Technical Director of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the man in charge of Guyana’s Golden Jaguars, Trinidadian Jamal Shabazz, has expressed confidence in his charges, stating that they will rise to the occasion in the next round of matches of the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championships (DCC) billed for his homeland.
In an interview with Stabroek Sport, Shabazz expressed his optimism when questioned on his expectations of the team who may be facing Trinidad and Tobago’s own Soca Warriors in one of their group matches.
“I live in the real world and how much we put into this preparation is how much we will get out of it. If we plant bitter cassava, we will not reap sweet potatoes. However, if we do all that we can do to ensure a good preparation in a professional environment, I am confident that the players will rise to the occasion,” said Shabazz.
Guyana hosted group B of the competition and ended up as champions after completing a 3-0 victory over Dominica in their first game, and securing a 1-1 draw with their nemesis Suriname who defeated Dominica 3-1 in their final game.
But one area of concern that arose during the second round of qualifying matches for a place in the finals of the FIFA 2010 World Cup which will be held in South Africa, and also in the DCC, was the finishing of the Jaguars’ forwards. Shabazz stated that he needs more time to get the team fully prepared while at the same time the real technical work is tackled at the clubs.
“In professional football, the coach takes the responsibility for selection whilst the players take the responsibility for their performances, especially in front of the goal. But when you have three or four sessions to prepare a team for a major tournament such as this one, the work is more tactical and organizational.”
He further stated, “The real technical deficiencies are worked on at the clubs on a daily basis and there is only so much work we can do on finishing in the national team. I have already gotten a commitment from the players to work hard at the club level so that when we gather the national team, we will also do a bit of work.”
The Jaguars played their group B matches without the Newton brothers in Howard and Jake, and even their star striker Randolph Jerome and one can only wait and see if they will be available for the next round of matches, especially Jerome who was issued with a ticket to travel by the GFF.
But Shabazz is not worrying himself over this as he is prepared to take the field with whoever is available to play for their country, doing so with pride.
“The Guyana national team is an ongoing process, searching for the best combination. We will always attempt to use the best possible team based on chemistry, tactical needs and player requirements.”
Selection
The technical director said further that, “Players will be left out because we have more than 20 good players. I am entrusted with that choice and no matter what the mouth murderers say, I will exercise that right without fear or favour for Guyana as the buck stops with me,” said Shabazz.
He added, “However, we have coaches watching the performance of Guyana’s players in Trinidad and Tobago, England and North America, with Wayne Dover being the man looking at those based in Guyana.”
Shabazz also told Stabroek Sport that the preparations of the team will never be based solely in Guyana or T&T, as the composition of the squad is made up of both foreign and locally-based players.
“Our aim is to have a bunch of locally-based players train in Guyana, and monitor via the internet, videos and live matches where possible, those who are playing overseas.”
