While most of the football fans gathered at the Hasely Crawford Stadium were coming to terms with the fact that the ‘Soca Warriors’ stumbled at the last hurdle, losing to Haiti in the final of the Digicel Cup and missing out on the chance to boast of capturing a ninth regional title. Concacaf President Jack Warner stood with his head high and a pleasing smile of approval on his face looking on at the closing ceremony of the 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup.
In an exclusive interview with ttproleague.com, Mr. Warner revealed he has never been this happy after suffering a defeat.
“This team has made me proud, they are building and I think in some ways it was simply a lack of experience that made the difference on the night, but what I have seen over the duration of the tournament there is every reason for us to be hopeful.”
The FIFA Vice president added, “These guys that played in this tournament were mainly virtual unknowns, and they have improved with every game, and I believe in a few years time they can be groomed into a fine bunch of players.”
“The future looks extremely bright, not only were these guys unknowns, the average age of the team was just 22 years, and this means that this is a good investment for the future,” Warner surmised.
He confirmed the ‘Soca Warriors’ will be in action on the January 31st and on February 4th.
“This group of players leave next week for Panama where they play one match against the Panamanians on January 31 and then they head to Costa Rica for a second friendly on February 4, and these games will only help them improve as they go along.”
So elated was Mr. Warner, he exclaimed, “It’s the first time I have lost a match and I did not get angry, as a matter of fact I am very happy with the performance of these boys, they showed a hunger towards the end that you don’t usually see with Trinidad and Tobago national teams.”
Taking time to assess the two-week tournament, the Trinidad and Tobago football federation special advisor expressed satisfaction, particularly with the input of Digicel.
“I am very happy to be working alongside Digicel and I am really happy they came on board, they are the best partners in regional football that I have had for a long time, and they have lifted the bar both on the field and off the field. The opening and closing ceremony was the best I have ever seen in terms of regional football, and I want to thank them for lending a helping hand to regional football.”