Fuller, Shavar recalled

[Sir X]

Fuller, Shavar recalled
Among 11 overseas-based players invited by SimoesBy Ian Burnett Sport Editor burnetti@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, August 31, 2008


Ace Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller is among 11 overseas-based Jamaican internationals named by technical director Rene Simoes to prepare for World Cup qualifying assignments against Central American heavy weights Mexico and Honduras next week.
Middlesbrough's Robert Huth (left), holds back Stoke City's Ricardo Fuller during their English Premier League soccer match at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium yesterday. (Photo: AP)
Fuller, who has scored twice in three outings in this season's English Premier League, missed the opening World Cup semi-final fixture against Canada in Toronto on August 20, having only recently recovered from a knee injury he received while representing Jamaica in the summer.
Also recalled is defender Shavar Thomas of US Major League Soccer team Chivas USA. Thomas, who has been a national player at the FIFA Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup Finals in New Zealand and Argentina respectively, was an unused substitute when last called for the March 26 friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.
The former youth captain was a regular member of the senior team under the guidance of Brazilian Clovis de Oliveira in the failed 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Meanwhile, defender Tyrone Marshall, who missed the game against Canada at his Toronto FC home ground, the BMO Field, has retained his place after recovering from a partial quad tear of the right thigh.
The remainder of the invitees include captain Ricardo Gardner, Andy Williams, Ian Goodison, Demar Phillips, Luton Shelton, Wolry Wolfe, Deon Burton and Rudolph Austin, who joined SK Brann in the Norwegian Premier League on Friday.
Noticeably absent from the last game are striker Omar Cummings and defender Demar Stewart, who plays in China. It appears that Cummings has made way for the return of Fuller, while Stewart has been dropped for Thomas.
The outstanding striker Marlon King continues to be shunted by Simoes, having not earned a call-up since the games against The Bahamas. It is still unclear why the player, arguably the most lethal striker in the player pool, continues to be ignored.
The local-based players will rejoin training camp tomorrow, and are expected to be joined by their senior professionals, who are scheduled to begin arriving here from today through Tuesday.
The Reggae Boyz are set to face regional powerhouse Mexico here at 1:00 pm at the National Stadium on Saturday, before journeying to the hostile environment of San Pedro Sula for their game against Honduras the following Wednesday.
Jamaica are joint second with Canada in the four-team Group B with one point earned from their 1-1 draw away to Canada. Mexico lead the group with maximum three points after a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Honduras at the Azteca.
On Saturday, Canada host Honduras at Montreal before travelling to Mexico for their mid-week encounter.

[Sir X]

Mission: Win or go home (Part two)
published: Sunday | August 31, 2008


File
Simoes ... 'I had [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]invitations[/COLOR][/COLOR] from other Brazilian clubs and I said 'no, I go back to Jamaica because I promised Captain'.
Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer
FOR A while, René Simoes shied away from Jamaica's embrace.
Six years coaching the nation's football programme, he said, meant it was time to move on. The Boyz' s flagging results near the end of his tenure did not help persuade him to stay either.
The glow that followed the man with 'Jesus Saves' written on his [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]shirt[/COLOR][/COLOR] during the '98 'Road to France' campaign was finally wearing off.
Other coaches
So, Simoes was gone by February 2000. His family visited Jamaica afterwards, but he never returned. He claimed his presence would have caused an unnecessary distraction for whoever was in charge, and feared word would spread that he had come back for his old job.
"I said I could not be a visitor," the Brazilian explained in late July while in the United States with the Reggae Boyz. "Once I (visited), they'd say 'coach is here', some rumours, comments. I didn't want to get in trouble with any coach."
There were quite a few during his absence. Countrymen Clovis de Oliveira and Sebastaio Lazaroni came and went. So, too, Jamaicans Carl Brown and Wendell Dowsnwell.
None could duplicate the success of 1998. The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) changed administrations too, but the Reggae Boyz tumbled in the world rankings and failed to reach [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]World [COLOR=orange! important]Cups[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] 2002 and 2006.
Simoes stayed away, but not totally out of the picture. He kept in touch with current JFF president, ex-[COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]army[/COLOR][/COLOR] Captain Horace Burrell, and general secretary Horace Reid, key figures who helped chart the '98 [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]course[/COLOR][/COLOR].
They talked on the phone, exchanged emails and, occa-sionally, met in places around the world. Yet, there was no defining moment when Simoes decided to come back to Jamaica. There was no need.
"Always I want to return," he said.
Opportunity lost
That opportunity almost came five years ago. According to Simoes, who was then living in Qatar, Burrell called on November 23, 2003, and offered him his old job. He agreed.
But that same day Burrell was defeated by Crenston Boxhill in the race for JFF president. The comeback plan crashed, but did not totally burn.
"So, he lost," Simoes said of Burrell, "but we kept talking."
That is, until Simoes was again summoned by Burrell after his re-election early last November. The Captain had inherited from Boxhill's term Bora Milutinovic, a coach with a huge reputation and pay package, plus a six-game losing streak and floundering rankings.
The Serb was cut loose on November 9, 2007.
In January, Simoes and his assistants returned to the country he had once adopted as his own.
"Jamaica was different," Simoes said, recalling his first stint. "It was not just a job. It's a life experience."
Despite its engaging culture and warm climate, Jamaica was not - or is - paradise. Simoes agreed there are "tough, hard" times too.
But he shrugged off the misgivings.
"This is the life," said Simoes.
Now, he notices how much Jamaica has changed since he left. The football clubs are better. The coaches teach more. Other things have caught his eye, like the many large cars on Jamaica's narrow roads.
He offers one theory with a puzzled smile: "I thought they enlarged the island."
Misfortunes
But it could be worse. At some points, it has been for the Brazilian.
He could not duplicate Jamaica's '98 triumph in Trinidad and Tobago and left.
T&T later qualified for World Cup 2006, using players that Simoes had once left out.
More recently in Brazil, where Simoes had built a successful run with Coritiba, things turned sour.
The club's leadership changed and, according to Simoes, those in charge of charting the new direction did not suit him.
"I never work with somebody I don't like," he said.
So, late last year, he called Burrell to accept his standing offer. It was about keeping his word.
"I had invitations from other Brazilian clubs," said Simoes, "and I said 'no, I go back to Jamaica because I promised Captain'."
Looking for talent
He also pledged to treat players fairly. English-born Nathan Koo-Boothe, who represented Jamaica at the youth level, testifies to that.
In late 2006 Koo-Boothe suffered a broken leg while playing for his club in Britain. Out of contract, he came to Jamaica to rehabilitate. Simoes invited him to join the Reggae Boyz. Less than two months after he resumed playing, he was part of Jamaica's squad to play El Salvador.
"To be where I am, I'm really grateful," Koo-Boothe said on the day of the game. "I thank Simoes and the JFF for giving me this chance."
Yet, for Simoes, decisions like the one regarding Koo-Boothe are not based on sentiment. The player was not picked for the 1-1 draw with Canada on August 20.
Simoes doesn't worry who is upset by his team selections or coaching strategy.
"I'm looking for the right ones, not the best ones," he told a reporter who questioned his selections after the Canada game. "We are good collectively."
One advantage of being successful before, he explained, is that Jamaicans now understand his ways.
"In that time (his first stint), I was a Brazilian coach that come to the island and if somebody says something about me I have to go there and say 'no, they are wrong'," Simoes said. "Now if somebody says something about me, the Jamaicans are going to say 'no, I know René Simoes, this is René Simoes'."
Their support translates into the rousing atmosphere at 'The Office' on game days.
Performance
Yet, Simoes knows Jamaicans will demand his removal if the Boyz slip up on the road to South Africa. He accepts that as normal.
"It doesn't matter if they like you or they don't like you," he said with a shrug. "Professionally, if you don't produce, you're going to be fired. I am not there to make a group of friends. Of course, if it comes, it's good. But the main point is you have to be professional."
Even if the numbers don't add up. Ranked 108th or not, Jamaica must squeeze into the top 32 countries at World Cup 2010.
Change or no change, Simoes understands the bottom line: It's win or go home. Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.


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[Sir X]

Man from china ..Omar Cummings and defender Demar Stewart, who plays in China..but No man from Africa...T.Bennet?

Can someone ask Rene why no call for T.Bennet ? MO , Sickko any reporter in or out of Jamaica , where is THE MAN !

[Dunny]

Fuller, Shavar recalled
Among 11 overseas-based players invited by SimoesBy Ian Burnett Sport Editor burnetti@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, August 31, 2008


Ace Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller is among 11 overseas-based Jamaican internationals named by technical director Rene Simoes to prepare for World Cup qualifying assignments against Central American heavy weights Mexico and Honduras next week.
Middlesbrough's Robert Huth (left), holds back Stoke City's Ricardo Fuller during their English Premier League soccer match at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium yesterday. (Photo: AP)
Fuller, who has scored twice in three outings in this season's English Premier League, missed the opening World Cup semi-final fixture against Canada in Toronto on August 20, having only recently recovered from a knee injury he received while representing Jamaica in the summer.
Also recalled is defender Shavar Thomas of US Major League Soccer team Chivas USA. Thomas, who has been a national player at the FIFA Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup Finals in New Zealand and Argentina respectively, was an unused substitute when last called for the March 26 friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.
The former youth captain was a regular member of the senior team under the guidance of Brazilian Clovis de Oliveira in the failed 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Meanwhile, defender Tyrone Marshall, who missed the game against Canada at his Toronto FC home ground, the BMO Field, has retained his place after recovering from a partial quad tear of the right thigh.
The remainder of the invitees include captain Ricardo Gardner, Andy Williams, Ian Goodison, Demar Phillips, Luton Shelton, Wolry Wolfe, Deon Burton and Rudolph Austin, who joined SK Brann in the Norwegian Premier League on Friday.
Noticeably absent from the last game are striker Omar Cummings and defender Demar Stewart, who plays in China. It appears that Cummings has made way for the return of Fuller, while Stewart has been dropped for Thomas.
The outstanding striker Marlon King continues to be shunted by Simoes, having not earned a call-up since the games against The Bahamas. It is still unclear why the player, arguably the most lethal striker in the player pool, continues to be ignored.
The local-based players will rejoin training camp tomorrow, and are expected to be joined by their senior professionals, who are scheduled to begin arriving here from today through Tuesday.
The Reggae Boyz are set to face regional powerhouse Mexico here at 1:00 pm at the National Stadium on Saturday, before journeying to the hostile environment of San Pedro Sula for their game against Honduras the following Wednesday.
Jamaica are joint second with Canada in the four-team Group B with one point earned from their 1-1 draw away to Canada. Mexico lead the group with maximum three points after a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Honduras at the Azteca.
On Saturday, Canada host Honduras at Montreal before travelling to Mexico for their mid-week encounter.

Still no place for King,JJ,Stew Peas,Nuggsy.Good to see Fuller back.

[Reggae-Fan]

So we are going into back to back games with only 3 strikers? Looks like King is injured, he wasnt even on the bench for Hull this weekend.

We need more amunition upfront if we are to come away with anything in these games

[Dunny]

So we are going into back to back games with only 3 strikers? Looks like King is injured, he wasnt even on the bench for Hull this weekend.

We need more amunition upfront if we are to come away with anything in these games

King is fit, he didn't play yesterday because he wasn't allowed to play against Wigan,That was a condition set out in the loan deal.

[Mosiah]

Another memoir! sigh