| Description |
With 17 chapters having names like Passion, The Journey and Heroes Return, Valentino Singh’s book Legacy of the Soca Warriors takes the reader through one of T&T most historical journeys with enough for both the technical football fan, or the person who just supported with national pride.
With photographs that put the reader on the pitch, the publication also doubles as a picture book with many of the images being different from those popularly published in the media.
For those who could not have been in Dortmund at that historic first match on June 10 of last year, the book does manage to capture the feeling in the first chapter—Passion.
It chronicles the mood in that small German town—where in the morning Swedish fans were predicting an easy win by a large margin, and in the evening when the final whistle blew to signal the goalless draw—tears were streaming down their faces. Singh also points out that it was that moment that many learned who Trinidad and Tobago was; after that, many recognised the tiny specks above Venezuela.
Singh manages to grasp the true feel of hearing the anthem on that day; and the fact that no matter in stadium or bar, or at home in front of television, it brought tears to the eyes.
“Eyes welled up with waters purified by pride pumping from a national heart that had come to life on a football field on the other side of the Atlantic,” he writes, capturing the feel elegantly.
Through many photos, depicting Trinbagonians with arms raised, or with little children celebrating, holding national flags this chapter does evoke passion.
The second chapter, Warriors in Germany, tells of the impact the team had on a country and tournament that largely did not know them. More out of curiosity than camaraderie, Germans and other fans flocked to the Red, White and Black, which was like flypaper.
“From the moment the Soca Warriors touched down in Bremen, Germany, on June 4, the experience entered the realm of the memorable,” Singh recounted.
Similarly in a later chapter, The Impact Of T&T Culture On Germany, it shows the ways Warrior fever was spread. Showing our cultural contingent, crowd shots and pictures of local icons, it gives an idea of what we were doing in between matches. The chapter is quite true because in Germany, it was a constant party. Everyone who came in contact with a Trinbagonian was infected. Rotenburg was nicknamed Soca Village, and our flags were carried by people of many nations.
Describing their arrival at the team hotel in Rotenburg, to the culture contingent supporting the team, to the inundating song Fighter by Maximus Dan, which all of Dortmund probably knows by heart by now, to the Germans who, despite having their own, major team, waved T&T flags, he recounts the ways Trinbago left its mark on the German landscape and history in 2006.
In Chapter 3, Match Days, Singh takes the reader through an almost step by step view of the matches, highlighting many of the notable moments, including the now infamous “Hand of Crouch.” It also details commentary and reviews written by local and foreign commentators.
In a tabled form, there are also match reports entailing who played, the referees and statistics of each game.
Chapter 4, Reflections, a very short chapter, described T&T’s previous missed chances to make the World Cup—against Haiti in 1973 and in more recent memory, the deflating loss against the US in 1990 here at home. It goes into the psychology of our entry into the Fifa fray—and giving an idea of the national mindset during both ‘73 and ‘90.
The first picture one sees in this chapter is a pensive looking Brian Williams—the distinctive “rastaman” from the Strike Squad. His image is particularly evocative, because he was one of those who missed his chance to have a World Cup berth on his resume. He attended the Soca Warrior matches in Germany, and for him it was a time of bittersweet reflection. Like Moses, he saw the promised land and could not step therein.
The chapter following this, The Journey, narrows the aforementioned down specifically for the team’s journey to Germany. Match by match, complete with pictures that would make any patriot misty eyed, it gives great build-up to one of our proudest moments. It goes from when the Soca Warriors got their name, to tables documenting the journey in matches: Qualifiers, friendlys and Concacaf.
Bahrain got a chapter all its own.
The most glorious night in our football history—the night we finally made it—is homaged in chapter 6. The picture of the team’s starting line-up on page 86 shows young men under immense pressure. You can see on their faces that they knew how important that night was, but there was no indication on their faces that they knew they would make it. With quotes from Captain Dwight Yorke, and pictures of players celebrating, you live the night almost through them.
In the chapter Dwight Yorke, the Tobagonian captain of the Soca Warriors, is profiled. This man who went through five tries, then qualified for the World Cup at age 34 is shown in many moods. It gives a look at his life through his career, and has little titbits at the end about his personal life—high profile as it is.
Similarly, Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker and Fifa vice-president, and local controversy magnet Austin Jack Warner are profiled in the two chapters following respectively.
Warner’s chapter is quite comprehensive—giving a look at this remarkable, sometimes maligned man who was instrumental in the Warriors reaching Germany—hate him or love him.
The chapter Corporate Sponsorship shows the symbiotic relationship the business world had with the local team. While many appreciated the corporate sectors galvanising behind the team, they may not have realised just how lucrative supporting the Warriors was for these companies.
The last few chapters of the book are decidedly sentimental.
In Heroes Return, we get a look at the outpouring of love and tinge of controversy that took place when it the Warriors returned to local shores.
The book ends with Players Profiles, showing a headshot and stats, and a little background information on each.
32 x 25 cms, hardback, 264 pages.
2006
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