Coach: Turnaround in the stars for football

The latest round of Concacaf 2022 World Cup Qualifiers could possibly mark the beginning of a new era in Barbados football.

With the Barbados Tridents recently returning home from a sound performance in the Dominican Republic, Head Coach Russell Latapy has revealed that this particular outing has brought something new and different to the fore in his players.

Speaking to members of the local media recently from quarantine in Barbados via Zoom, Coach Latapy spoke about the entire outing and the performances against both teams. With the lack of finishing goal-scoring opportunities a hot topic among local pundits, Latapy said that scoring goals would always be difficult as it was ‘harder to create than it is to destroy’.

With the local team at a distinct disadvantage due to the island’s protocols under the COVID-19 pandemic, Latapy called the entire process a fantastic learning experience. Since the virus was detected on our shores last March, there has been no competitive football played. Also, the spike in cases at the turn of the year saw the team unable to train as a unit.

With Barbados Football Association executive taking a decision to send the team into the Dominican Republic ahead of their assignments, an undertaking to the tune of $400 000, Latapy had nothing but praise for the team, calling the level of maturity and discipline the most pleasing thing to come out of the entire exercise.

“It was a very difficult 21 days that we were stuck in a bubble. And it is easy to lose focus in a situation like that. And I must say everything that we asked of the players in terms of their behaviour, their attitudes, their spirit as a group off the field that we can then bring onto the field, we achieved that,” he said.

Noting that the tour was incident-free despite the restrictive protocols put in place and the rigorous training and wellness schedule, Latapy was particularly proud of the mindset exhibited, as he said the players were being asked to do things that they are not used to and that they had not done in a long time.

“It’s a lot of young men that we have and these young men were able to achieve this and bring that professionalism onto the field as well. And I would say that is the aspect that is more pleasing to me because with achieving this, it is easier to change whatever we need to change off the field. If we cannot get the players to behave off the field and follow instructions, then it’s not going to work on the field,” he said.

With the next round of games in Group D set for June, Latapy said the challenge now is to prepare for then. Noting that the time needed to be spent on the pitch working on several aspects of their game, Latapy said that it was all at the mercy of the local protocols going forward.

“If it’s a situation that we can get permission or authorisation to train, that would be the best case scenario for us. If that is not the situation, we know that what we did for these two games against Panama and Anguilla, it’s a possibility that we definitely have to look into it again, and go back to somewhere and have a camp for two or three weeks before we compete,” he said. (MP)