Twenty-four-year-old West Ham striker Bobby Zamora turned down the opportunity to aid Trinidad and Tobago's faltering World Cup qualifying bid after an approach by national coach Leo Beenhakker in the wake of last Wednesday's 1-0 loss away to the United States.
Beenhakker, a former Holland, Ajax and Real Madrid coach, might be concerned about his team's offensive powers after their second consecutive qualifier without troubling the score summary. In six competitive outings, Trinidad and Tobago mustered five goals under the Dutch coach while just two of those items came from their strikers-one apiece from Coventry City's Stern John and Columbus Crew's Cornell Glen.
But Zamora, who previously declined overtures from ex-national coaches Ian Porterfield and Bertille St Clair, reportedly told Beenhakker that he is more interested in West Ham's campaign.
"Trinidad is my dad's country and to play in the finals would be a dream but West Ham are more important," the England-born striker told the News of the World newspaper."I am only thinking about the club at the moment and do not want to be distracted from that.
"The Trinidad manager went to the effort of watching me and asking the boss about me. But the club mean everything to me and if I can help us have a good season that is all that matters."
Zamora, whose father migrated to England from Carenage, is desperate to succeed in the Premiership in his second time after a brief stint with Tottenham under Glen Hoddle in the 2003/04 season. Hoddle was sacked soon after signing Zamora from Brighton and the striker did not impress his replacement, David Pleat, who quickly offloaded him to West Ham.
At six foot three, the mobile centre forward is an elegant player who can threaten opposing defences with his aerial ability as well as his pace.
Beenhakker may be particularly keen on an additional striker after team captain Dwight Yorke publicly stated his desire to play in midfield while he withdrew John during the second half against the United States.
Brazilian-born coach Rene Simoes famously recruited England-born Deon Burton at a similar stage in Jamaica's 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign and the speedy striker scored some crucial goals to propel the "Reggae Boyz" into the prestigious international tournament.
However, Zamora, in an exclusive interview with the Trinidad Express last season, insisted that he still harboured hopes of an England call-up and wanted to wait another two years before he decided on his international future. He still left a door open to represent T&T though.
"I've told Trinidad and Tobago I'd love to represent them at some point," said Zamora. "But at the moment all I care about is getting West Ham as high up the league as possible."
On paper, he is far down the pecking order of attackers available to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who can call on the likes of Real Madrid's Michael Owen, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Tottenham's Jermaine Defoe and Liverpool's Peter Crouch. But unknown young Charlton forward Darren Bent earned his first senior trip last week after scoring a Premiership double while several senior players were unavailable and Zamora would hope for a similar slice of fortune.
Zamora was one of three players eligible to represent Trinidad and Tobago who played in the English Premiership this weekend.
Aston Villa left back Jlloyd Samuel was also approached on more than one occasion by a Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) representative but he too is holding out for an England pick.
The third eligible player, Fulham goalkeeper Tony Warner, is the only one to approach Trinidad and Tobago for a game although he was never summoned by the T&TFF.
The 31-year-old Warner, a former number two at Liverpool, expressed a desire to play for Trinidad and Tobago during the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign but was never called up by Porterfield, who may have felt satisfied with the form of his goalkeepers, Shaka Hislop and Clayton Ince.
Warner moved to Millwall in 1999 and then Cardiff City before joining Fulham this summer as cover for Mark Crossley following the departure of Edwin van der Sar to Manchester United. He also had loan spells at Swindon, Celtic and Aberdeen while at Liverpool.
However, Beenhakker is known to be happy with the form of Dundee custodian Kelvin Jack, who played in every competitive match so far under the coach, while he can still turn to Hislop and Ince as back up.
The veteran coach may not be as content with his resources at the other end of the field, though.