Dwarika back with NE Stars in Pro League

Dwarika joins former national players Errol McFarlane, Gary Glasgow and Leslie “Tiger” Fitzpatrick in the squad which plans to make a return to the scene, after opting out of the 2009 football season due to financial constraints and the unavailability of a home venue.

The 36-year-old Dwarika, who was voted as the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) Player of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2001, was a member of United Petrotrin last year, but became a free agent when the club decided to pull out of this year’s action.

Dwarika, who has netted 28 goals in 72 international appearances between 1993-2008, played for North East from 2005-2007, as well as fellow TT outfits Joe Public (1997-2002 and 2007-2008) and W Connection (2002- 2004 and 2005).

The ex-Malick Senior Comprehensive star has also featured for Al-Ansar of Lebanon (1994), East Fife of Scotland (1995-1997) and Beijing Guoan of China (2004-2005).

Another player returning to North East is left full-back Glenton Wolfe, who began his club career at the 2004 Pro League champs.

He played with the Sangre Grande-based outfit from 2002-2006 and again from 2007-2008.

The 28-year-old, who has five international caps, struggled to make the starting line-up with San Juan Jabloteh last season, after a similarly disappointing time with W Connection.

A new acquisition to the team is 25-year-old Jamaican defender Kimarley McDonald, who played for Tivoli Gardens and Boys Town in his native island.

The coaching duties of North East Stars will be undertaken by American Rod Underwood, who had a successful playing career with Albuquerque Geckos, New Mexico Chiles and New Orleans Gamblers, as well as coaching South Carolina Shamrocks, Georgia State University, Portland Timbers and Cleveland City Stars.

According to Underwood, “this is an immense challenge because my appointment has occurred so close to the beginning of the season.

“I spent some time getting to know the staff and players before I committed myself to the club,” he continued

“One of the main reasons I accepted the offer from the club was because the Stars are clearly ambitious.”

North East Stars’ chief executive officer Brent Sancho commented: “We have probably taken a little too much time in selecting our coach, but we wanted to ensure that we made the right choice.”

The club’s director of football Kevin Jeffery said: “The whole coaching staff have been working hard to ensure coach Underwood had a solid group of players from which to make his final selections.”