A Trinidad and Tobago 20-man squad arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina at 7am (5am TT time) on Thursday to begin a 12-day training camp ahead of it’s next 2010 World Cup Qualifier against El Salvador.
The option to use the Hindu facility was taken after further discussions among the technical staff. Initially the team was carded to be based at the Cafar Training Centre.
At the Hindu camp, the T&T squad settled in and had a 75-minute session under sweltering heat at the multi-purpose center which is regularly attended by Argentine First Division teams and has been a past training site for former great Diego Maradona, both for football and golf sessions. The England Rugby team also held a camp here recently while River Plate FC used it as a training base in the past.
Sessions will continue with outfield sessions in the morning and gym sessions in the evening period. Some five matches are on the schedule including one on Saturday against Second Division club Quilmes at the Argentina High Performance Center.
Assistant Coach Russell Latapy explained the purpose of the current training trip.
“It’s a long way away from home but basically it has all the conditions that we are looking for to help us get ready for the next World Cup qualifier,” Latapy told TTFF Media.
“I’ve been to many a site like this and it meets the requirements for teams. I would say that the main reason we are here is to get the team ready for the next match in a football oriented environment and in that regards Argentina is up there with the rest because we are going to be getting in some good sessions and matches against the local teams here.
“I think it’s not only important that the boys here are well prepared but we also have the guys in Europe who will be joining us in El Salvador and some of them have been enjoying some pretty good form for their clubs which is important for us as well,” Latapy added.
Maturana, a former Colombia head coach, is well know in this area, and he and the team was greeted by ESPN Argentina upon arrival at the airport.Among the topics discussed during the interview was the reason for coming to Argentina and Maturana’s ambitions to take another team to the World Cup.
“We are here to prepare the national team of Trinidad and Tobago. Our next round starts on February 11 and of course we are aiming for the best possible start,” Maturana said.
Two players worked separately from the regular session – Seon Power and Keon Daniel, both carrying leg muscle injuries which are expected to heal fully within the next couple days. Cornell Glen, who had been troubled by a calf strain, returned to regular training on Thursday.