Tweet
Back to basics: Veteran Boyz reflect on earlier tours
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sports editor
Saturday, March 22, 2008
CURITIBA, Brazil - Brazil, the home of the five-time World Cup men's champions, is not a strange land to Jamaican footballers. They've been coming here for years.
Allan 'Skill' Cole, regarded as one of Jamaica's finest players ever, made a ground-breaking trip here as a professional player in the early 1970s with Nautico, now a Serie A team. Many have followed him since.
Jamaican assistant coach, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore (third left), shares football wisdom with junior Reggae Boyz (from left) Christopher Jackson, Damion Williams, Allien Whittaker, Adrian Reid and Irvino English at the team's base camp Caxias-Xerem, Brazil, recently. (Photo: Sean Williams)
Brazilian technical director Rene Simoes took the first group of Jamaican players here in 1995, with many subsequent tours to South America.
Interestingly, two former players who were a part of the 1995 group, were in Brazil as coaches with the local-based group on a three-week training camp and the Senior Women's team on a two-week camp.
They are assistant coach and 1998 France World Cup star, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, and goalkeeping coach, Aaron Lawrence, who too was in France for the historic appearance.
And both agreed the success of qualifying for France in 1998 had its beginning here - Brazil. The land where the beautiful game of football means everything to its 183 million people.
But there is a chasm between the pioneering group of 1995 and the present generation of 2008.
"Looking back on those days, I have to say that these guys are fortunate in terms of their preparation and technical ability. In those days you could only pick out three or four players with natural technique and that would be me, Walter Boyd and Hector Wright.
"But when you look at the players now, three-quarters of them are technically sound," said Whitmore, who rose from the Brazilian experience and went on to score two goals against Japan in the famous 2-1 win at the World Cup Finals.
But Whitmore agreed that both camps, and even those between, served one essential purpose.
"It was a learning process... we were on a mission and we suffered together to reap the harvest together," he said.
On Jamaica's first trip to Brazil, which was followed by another in 1996, the team suffered humiliating losses to lower division clubs, non-league and even pick-up teams made up of 'beer belly', middle-aged men.
"So even though we lost by large margins we were not discouraged," said Whitmore in his typical upbeat manner.
"I remembered we played like 27 games in 28 days and we used to travel like six, seven hours by bus to play a game. We actually lived on the bus," he added.
Whitmore, a crafty and slippery midfielder in his heyday, warned the group in Brazil that they should appreciate the opportunity of being here.
"These guys are very fortunate. I don't remember coming to Brazil in those days and flying on a plane from one point of the country to another. but this is the platform that we set for them and I hope they will remember that there are youngsters that will follow... so they need to set a platform for them," said Whitmore.
Skilfully side-stepping talk about some of the lighter things that happened on those early sojourns to the sprawling country, Whitmore preferred to speak in general terms.
"Coming to Brazil was just history, and a lot of things happened. We suffered together and when we qualified for France and looked back, it was all worth it," he said.
But goalkeeper Lawrence was more inclined to get into details.
"I think at that time it was carnival and we went on the road to enjoy ourselves. we were there dancing when the Brazilians that were there with us warned us to be careful that some of the figures dancing looking like women, could be men. I remembered that we were dancing with some people and we later found out that they were men and it caused us to mash-up the people dem party, and we ended up having to run from the scene," Lawrence recalled.
"I remember Paul 'Tegat' Davis at the time had a broken leg and there was another player who was injured, I believe it was Winston Anglin, and they were the players that were ahead of us on their crutches as we fled the scene," said the Reno FC coach to a burst of laughter.
Lawrence, nicknamed 'Wildboy', also recounted how he and his fellow players were caught frolicking at a nightclub by coach Simoes.
"We had sneaked out of camp and went to a carnival party in a club. We were in the club jumping around and dancing, and when we looked it was the coach standing right in front of us. Everybody was shocked."
He never forgot the occasion only for its value in humour now, but that it cost him and his teammate a substantial part of their meagre per diem then.
"He (Simoes) spoke to us and said we didn't have to sneak out; all we had to do was ask," said Lawrence, who worked exclusively with the Senior Women who were also in Brazil for a two-week training camp.
Many saw the ongoing training exercise in Brazil as Simoes retracing his steps, following the very template he used back in the 1990s, some argued.
But the charismatic Brazilian denied this: "I think this is the right way to do things and it's good as it's showing the players what professional football is."
And the philosophical TD used a story he claimed his uncle told him to emphasise his point.
"Once he said there was a man who had the best farm in the municipality and everybody would look at his farm and try to imitate it, so what he did was build a big wall so no one could see inside his farm, but he couldn't see outside either, and after 30 years he still thought he had the best farm.
"But to his surprise when he opened his gate, he realised he was 30 years behind in technology, because he looked only inside.
"I don't want to just live one place, I like to go to other place. The only way to change location is to move. Some players keep saying that they are good and when they look around they find that they are no longer good. I try to avoid to stop in the time. We must go, we must travel if we are to learn," said Simoes.
Meanwhile, there were players in Brazil who were no strangers to the country. Goalkeeper Allien Whittaker, midfielders Wolry Wolfe and Damion R Williams were here with the Under-20 team that qualified for the Youth World Cup in Argentina in 2001 under the guidance of Brazilian Clovis de Oliviera.
Also, goalkeeper Duwayne Kerr, defender Obrian Woodbine, midfielders Ricardo Cousins and Eric Vernon and strikers James Thomas and Keammar Daley were in Rio de Janeiro for the Pan American Games last year, where the Jamaicans copped the silver medal.
It is safe to say Brazil has become a second home for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz.
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sports editor
Saturday, March 22, 2008
CURITIBA, Brazil - Brazil, the home of the five-time World Cup men's champions, is not a strange land to Jamaican footballers. They've been coming here for years.
Allan 'Skill' Cole, regarded as one of Jamaica's finest players ever, made a ground-breaking trip here as a professional player in the early 1970s with Nautico, now a Serie A team. Many have followed him since.
Jamaican assistant coach, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore (third left), shares football wisdom with junior Reggae Boyz (from left) Christopher Jackson, Damion Williams, Allien Whittaker, Adrian Reid and Irvino English at the team's base camp Caxias-Xerem, Brazil, recently. (Photo: Sean Williams) Brazilian technical director Rene Simoes took the first group of Jamaican players here in 1995, with many subsequent tours to South America.
Interestingly, two former players who were a part of the 1995 group, were in Brazil as coaches with the local-based group on a three-week training camp and the Senior Women's team on a two-week camp.
They are assistant coach and 1998 France World Cup star, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, and goalkeeping coach, Aaron Lawrence, who too was in France for the historic appearance.
And both agreed the success of qualifying for France in 1998 had its beginning here - Brazil. The land where the beautiful game of football means everything to its 183 million people.
But there is a chasm between the pioneering group of 1995 and the present generation of 2008.
"Looking back on those days, I have to say that these guys are fortunate in terms of their preparation and technical ability. In those days you could only pick out three or four players with natural technique and that would be me, Walter Boyd and Hector Wright.
"But when you look at the players now, three-quarters of them are technically sound," said Whitmore, who rose from the Brazilian experience and went on to score two goals against Japan in the famous 2-1 win at the World Cup Finals.
But Whitmore agreed that both camps, and even those between, served one essential purpose.
"It was a learning process... we were on a mission and we suffered together to reap the harvest together," he said.
On Jamaica's first trip to Brazil, which was followed by another in 1996, the team suffered humiliating losses to lower division clubs, non-league and even pick-up teams made up of 'beer belly', middle-aged men.
"So even though we lost by large margins we were not discouraged," said Whitmore in his typical upbeat manner.
"I remembered we played like 27 games in 28 days and we used to travel like six, seven hours by bus to play a game. We actually lived on the bus," he added.
Whitmore, a crafty and slippery midfielder in his heyday, warned the group in Brazil that they should appreciate the opportunity of being here.
"These guys are very fortunate. I don't remember coming to Brazil in those days and flying on a plane from one point of the country to another. but this is the platform that we set for them and I hope they will remember that there are youngsters that will follow... so they need to set a platform for them," said Whitmore.
Skilfully side-stepping talk about some of the lighter things that happened on those early sojourns to the sprawling country, Whitmore preferred to speak in general terms.
"Coming to Brazil was just history, and a lot of things happened. We suffered together and when we qualified for France and looked back, it was all worth it," he said.
But goalkeeper Lawrence was more inclined to get into details.
"I think at that time it was carnival and we went on the road to enjoy ourselves. we were there dancing when the Brazilians that were there with us warned us to be careful that some of the figures dancing looking like women, could be men. I remembered that we were dancing with some people and we later found out that they were men and it caused us to mash-up the people dem party, and we ended up having to run from the scene," Lawrence recalled.
"I remember Paul 'Tegat' Davis at the time had a broken leg and there was another player who was injured, I believe it was Winston Anglin, and they were the players that were ahead of us on their crutches as we fled the scene," said the Reno FC coach to a burst of laughter.
Lawrence, nicknamed 'Wildboy', also recounted how he and his fellow players were caught frolicking at a nightclub by coach Simoes.
"We had sneaked out of camp and went to a carnival party in a club. We were in the club jumping around and dancing, and when we looked it was the coach standing right in front of us. Everybody was shocked."
He never forgot the occasion only for its value in humour now, but that it cost him and his teammate a substantial part of their meagre per diem then.
"He (Simoes) spoke to us and said we didn't have to sneak out; all we had to do was ask," said Lawrence, who worked exclusively with the Senior Women who were also in Brazil for a two-week training camp.
Many saw the ongoing training exercise in Brazil as Simoes retracing his steps, following the very template he used back in the 1990s, some argued.
But the charismatic Brazilian denied this: "I think this is the right way to do things and it's good as it's showing the players what professional football is."
And the philosophical TD used a story he claimed his uncle told him to emphasise his point.
"Once he said there was a man who had the best farm in the municipality and everybody would look at his farm and try to imitate it, so what he did was build a big wall so no one could see inside his farm, but he couldn't see outside either, and after 30 years he still thought he had the best farm.
"But to his surprise when he opened his gate, he realised he was 30 years behind in technology, because he looked only inside.
"I don't want to just live one place, I like to go to other place. The only way to change location is to move. Some players keep saying that they are good and when they look around they find that they are no longer good. I try to avoid to stop in the time. We must go, we must travel if we are to learn," said Simoes.
Meanwhile, there were players in Brazil who were no strangers to the country. Goalkeeper Allien Whittaker, midfielders Wolry Wolfe and Damion R Williams were here with the Under-20 team that qualified for the Youth World Cup in Argentina in 2001 under the guidance of Brazilian Clovis de Oliviera.
Also, goalkeeper Duwayne Kerr, defender Obrian Woodbine, midfielders Ricardo Cousins and Eric Vernon and strikers James Thomas and Keammar Daley were in Rio de Janeiro for the Pan American Games last year, where the Jamaicans copped the silver medal.
It is safe to say Brazil has become a second home for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz.