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Waiting to exhale
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The newly elected, or should we say re-elected, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Captain Horace Burrell, is often labelled as "visionary" for his initiatives during his previous tenure as JFF head, which led to Jamaica's historic qualification to the FIFA World Cup of Football in 1998.
What is also not in question is his instinctive expertise as marketeer, aided by the kind of courage and bravado that allows him to make moves which occasionally leave the rest of us in awe.
Of course such bravado can also lead to error and mishap.
The jury is watching and chances are won't arrive at a conclusion until mid-week following Jamaica's two friendly internationals against Central American rivals El Salvador and Guatemala at the National Stadium in Kingston, assuming that that is enough time to come to any conclusion.
But we can't help but admire the creativity and athleticism of mind that triggered the decision by the Captain and his administrative team to appoint Mr Theodore Whitmore as interim coach of Jamaica's football, pending the arrival of yet another overseas expert to replace the ousted Mr Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic.
Truth is, metaphorically speaking, some of us are waiting still to exhale following our sharp, collective intake of breath when news broke of Mr Whitmore's appointment.
For it would have been easy and straightforward for Captain Burrell to ignore Mr Whitmore. After all, despite his iconic standing in Jamaica's football, Mr Whitmore has no experience or for that matter any coaching credentials even taking into account his recent relative success at premier league club Seba.
But had Captain Burrell done the expected and gone for one or other of the 'experienced, accredited' local coaches available to him, he would not have captured anyone's imagination.
The Captain's gamble is that Mr Whitmore's appointment will provide a much-needed spark. That it will help to energise the nation as we prepare for next year's start to the 'Back to Africa' campaign, which hopefully will end with Jamaica's qualification for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
For make no mistake about it, Mr Whitmore is among Jamaica's most important and admired footballers ever. He scored the goal as Jamaica defeated Suriname 1-0 in Paramaibo at the very start of the historic Road to France campaign.
And as the dream run came to an end at the World Cup in 1998, Mr Whitmore scored both goals as the Reggae Boyz defeated Japan 2-1.
More than that, Mr Whitmore was the main inspiration for Jamaican creativity throughout that World Cup campaign. He was the midfield architect, the wizard, the talisman that lifted his team.
All of that would have been at the back of Captain Burrell's mind as he made his decision.
Even as we await with bated breath the jury's verdict, we wish Mr Whitmore well, knowing, of course, that it is teamwork above all else, that wins matches.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The newly elected, or should we say re-elected, president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Captain Horace Burrell, is often labelled as "visionary" for his initiatives during his previous tenure as JFF head, which led to Jamaica's historic qualification to the FIFA World Cup of Football in 1998.
What is also not in question is his instinctive expertise as marketeer, aided by the kind of courage and bravado that allows him to make moves which occasionally leave the rest of us in awe.
Of course such bravado can also lead to error and mishap.
The jury is watching and chances are won't arrive at a conclusion until mid-week following Jamaica's two friendly internationals against Central American rivals El Salvador and Guatemala at the National Stadium in Kingston, assuming that that is enough time to come to any conclusion.
But we can't help but admire the creativity and athleticism of mind that triggered the decision by the Captain and his administrative team to appoint Mr Theodore Whitmore as interim coach of Jamaica's football, pending the arrival of yet another overseas expert to replace the ousted Mr Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic.
Truth is, metaphorically speaking, some of us are waiting still to exhale following our sharp, collective intake of breath when news broke of Mr Whitmore's appointment.
For it would have been easy and straightforward for Captain Burrell to ignore Mr Whitmore. After all, despite his iconic standing in Jamaica's football, Mr Whitmore has no experience or for that matter any coaching credentials even taking into account his recent relative success at premier league club Seba.
But had Captain Burrell done the expected and gone for one or other of the 'experienced, accredited' local coaches available to him, he would not have captured anyone's imagination.
The Captain's gamble is that Mr Whitmore's appointment will provide a much-needed spark. That it will help to energise the nation as we prepare for next year's start to the 'Back to Africa' campaign, which hopefully will end with Jamaica's qualification for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
For make no mistake about it, Mr Whitmore is among Jamaica's most important and admired footballers ever. He scored the goal as Jamaica defeated Suriname 1-0 in Paramaibo at the very start of the historic Road to France campaign.
And as the dream run came to an end at the World Cup in 1998, Mr Whitmore scored both goals as the Reggae Boyz defeated Japan 2-1.
More than that, Mr Whitmore was the main inspiration for Jamaican creativity throughout that World Cup campaign. He was the midfield architect, the wizard, the talisman that lifted his team.
All of that would have been at the back of Captain Burrell's mind as he made his decision.
Even as we await with bated breath the jury's verdict, we wish Mr Whitmore well, knowing, of course, that it is teamwork above all else, that wins matches.
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