Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA co-captain and talisman Marvin Oliver has played his last game for the "Eastern Stallions".
Oliver, a lanky midfielder with an impressive passing range, has agreed to join 2007 T&T Pro League champions, CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, and is waiting only to explain his move to Caledonia coach Jamaal Shabazz before signing his new contract.
There seems to be very little that Shabazz, who Oliver described as a "father figure", can do to change the mind of his most gifted asset. Oliver said the lure of rejoining his first club proved irresistible.
"I started playing with Jabloteh from the age of nine up until I was 17 when I went away to live," Oliver told the Express. "I live in Bourg Mulattrasse (again) and this is an opportunity for me to play for my home-base team. Not many professionals away or at home get that chance.
"It is not about money or Jabloteh being a bigger club."
Jabloteh coach and former England World Cup defender Terry Fenwick is excited to add arguably the 2007 Pro League's best player to his squad and feels confident that the playmaker will help the "San Juan Kings" win more trophies.
Fenwick confided that Oliver, whose Caledonia contract expired in the close season, would join Jabloteh on a two-year deal for roughly the same salary he received with his former employers.
"I followed him a lot last season and I thought he was outstanding," said Fenwick. "For me, he was player of the year. He always wants to win and he showed a great appetite for the game and his work ethic even without the ball was fantastic."
Jabloteh, who had arguably the Pro League's youngest squad last term, managed just one trophy in 2007 but it was the most important one. Fenwick believes the 32-year-old Oliver can offer experience and leadership to the club while also adding variety to their play.
Suspended national coach and ex-Holland World Cup player Wim Rijsbergen expressed skepticism, last year, about Oliver's ability to assert himself on matches. Fenwick, a former Tottenham defender, disagreed.
"I think he is a leader," said Fenwick. "He is a captain-type player on and off the pitch and he led by example at Caledonia. And I think Trinidad and Tobago lacks leaders on the pitch...
"Unfortunately, a lot of Trinidad and Tobago players don't look like what European coaches might want... People might not recognise the great player he is underneath the dreadlocks and because of his (thin) physical presence."
Oliver admitted he had not discussed Jabloteh's direct style with his new coach but hopes they adjust their game slightly to suit his subtlety through the centre. Just as important to him, though, is his exit interview with Caledonia.
Oliver, although a free agent, is anxious to receive Shabazz's blessing. His last Pro League outing was a 2-1 loss to Jabloteh in December that assured the San Juan club of the 2007 title and confined Caledonia to third place.
Oliver will help Jabloteh defend their crown this year but does not want Caledonia fans to view him as a turncoat.
"I just want them to understand it wasn't a betrayal," he said. "It is an opportunity for a youngster in Caledonia to step up. That is the nature of the game...when you do well people will come for you and, if it was any other team, I wouldn't have moved.
"I love Caledonia and I love Jamaal and the things he helped me with. He is a father figure. But Jabloteh is the first club I played for and it is the opportunity to close off my career with the team I started with."
Last season, Jabloteh prematurely announced the capture of Caledonia's St Lucian defender Sheldon Emmanuel only for Shabazz to talk his prized asset into remaining with the Stallions. Shabazz appears to face a much tougher task in denying Jabloteh this time.