The news of the ongoing halt of National Team programs by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation has hit news in several areas of the Globe, most notably United Kingdom, Holland, other parts of Europe and as far as Calcutta, India.
The Telegraph India carried a report on Thursday headlined “Trinidad suspends national teams. ” There has also been much inquiry from media in the UK and Holland, moreso because of the influence of Leo Beenhakker in 2005/2006 and now with present coach Wim Rijsbergen also being the current head coach of the T&T Senior team.
T&T’s current Dutch-based professional Darryl Roberts, now in training with Premier Division team Sparta Rotterdam is aware of the situation and has experience inquiries about T&T football. Of course, the names Beenhakker and Rijsbergen keep popping up. International news agencies such as Associated Press have also been following the situation.
“They are not too fully aware of what is happening in terms of the exact details but yes they are very interested in the state of our football at this time,” Roberts told TTFF Media on Thursday.
“They will continue to monitor it because they know our coach is a Dutchman and also they know about Beenhakker’s time with us.
“Before when I just arrived they asked me a lot about how the training was with Beenhakker and what it’s like working with Rijsbergen since he took over the job. They are very interested in our football and chances for the next World Cup,” Roberts added.
Meantime, Roberts, who arrived at the club about a week ago, said he has trained since Monday with the first team and will know tomorrow whether he is in the squad for their League encounter with NEC Nijmegen.
“So far I have trained every day this week with the first team. I have been working hard and it’s up to the manager to make his decision for Saturday’s game,” Roberts said. He was expected to play in a Reserve match on Monday but the affair was cancelled due to unsuitable field conditions caused by heavy overnight rain.
“The rain has been falling a lot but I am adjusting to the conditions here. I have no choice,” said the former Malta Carib Alcons player. “But I did travel with the team for their away match with Willem II last week. The game drew 0-0 and it was a really enjoyable atmosphere. We had quite a decent a crowd at the game and the Willem fans are really into the football. It all makes me anxious to get on the pitch for my first game,” he added.