Ricardo Gardner (right), Theodore Whitmore (centre) and Deon Burton juggle the ball during training at the National Stadium yesterday. It was the final training session in the country before the team departs for a friendly international against Bolivia in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Friday. The team leaves today. - Dennis CokeBy Nodley Wright,
Staff Reporter
ON THE eve of the departure of the national team to Florida where it will play an international friendly against Bolivia this Friday, technical director Clovis de Oliveira had the look of a satisfied man.
"It was very good, very good," said de Oliveira after his team completed its second training session yesterday at the National Stadium. "Not only this session but this morning as well. It was amazing.
"Of course, I do not want to be overconfident. I want to be realistic. What I saw ... the atmosphere, the attitude of the group, the mood of the team has been amazing," he said.
Though he is preparing his team to win the two friendly games against Bolivia this Friday in Fort Lauderdale and against Bulgaria this Sunday at the National Stadium, de Oliveira said the looming World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago was the real thing.
At yesterday's trial all the invited overseas-based players were present and took part in training which included a squad match. The Brazilian technical director was particularly pleased with the performance of Ricardo Fuller and Jamie Lawrence.
Fuller was training with the national team for the first time since February, following lumbosacral fusion surgery while Lawrence, who trained with the team briefly last July, just before the team's first World Cup qualifier, is making a return to the squad and could play his first game for the country this weekend.
"I mean it is not in the way that it should be ... that we would like it to be but it is much, much better than what we were expecting, mainly Ricardo Fuller. It is a long time since I have seen him. I was there but I did not see him play," said de Oliveira.
"Also Jamie Lawrence. This time he impressed me because I saw him for 15 minutes, the last time and he was not very good. Not only physically and technically but psychologically as well because of his father's death. But today he showed us that he will be very important to our project," he said.
In the squad game, Fuller and Lawrence started on the B team but were later introduced to the A team in place of Deon Burton and Theodore Whitmore respectively. On the A team were Aaron Lawrence (goalkeeper) Chris Dawes (sweeper), Linval Dixon, Ian Goodison, Tyrone Marshall, Ricardo Gardner (defenders); Whitmore, Darryl Powell, Andy Williams (midfield) and Onandi Lowe and Burton up front.
The game was a competitive and high-spirited one with Lowe, Whitmore, Powell and Williams looking particularly good for the A team. On the B team, Fuller, Fabian Taylor and Lawrence stood out.
Lowe was clearly enjoying his game as he scored and created goals while showing more of his passing ability. Lawrence impressed with his strength, industry and technique while Fuller showed he had lost very little of his trickery. He capped his performance with a brilliant lobbed goal over 'keeper Leon Gordon.
