By Nodley Wright, Staff Reporter
Dawkins - File
NATIONAL MIDFIELDER Fabian Dawkins is counting off the days to January 3 when he departs the island for Italy for one month of pre-season training.
The 21-year-old recently returned from Romania where he was said to have had a successful one-week trial with the club which currently sits in third position in the Romanian First Division. "The coach, Walter Zenga, and Dan Petrescu, a former Romania international, told me that they were impressed with me, the way I played and the speed with which I played," Dawkins told The Gleaner.
"They also said that they only had a few games left in their season, so I was invited to return in January for their pre-season which I gladly accepted," said Dawkins. The player's claim was backed up by his agent Eric Manasse of Logosport which is represented locally by Patricia Garel.
"I was very impressed by his speed and ability," a release from Manasse quoted Zenga, a former Italy goalkeeper and coach, as saying. "Since we have only four games left in this half of the season, we have invited Fabian to join the team for pre-season training in January," it continued.
Manasse's release also stated that Dawkins was one of the good Jamaican players recommended to Zenga when he took over as coach at Nacional.
Subsequent to the release, Dawkins said he was informed by his agent, through Garel, that he leaves the island on January 3.
For Dawkins, who has had fewer than 10 caps for Jamaica's national team and scored Jamaica's only goal at the 2001 Under-20 World Cup, the experience training at Nacional was a good one.
"It was very professional environment. It was very good to experience and being among some professional players even though I am a professional player," Dawkins said.
"The life of a professional player there is much different from the life of a professional player in Jamaica. The players, the coach accepted me and rallied around me and it was good," he said.
Dawkins, who represents Village United in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League, participated in inter-squad matches and said he was satisfied with his performance.
"I felt very satisfied with my own performance and I would say that I was a little bit above some of the players there and on the same line with some of the others," he said.
"At no point did I feel out of place," said the right-side midfielder. He added that communication was not a problem for him as most of the players and the coaching staff spoke English.
The climate too was not a bother. "It was a bit chilly. It was not that cold. The sun was out from time to time but it was okay while I was there."
Besides being ranked third in the country's First Division, Nacional have also advanced to the second round of the UEFA Cup and are to play Paris Saint-Germain, the club of Jamaican midfielder Keith Kelly, in a return match.
