“If they are coming with their Red Tide then we’ll show them our Red Tsunami”.
That was the warning sign coming from members of the Trinidad and Tobago senior team on the eve of Saturday’s 2006 World Cup qualifier against Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium scheduled for 6:30pm kick off.
Team captain Dwight Yorke made an urgent call for local fans to turn up in their numbers at the Stadium as the “Warriors” go after three points before heading off to Mexico for next Wednesday’s encounter. Also rumoured to be arriving here on Friday night to show his support from the stands was former captain Russell Latapy.
“It's the colour of passion, aggression and power, and if British research on sporting contests is to be believed, it's also the colour of winning - at least more often than not. When it comes to bloodying opponents, it seems donning red has a distinct advantage, a study of Olympic fighting events and European soccer suggests,” stated an Associated Press report recently which was also up on the Soca Warriors.net message board all week.
It was noted that Tiger Woods, Liverpool and Manchester United were some of the winners which wore red in battle. Now the “Warriors” would be aiming to add their name to such a prestige list.
“Well the last time I scored a hattrick for the country we wore red. I think it was front of a red Queen’s Park Oval against the same Panama,” Yorke told TTFF Media as he chilled out with the rest of the team at the Crowne Plaza on the eve of the match.
“I think is about time I scored a goal for the country too. It’s been a while and I think as captain I owe it to the guys and to the people of T&T. To be honest, I haven’t felt this good in a while and I have worked really hard with the rest of the guys to ensure that we can go out there and give it our best shot.”
Panama’s talented striker Luis Tejeda scored an acrobatic goal to give his team a 1-1 draw with Mexico in March and he is referred to as the “Silent one”. On T&T’s side, a man who has been quiet in recent times is Stern John and he should be up for silencing his critics on the day.
“It hasn’t been easy for me but I think I’m professional enough to come out of it,” John said. “To be fair I wasn’t in the best of shape and maybe my play was a bit sloppy against Bermuda because I just came off a long season and I wanted a break. I have worked my boots off in training and I think once we live up to expectations then things should go our way. The most important thing is for our game to be up and hopefully I can bag it when it matters this Saturday. We heard some talk bout their red tide threat. Well maybe we better give them a taste of our Tsunami or even a red den or something,” John added with a sarcastic laugh.
Panama trained at 5pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday after arriving the previous night while T&T coach Leo Beenhakker had a final session at around 6:30pm. Midfielders Densill “Bleeder” Theobald, Leslie Fitzpatrick, Aurtis Whitley and Chris Birchall all seemed to be full of touches while the strikers did some final rehearsals on hitting the mark. The “Twin Towers” of Marvin Andrews and Dennis Lawrence also appeared stone hard while Avery John, Marlon Rojas, Anton Pierre, Kenwyne Jones, Gary Glasgow, Glenton Wolfe, Carlos Edwards and Brent Rahim moved around like “Warriors” ready for battle.
Some members of the team were able to catch the premiere of the “Warriors” Video on local television which depicts scenes of the past matches and preparations as well as life on the T&T streets involving the older heads and the little ones. It also allowed English-born midfielder Chris Birchall the first time to catch a glimpse of himself in T&T uniform on the screen.
“I think when you look at the video it really makes you think for a moment and realize just how important it is for us to do well. I am English-born but I feel so much like a ‘Trini’. The song talks about having a dream and believing in angels and I think it’s safe for me to say that we all have this dream of getting to the next World Cup and showing the world what Trinidad and Tobago has to offer,” Birchall said.
T&T Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Clayton Ince (Crewe Alexandra), Kelvin Jack (Dundee)
Defenders:
Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham), Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers), Anton Pierre (Defence Force), Marlon Rojas (Real Salt Lake), Avery John (New England Revolution), Atiba Charles(Vibe CT 105 W Connection),
Midfielders:
Glenton Wolfe (National Quarries NE Stars), Carlos Edwards (Luton Town), Chris Birchall (Port Vale), Leslie Fitzpatrick (Real Salt Lake), Aurtis Whitley (CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh), Brent Rahim (unattached), Densill Theobald (Caledonia AIA Fire)
Forwards:
Gary Glasgow (Unattached), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton), Stern John (Coventry City), Hector Sam (Wrexham), Dwight Yorke (Sydney FC)
Panama squad
Goalkeepers:
Donaldo González (Maratón, Honduras), Jaime Penedo (Deportivo Árabe Unido).
Defenders:
Carlos Rivera (Deportivo Independiente Medellín, Colombia), Luis Moreno (Envigado, Colombia), José Mario Anthony Torres (Maratón, Honduras), Joel Jiménez (Plaza Amador), Joel Solanilla (Plaza Amador).
Midfielders:
Ricardo Phillips (Tauro), Amilcar Henríquez (Deportivo Árabe Unido), Julio Medina III (Aguila, El Salvador), Gustavo Avila (Deportivo Árabe Unido), Alberto Blanco (Alania, Russia), Gabriel Gómez (Tauro), Neftalí Díaz (Alianza)
Forwards:
José Luis Garcés (San Francisco), Roberto Luis Tejada (Envigado, Colombia), Blas Pérez (Deportivo Cali, Colombia), Brown (San Francisco)