Brazilian Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva will be the man in charge of Ma Pau SC in 2009 after he was appointed new coach of the TT Pro League club hailing out of Woodbrook.
Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva who ended his coaching role at Club Sportiza of the Sao Paulo Division last season is contracted on a two year deal and is expected to join the club when they travel to Brazil later this month to participate in an invitational tournament.
According to Ma Pau CEO John Wallace speaking with www.ttproleague.com it was a board decision to find a new coach with a lot more experience to take charge of the Woodbrook based side in 2009.
"We are looking to the development of our players, especially from the youth level. We weren't seeing this last season with Ron (La Forest) and after a meeting with our management we decided that a new coach should be brought in," explained Wallace.
However Ron la Forest's future with Ma Pau SC is still undecided according to Wallace who believes there is still the possibility of a role for the former Trinidad and Tobago international.
"We are looking to also bring in a youth developmental coach that will of course be focusing on the youths of our club. As of now, nothing is agreed upon on whether or not Ron will fill another role at our club."
Meantime Ma Pau was able to confirm that Ron's assistant Calvin Hughes and Team Administrator Louis Charles are no longer attached to the club after deciding not to extend their contracts following the 2008 season.
Under La Forest, Ma Pau in their debut season finished ninth in the domestic League and failed to impress in knockout competitions.
Ron had at his disposal seven Brazilian players in 2008 which he handpicked during a scouting trip in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"We were happy with the (Brazilian) players we had last season. They came into the team at the point when we were down and lifted things a bit," said Wallace, who now believes with new coach Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva a new breed of 'Soca Samba' can surface in 2009.
However, only three out of the seven Brazilians remain under observation at the club and will be part of the South American trip. Ma Pau SC are expected to depart Trinidad on January 20.
Meanwhile, coach Ron La Forest has already lost his role as head coach of Ma Pau SC following the 2008 season after the club made the decision to hire Brazilian Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva.
Ron's assistant Calvin Hughes and Team Administrator Louis Charles are already axed however Ma Pau CEO John Wallace says that alot of thought is still in whether or not the 2008 coach La Forest will have a role at the club this season.
Wallace explained that it was a club decision to find someone with alot more experience to take charge of their Pro League outfit this season.
La Forest told www.ttproleague.com, "Well the decision was made by the club to change coaches and I have to respect that. I was told that a solid decision will be made on my future with the club later this month so i will have to wait and see."
Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva was confirmed this week on an initial two year contract with the Woodbrook outfit.
Ma Pau staff and players will meet the 54 year old Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva for the first time later this month when they travel to Brazil to participate in an invitational tournament.
This week the Woodbrook based side held a few screening sessions monitored by Dion La Foucade, Michael Grovesnor and Ruskin Mark.
It is said that La Foucade is assisting the club during their 2009 preparation process while Grovesnor will be part of the Ma Pau Youth Coaching setup and veteran sport presenter Ruskin Mark as Scout/Advisor.