role as coach of World Cup football finalists Trinidad and Tobago over the last two days working with potential players at the training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. As  London Daily Mirror reporter Andy Lines said emphatically: “This is now a World Cup country we are looking at. You are no longer a team that is trying to make it or a team that almost made it. You are going to be on the world stage in a few months or you can even consider yourself there already.” Lines journeyed from London with his photographer specifically to visit the TT training camp and he was not only interested in what Dwight Yorke, Shaka Hislop or Stern John was up to. He came to inquire more about what the home-based pros were experiencing, their lives as  footballers back in TT and what it meant for some of the young US college players to now have the chance of working under Beenhakker.

The Dutchman conducted his second session of the camp yesterday morning under sunshine interspersed with intervals of cool breeze and the occasional drizzle. And while assistants Wim Rijsbergen and Anton Corneal looked at Tony Rougier, Anthony Noreiga and young Kevon Neaves had to offer, an ESPN/ABC World Cup film crew was on hand and captured various clips for  their build-up programmes for the 2006 World Cup.  As Yorke and the other regulars were not involved, senior producer Natalie Jowett interviewed   Cyd Gray, Silvio Spann and Aurtis Whitley as well as Anthony Rougier, Atiba Charles, Kerry Baptiste, Errol McFarlane. Lines spoke to some of the other youngsters who Beenhakker has brought on the trip —   Jan Michael Williams, Julius James and Osei Telesford.

The former Real Madrid boss told the story in brief about his experience from the start of his tenure with the Soca Warriors. “We realised it was almost mission impossible. But we worked a lot and changed a lot of important things. We studied the first few matches they played under the former coach, with all my respect, but we noticed within my philosophy there was no balance in the team,” Beenhakker said. “To me one of the main things in actual football is to have balance and a mix of all characteristics and talent of the players to cover everything. That was missing and there was no team with co-ordination and other things,” he said.

“That was the start and then we had to make it clear that we had to have the ball as much as possible to manage the game. Now look at us today. We have made it to the World Cup as a team and we are trying to now prepare as a team. The boys picked it up very well. They were very good to work with from the beginning. The question was not whether they were good or not but realising that our opponents were not better,” Beenhakker said. When  asked if he is under any pressure at present  to get the team ready for the World Cup particularly with the euphoria over qualification, Beenhakker said: “Not for the moment. I think everyone has the right to be excited and celebrate. Most of these players are based overseas and they know how to handle it. Now they are working and living again in their normal routine.

“The hardest part was when we qualified to play Bahrain as it was hard to keep them on the ground because the whole country thought it was going to be a walk in the park but in football there is no walk in the park. But the players at the same time realise it will be a hell of a job to be successful in Germany but we know it’s possible to surprise somebody,” Beenhakker said. “Now we are here to do some more work because we have a World Cup to look forward to,” he said. Beenhakker has already finalised his training sites for the camp in England, Austria and Germany leading up to TT’s World Cup opener against Sweden on June 10. He is looking forward to the February 28 friendly against Iceland at Loftus Road in London, England. Before all of that, Beenhakker will have a chance to see the players on this trip in a scrimmage against Florida International University from 3.30 pm today at the Sunrise Ground in Ft Lauderdale.