No soca in Sao Paulo …nor anywhere else for that matter! I just happened to like that heading, so in a time of sadness and disappointment, I used it.
Of course, I am referring to our early — premature? — exit from the World Cup to be held in Brazil in 2014.
The loss in Guyana saddened me deeply.
Notwithstanding our lack of serious competition for more than a year, I thought that the draw we got was beneficial, putting us in a preliminary round with Bermuda, Barbados and Guyana.
Of course, I am referring to our early — premature? — exit from the World Cup to be held in Brazil in 2014.
The loss in Guyana saddened me deeply.
Notwithstanding our lack of serious competition for more than a year, I thought that the draw we got was beneficial, putting us in a preliminary round with Bermuda, Barbados and Guyana.
I believed that we could win this group, and in so doing, develop (re-develop?) sufficiently to meet the real test on the road-march to Brazil, that being the semi-final round against Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador. In that round we would have had to come at least second, no easy task, but not impossible, if we continued to improve.
But that is all old dreams right now, and we have failed once again to qualify for a World Cup Finals. But there is no “right” for us to do so. It has always been, and will always be, an extremely difficult task for us, or indeed any except the top two in our region: Mexico and the USA.
But that is all old dreams right now, and we have failed once again to qualify for a World Cup Finals. But there is no “right” for us to do so. It has always been, and will always be, an extremely difficult task for us, or indeed any except the top two in our region: Mexico and the USA.
The others who will always seriously challenge us are Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica. What truly hurts is elimination in the preliminary stages of the qualifying competition, as occurred last week.
But we have been there before. And in the past we stumbled immediately following previous near-excellence. After the notorious Haiti fiasco before West Germany 1974, where referees robbed us, we crashed out of Argentina 1978 in the preliminary round. We showed nothing for 1982 or 1986, but rose with the Strike Squad for Italy 1990, just missing qualification in our last match.
Following that near success, we crashed out again in the preliminary round for 1994, Jamaica beating us. For France 1998, we reached the semi-final round, but could not make the last six, and Jamaica saw qualification before we did.
For Korea/Japan 2002, with in my opinion the best team we ever assembled, we won the semi-final round with a match to spare, and then crashed to last place in the final six.
Then, for Germany 2006, we finally triumphed! An ecstatic nation never analysed the team’s performances and trials on that long journey to Germany, but it was not an easy one. For South Africa 2010, we at least made it to the final six, but could not lift ourselves to qualify.
And now this: Dumped out by Guyana, we say. But we also lost to Bermuda.
How did this happen? And what if anything can we do to qualify in the future, given the reality of how we have performed in the last 11 attempts (I am excluding our 1966 and 1970 efforts)?
But we have been there before. And in the past we stumbled immediately following previous near-excellence. After the notorious Haiti fiasco before West Germany 1974, where referees robbed us, we crashed out of Argentina 1978 in the preliminary round. We showed nothing for 1982 or 1986, but rose with the Strike Squad for Italy 1990, just missing qualification in our last match.
Following that near success, we crashed out again in the preliminary round for 1994, Jamaica beating us. For France 1998, we reached the semi-final round, but could not make the last six, and Jamaica saw qualification before we did.
For Korea/Japan 2002, with in my opinion the best team we ever assembled, we won the semi-final round with a match to spare, and then crashed to last place in the final six.
Then, for Germany 2006, we finally triumphed! An ecstatic nation never analysed the team’s performances and trials on that long journey to Germany, but it was not an easy one. For South Africa 2010, we at least made it to the final six, but could not lift ourselves to qualify.
And now this: Dumped out by Guyana, we say. But we also lost to Bermuda.
How did this happen? And what if anything can we do to qualify in the future, given the reality of how we have performed in the last 11 attempts (I am excluding our 1966 and 1970 efforts)?
I read a lot of bitter, biting comment, but few attempts at analysis going back beyond last week. I suppose the advent of the internet encourages the sort of one-line, often abusive “threads” of comment that satisfy instant ego rather than try to understand the issues that almost every country, far less tiny ones like us, must overcome to get to the World Cup Finals.
I see three main criticisms being expressed, The administration, and lack of “development”; the coach, and why a foreigner; and the argument that we should only use locally-based players.
I see three main criticisms being expressed, The administration, and lack of “development”; the coach, and why a foreigner; and the argument that we should only use locally-based players.
And these are arguable points, except, for me, the last one, so we will return to these arguments. But do we seriously believe that an improved administration, a local for a coach, and even picking “the best team possible”, locals and overseas-based, would ensure (I will never say guarantee!) qualification?
We are leaving something out of the discussion which is critical to the issue, and that is ourselves, as a society, as a nation.
Let us never forget how essentially mired in mediocrity we really are, in every aspect of every endeavour we attempt.
Is there any among us who can truly believe, far less claim, that we can sustain any level of competence, far less excellence, in anything we do?
I accept that we can, occasionally peak, soar briefly to some great height, become drunk on the ecstasy of that rare achievement, but simply crash out again.
Whether in football, cricket, athletics or boxing, we can “reach”, but we cannot “stay”. We won one Olympic Gold in the 100 metres, and years later one World Championship.
Two world boxing champions in the 1980s, but both got knocked out in every subsequent match. We almost beat the world in T-20 cricket, but lost to Combined Campuses upon our return. Sustainability and good administration are not in our DNA.
We are leaving something out of the discussion which is critical to the issue, and that is ourselves, as a society, as a nation.
Let us never forget how essentially mired in mediocrity we really are, in every aspect of every endeavour we attempt.
Is there any among us who can truly believe, far less claim, that we can sustain any level of competence, far less excellence, in anything we do?
I accept that we can, occasionally peak, soar briefly to some great height, become drunk on the ecstasy of that rare achievement, but simply crash out again.
Whether in football, cricket, athletics or boxing, we can “reach”, but we cannot “stay”. We won one Olympic Gold in the 100 metres, and years later one World Championship.
Two world boxing champions in the 1980s, but both got knocked out in every subsequent match. We almost beat the world in T-20 cricket, but lost to Combined Campuses upon our return. Sustainability and good administration are not in our DNA.
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