THE NAME Dennis Lawrence became immortalised in Trinidad and Tobago footballing folklore after his 48th minute header, from a Dwight Yorke corner, gave Trinidad and Tobago a 1-0 victory over Bahrain in the FIFA World Cup playoff second-leg clash at Manama, Bahrain on November 16.
That goal booked Trinidad and Tobago’s passage into the World Cup in Germany on the basis of a 2-1 aggregate win.
But Lawrence was unable to join his team during their celebrations in the dressing room after he was asked by FIFA officials to undergo a random drug test.
“Obviously, the thought of us qualifying for the World Cup, it was a great feeling for us at the time,” Lawrence pointed out. “I was excited, not just for myself but for my fellow teammates and for Trinidad and Tobago.”
On November 12, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, both teams battled to a 1-1 draw, with Trinidad and Tobago needing a goal in Manama to nullify the away-goal scored by Bahrain. That made Lawerence’s deadly header one of the most important goals in the history of this country’s football.
“Initially, we just knew that we had to go out and get a goal,” the 31-year-old said. “At that time that I got the goal, I didn’t believe that was the goal that would give us the result we were after.
“I just thought at the time that (it) would be the one we were looking for and we just had to go on and play the game,” he said modestly. “So, it was only when the game was over, then I realised that was the goal that actually took Trinidad and Tobago to the World Cup.”
Did the moment change his life, in any way?
“Obviously it’s changed in the fact that more media and more people want requests to do different things,” he said. “I try to be me, quiet and that’s why I’m back here today (at his Coconut Drive Community Ground in Morvant).”
At the time this interview was conducted, Lawrence was spending time with children from the community, a place where he was born on August, 1 1974.
“Where I live from here is only about five minutes walk (from the community ground),” said Lawrence. “So I used to be out in the savannah here playing with my mates and enjoying myself. Here’s basically where it all (started) for me. Football was always in me. I’ve been involved in basketball and all the other sports but football was always the one that stands out.
“Initially, people like (ex-TT player) Nevick De Noon kept the faith in me and try and push me through it,” Lawrence added. “I used to be involved with Morvant Elements and I used to go all over with them (in the 1980s).”
Lawrence also spent time at Barataria Junior Secondary and Malick Senior Comprehensive before joining Caledonia AIA and later Defence Force. He was determined to succeed and he did so at the Army, as he was part of their dominant teams in the late 1990s.
“Locally, at the time, it was the best thing for me because I just wanted to play football and the Professional League was the league at the time,” he acknowledged. “I was happy to be in the league and I was happy to enjoy it.
“Now I’ve benefited and taken the next step and gone on to professional overseas,” Lawrence continued. “It brings back a sense of the difference in cultures and football on the whole.”
Lawrence made his debut under Scottish-born coach Ian Porterfield in 2000, during a 2002 World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands Antilles and, a year later, he was named as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2001 Copa Caribe (now Digicel Caribbean Cup) tournament, which Trinidad and Tobago won at home.
But his national career has not been smooth sailing, as his awkward playing style failed to land him an extended run during the tenures of Bertille St Clair and Rene Simoes.
He has also undergone his own good times and bad times at the Welsh club Wrexham, where he joined for a fee of £75,000 in February 2001.
“I’ve been there for five years and I’ve enjoyed every minute and all my time there,” he stated. “Initially, the club has been through a couple of things that we’re all aware of. And now, we’ve just about gotten over that and the club (have) new ownership.”
Two years ago, Lawrence — even though he signed a three-year extension to his contract —was forced to take a wage cut. Mark Guterman, the club chairman at the time, was offered a two-year extension while Lawrence wanted three. But managing director John Reames was granted a three-year deal, but with only a slice of his salary in return.
What those situations have taught Lawrence is to be contented and level-headed, and he is also realistic about what his, and the team’s ambitions are in Germany.
“What we want to accomplish is to get the world to realise that Trinidad and Tobago is not only a holiday resort,” he stressed. “We’re trying to get the rest of the world to realise that we can play football and we can compete against the world’s best.
“It is important that we try to make Trinidad and Tobago proud,” he added. “If we can aim for that, who knows what we can achieve.”
Nonetheless the lanky defender, called “Tallest” by his teammates, was granted residential status by the Home Office in Britain, which means he will no longer require a work permit to play in the United Kingdom.
With his wife Gloria and daughter Celine, the Lawrence clan is settled in Wales, but Lawrence has not forgotten his roots in Morvant.
“This is something that I’ll just want to come back into, try and help develop this programme and build the programme (at Coconut Drive),” he noted. “Obviously, you can look at the surroundings and see what we’ve got to cope with.
“If I can do whatever I can do to try and help, just to get the kids the opportunity to play,” he pointed out. “Hopefully that’s one of the things that I’ll want to be involved in.” Finally, how does Lawrence describe himself? “Dennis Lawrence is Dennis Lawrence. The same Dennis Lawrence, wouldn’t change. Cool, quiet, just want to be left alone at times like everybody else.”