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Mr Simoes' comments make sense
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Any doubts out there regarding the strong feeling Jamaicans have for football and their national team, the Reggae Boyz, would have been dispelled on Ash Wednesday when an estimated 26,000 people packed into the National Stadium to watch the 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in the year's first International Friendly.
Mr Tyrone Marshall's goal in added time, which saved Jamaica from what - on the run-of-play - would surely have been an undeserved defeat, provided the ideal tonic as the national team looks ahead to the start of the 'Back to Africa' 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign on June 14.
Crucially, Mr Marshall's goal eased the pressure for Technical Director Mr Rene Simoes, who would not have enjoyed losing his opening game on what is his second stint in charge of Jamaica's football.
Of course, Mr Simoes can accurately point out that back in 1994 when he began his first coaching stint in Jamaica, he started with a loss against the United States at the National Stadium. Yet, in the years that followed he was able to hone his squad of mostly amateurs and semi-professionals into a tough, winning combination that eventually made history by qualifying for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France.
For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Jamaica are now seeking one of three-and-a-half spots allocated to the CONCACAF region. Conventional wisdom and the experience of recent times suggest that the first two spots will be secured by regional giants Mexico and USA. That would leave teams such as Jamaica, Costa Rica, Canada, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Haiti in a huge battle for the third spot.
The fourth-placed team will end up in a play-off with South America's fifth-placed team. Readers will recall that Trinidad and Tobago earned a spot in the 2006 World Cup in Germany after overcoming the challenge of Asia's Bahrain in a play-off.
The good news for Mr Simoes is that based on what was on display on Wednesday, he has the resources for a real shot at a spot in South Africa. The Jamaica team of mostly overseas-based professionals showed talent, character and hunger.
And as Mr Simoes himself pointed out, it wasn't just the overseas-based professionals who impressed. Mr Simoes identified the "quality" of two local-based players - Mr Rudolph Austin, who played the entire game, and Mr Wolry Wolfe - for special mention.
Indeed, Mr Simoes was moved in a post-match interview to emphasise that local-based players could not be ignored and needed overseas exposure as part of the drive to make the national team stronger. Clearly, with the World Cup campaign just around the corner, his mixing of local-based players with overseas professionals will represent a very careful balancing act.
However, it was an interesting intervention from Mr Simoes, given the criticism that his predecessor, Mr Bora Milutinovic, had to undergo for losing a number of games while attempting to provide the much-needed exposure for locals.
Mr Simoes' comments should serve as a reminder to all, not least to Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell and his administration, that while immediate wins are important, development aimed at sustaining success over the long term is even more so.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Any doubts out there regarding the strong feeling Jamaicans have for football and their national team, the Reggae Boyz, would have been dispelled on Ash Wednesday when an estimated 26,000 people packed into the National Stadium to watch the 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in the year's first International Friendly.
Mr Tyrone Marshall's goal in added time, which saved Jamaica from what - on the run-of-play - would surely have been an undeserved defeat, provided the ideal tonic as the national team looks ahead to the start of the 'Back to Africa' 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign on June 14.
Crucially, Mr Marshall's goal eased the pressure for Technical Director Mr Rene Simoes, who would not have enjoyed losing his opening game on what is his second stint in charge of Jamaica's football.
Of course, Mr Simoes can accurately point out that back in 1994 when he began his first coaching stint in Jamaica, he started with a loss against the United States at the National Stadium. Yet, in the years that followed he was able to hone his squad of mostly amateurs and semi-professionals into a tough, winning combination that eventually made history by qualifying for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France.
For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Jamaica are now seeking one of three-and-a-half spots allocated to the CONCACAF region. Conventional wisdom and the experience of recent times suggest that the first two spots will be secured by regional giants Mexico and USA. That would leave teams such as Jamaica, Costa Rica, Canada, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Haiti in a huge battle for the third spot.
The fourth-placed team will end up in a play-off with South America's fifth-placed team. Readers will recall that Trinidad and Tobago earned a spot in the 2006 World Cup in Germany after overcoming the challenge of Asia's Bahrain in a play-off.
The good news for Mr Simoes is that based on what was on display on Wednesday, he has the resources for a real shot at a spot in South Africa. The Jamaica team of mostly overseas-based professionals showed talent, character and hunger.
And as Mr Simoes himself pointed out, it wasn't just the overseas-based professionals who impressed. Mr Simoes identified the "quality" of two local-based players - Mr Rudolph Austin, who played the entire game, and Mr Wolry Wolfe - for special mention.
Indeed, Mr Simoes was moved in a post-match interview to emphasise that local-based players could not be ignored and needed overseas exposure as part of the drive to make the national team stronger. Clearly, with the World Cup campaign just around the corner, his mixing of local-based players with overseas professionals will represent a very careful balancing act.
However, it was an interesting intervention from Mr Simoes, given the criticism that his predecessor, Mr Bora Milutinovic, had to undergo for losing a number of games while attempting to provide the much-needed exposure for locals.
Mr Simoes' comments should serve as a reminder to all, not least to Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell and his administration, that while immediate wins are important, development aimed at sustaining success over the long term is even more so.
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