Historic year for footballers

A DREAM which appeared to be turning into a nighmare at the beginning of last year had a fairy tale ending on November 16 when for the first time in history Trinidad and Tobago footballers qualified for the World Cup Finals set for Germany in June. By all accounts it was the biggest achievement ever by local sportsmen rivalling the accomplishment of sprinter Hasely Crawford who won this country’s first and only gold medal to date at the Olympic Games of 1976 in Montreal, Canada. The defeat of Bahrain 2-1 in a two-match play-off series sparked national jubilation throughout Trinidad and Tobago with Government announcing a Public Holiday to coincide with the return of several team members after a tense and exciting match in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. It was however a long, hard road for the team, captained by the experienced Dwight Yorke and it took a change of coaches to reignite the team’s chances in the tough CONCACAF qualifying group.

Last March 30, the Soca Warriors gained their first point in the CONCACAF Final Round campaign, a goal-less draw at home to Costa Rica following a 2-1 beating by the United States at the Queen’s Park Oval, on Ash Wednesday, and a 5-1 humiliation away to Guatemala on February 26. Following the Costa Rica contest, coach Bertille St Clair and his technical staff of Ron La Forest and David Nakhid were replaced by the Dutch trio of Leo Beenhakker and assistants Theo De Jong and Whim Rijsbergen. Nakhid however was later reinstated as a player-scout. The World Cup campaign also saw the return from three-year exiles of former national captains Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy. Yorke made his international comeback in a friendly fixture against Haiti at Shaw Park, Tobago on Carnival Sunday (February 6), mere days before donning the captain’s armband for the Ash Wednesday contest against the Americans.

Latapy, after pleadings from Yorke and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special advisor Jack Austin Warner, was persuaded to make an about-turn and join the fray for the September 3 home fixture against Guatemala. Known as the “Little Magician”, the 37-year-old scored a 48th minute equaliser while much-maligned striker Stern John added two late strikes as Trinidad and Tobago battled to a pulsating 3-2 win. The qualifiers also saw the best and worst of John, at least in terms of his playing form. Earlier in the campaign, there were calls for St Clair, and then Beenhakker, to demote John to the substitutes’ bench for a lack of goals. But, after his double against Guatemala, John netted the winner as TT edged Panama 1-0 in Panama City, on October 8, and added another pair as the national team earned a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Mexico, at home, four days later. The Mexico triumph saw Trinidad and Tobago secure a playoff-spot against Bahrain, on November 12 and 16.

At the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, the national squad got a 73rd minute equaliser from English-born midfielder Christopher Birchall as they held Bahrain to a 1-1 draw. And, in the return leg at Manama, Bahrain, Dennis Lawrence’s header in the 48th minute was enough to guarantee TT a first ever berth in the World Cup. Outside of the World Cup arena, Trinidad and Tobago struggled to make any headway at both the Digicel Caribbean Cup in February (in Barbados) and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July (in the United States). Under St Clair, the national squad was beaten 1-0 by Jamaica and 2-1 by Cuba before earning a hard-fought 3-2 triumph over hosts Barbados to finish third in the four-team group, and seal a spot in the Gold Cup. Months later, in Group “A” of the Gold Cup, Trinidad and Tobago —  this time with Beenhakker dictating from the sidelines —  were held to successive ties (1-1 against Honduras and 2-2 against Panama) before a 2-0 whipping by Colombia put the TT team out of contention for a quarterfinal spot.

The national Under-20 men’s and women’s team also had mixed results as they fought for places in respective FIFA World Championships. The TT men team, vying for a place at the World Youth Cup in the Netherlands, lost all three matches, against hosts United States, Costa Rica and Panama, in the CONCACAF Final Round qualifiers in Carson, California in January. But the women advanced from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Final Round phase here in Trinidad (a loss to Jamaica was counterbalanced by victories against Haiti and Suriname), in November, to progress to the CONCACAF stage in Mexico next month. The top three teams there will all advance to the World Championships in Russia next June.

Trinidad and Tobago was also the venue for the inaugural Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Youth Cup in August, with Canada crushing Guatemala 4-0 in the final while Jamaica whipped the hosts 3-0 in the third-place playoff. While Trinidad and Tobago will be entering the FIFA World Cup arena for the first time next June, a World Cup veteran has retired from competitive action. Top referee Ramesh Ramdhan hung up his boots, his whistle and cards, on December 31 after reaching the FIFA’s stipulated age limit of 45. Ramdhan officiated in the 1998 World Cup in France as well as the finals of the 1996 and 1998 Gold Cup in Los Angeles.