Trinidad & Tobago is in last place in the CONCACAF Hexagonal round of World CUp qualifying, but the Soca Warriors are about to get a big boost with the addition of two European-based players who have committed to play for them.
Fulham striker Bobby Zamora and Bolton defender Jlloyd Samuel have received their T&T passports and will join Trinidad & Tobago for its crucial qualifier vs. El Salvador on Wednesday.
Zamora will help give T&T an imposing strike force alongside Kenwyne Jones as T&T looks improve in its current total of two points in qualifying.
For those of you wondering, the U.S. national team travels to Trinidad & Tobago on Sept. 9 for a World Cup qualifier. The Americans defeated T&T, 3-0, in their other qualifying meeting, on April 1.
Here are some other stories to get your Saturday going:
Real Madrid routs Toronto FC
Kaka made his Real Madrid debut as the full assortment of Galacticos were on display in Madrid's 5-1 thrashing of Toronto FC on Friday night.
A pair of goals from Raul and a finish from Cristiano Ronaldo gave Real Madrid a 3-0 lead after just 26 minutes, which let the visitors coast to the finish as Karim Benzema and Arjen Robben added goals.
Toronto FC avoided the shutout when Gabe Gala ran onto an O'Brian White pass to make the final score 5-1.
Real Madrid wraps up its tour of North America on Sunday when it takes on D.C. United at Fed Ex Field.
Everton eyeing Obinna
Tottenham and Everton have joined a growing list of teams interested in Inter Milan striker Victor Obinna.
If the name rings a bell, it should. He was one of the stars of the Nigerian Olympic team, yes the same team that eliminated the United States last summer. Obinna is also being targeted by Schalke and Parma.
Aquilani sidelined for two months
Rafa Benitez might want to invest in some horseshoes and four-leaf clovers because his luck hasn't been that good lately.
After losing Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, Benitez was able to secure Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani, but now he will have to wait two months to see his new midfielder play because Aquilani is sidelined with an ankle injury.
Liverpool will have to turn to Brazilian youngster Lucas Leiva to handle the midfield duties while Aquilani recovers. Nevermind the possibility that Javier Mascherano could still wind up at Barcelona.
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What do you think of these stories? Think Trinidad & Tobago still has a chance to qualify for the 2010 World Cup? Did you watch the Real Madrid-TFC match? Starting to wonder if Liverpool is doomed to have a down year?
Share your thoughts below.
Isaac
Dempsey has played in the MLS and the EPL and was/is teamates with McBride, Zamora and Ching. As for harry and the game he is playing, yes he is playing with himself.
B/c Zamora and Samuel hadn’t ever played for a senior national team. Technically, they aren’t switching countries, but declaring them for the first time. Jones and Castillo would be switching their senior national team allegiance. That’s has f*ck-all to do with Gulati. Blame him for the things he deserves, but this ain’t one of them.
Posted by: Brant | August 09, 2009 at 08:45 AM
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Well when Neven Subotic decided to switch his allegiance from the United States to Serbia he had to inform FIFA of the decision and I assume had to do some sort of paperwork process. Subotic has only appreared appeared for the US at the youth level and under the old rules had he not switched his allegiance prior to his 21st birthday he would have been “cap-tied” to the US.
So if FIFA had not changed the eligibility rules this past June both Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel would not be able to play for Trinidad and Tobago because they played for the England U21’s. Same goes for Arturo Alvarez who tried to switch his allegiance from the US to El Salvador January of this year, but was unable to because he was over the age of 21. Now because of the rule change in June, Alvarez can now play for El Salvador and will probably play against T&T on Wednesday or against us in September.
Sunil and Bob are probably just waiting until we are qualified to integrate Jones and Castillo into the squad. I know Jones is still rehabbing from his hairline leg fracture, but I see no reason why Bob couldn’t call them up for the 2 games we have in September.
Jimmygreaves……..Dempsey and Harry play with themselves?
“Ha, I got what i wanted with that Ching comment. I made a bet that if i were to compare Zamora to Ching and say thats why “Ching is still in MLS and Zamora is in EPL” people would respond Ching is better and Ching can play in the EPL. Well my bait worked and i was right all along-harry”
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harry- Whatever game you are playing, you are playing with yourself.
While it’s unlikely he will ever get the chance, you have no way of knowing whether Ching can play in the EPL or not. Everton just signed a kid from the Ventura County Fusion for goodness sake.
The EPL is really two divisions, EPL and EPL lite. One of the lite teams might take a chance on Ching. I never thought McBride would make the impact that he did. But he had a good situation, had a coach who believed in him and made the most of his chances.
The most informed person on this topic is probably Clint Dempsey, who has played with Zamora, Dempsey and McBride.
ok so what have you taught us harry? that you’re a blistering genius at trick questions? All I’ve learned is that you’ve succeeded in being a Freddy Adu fan and an arrogant person. Even if Ching isn’t good enough for the EPL, the same can only barely not be said for Zamora.
Mike,
Any mention of how Davies did?
Ha, I got what i wanted with that Ching comment. I made a bet that if i were to compare Zamora to Ching and say thats why “Ching is still in MLS and Zamora is in EPL” people would respond Ching is better and Ching can play in the EPL. Well my bait worked and i was right all along………..most of the defense of MLS players who do little on the international stage….isent really about the players, but we are defending MLS and its credibility……..and for the truth as for Ching in the EPL. To be honest he is not good enough for the EPL, case in point some the Relegation teams have international players that get it done vs Quality, again we over-rate MLS too much..lets even look at Hull……….they have/had Giovanni,Bullard,King etc. and they finished 17th in the EPL.
Davies was a 70′ sub at striker for Sochaux in a 1-0 win over AJ Auxerre.
Bobby Zamora’s stats don’t lie, but his supporters do. Four goals in 36 games for chr** sakes. Conor Casey could double that after dinner.
“Man, Toronto’s crowd was weak last night. No atmosphere at all. I’ve lost all respect for them.
Posted by: Sebastian”
The reason it was “weak” was because a lot of the SSH didn’t want to pay the extra price for tickets, so they weren’t there. So the stadium was filled with people who just wanted to see RM. It was an interesting atmosphere though, people cheering for both teams, everyone wanted to see RM’s skill, but deep down wanted Toronto to do well, or atleast I did.
I’m pretty sure everyone was thinking “where’s Isaac” when this turned into a Brian Ching vs Bobby Zamora vs Freddy Adu ( vs Brian McBride?) contest.
The argument is so mixed for Ching it’s kind of funny. It goes from Ching being the best possession holder in the forward pool, to Ching loses possession too often and is slow. The one thing that I think is most noticeable about Ching other than his ability to hold possession with his back to goal, is that when you see him make mistakes like missing a header, he normally does something that makes up for it in some way. Case and point, the Mexico match in 2007, Ching beats the Mexican defense and jukes Sanchez then has his shot hit the post. While unlucky on the occasion, most people can agree that should have been a goal. However, earlier in the match, Ching does something that just about equals his mistake by earning the USA a penalty. I think everyone knows what happens after that. I like Freddy, but he’s made too many mistakes and so far hasn’t done anything in his national team career that has made up for it.
“Jermaine Jones 2007 highlights, watch the whole thing, it gets better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMNjqyt9YVM
oh, and watch for the part where he loses the ball, then runs a FULL ON SPRINT! to get it back, hmmmm, havent seen that in our team lately- CrispyST3″
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Mr. ST3
Depending on the situation, sometimes when you lose the ball it’s a good idea to let your cover pick up the slack; it helps keep your team from losing its shape.
And I have seen US players do that; they then tackle the opposing player from behind and get a card.
Ok, if Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel can play for T&T this Wednesday, why do Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo have to wait until October? F*ck you Sunil Gulati
Posted by: Brian | August 08, 2009 at 03:33 PM
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B/c Zamora and Samuel hadn’t ever played for a senior national team. Technically, they aren’t switching countries, but declaring them for the first time. Jones and Castillo would be switching their senior national team allegiance. That’s has f*ck-all to do with Gulati. Blame him for the things he deserves, but this ain’t one of them.
“Yea yea………now it seems like i hate brian Ching… and i think its funny, now that somebody mentioned Freddy Adu..people would bash the crap out of Freddy Adu to the point where he should retire at 20…….and thse same posters would say as a disclaimer “and i like Adu too!” but when somebody does it to an MLS veteran its cuz i somehow really really hate him…….somethig of a double standard?…it just figures into what i thought along. if your associated with MLS you get a pass……….harry”
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harry- No one wants Adu to retire at 20. We just want him to get his act together while you seem to think his act is just fine as is and it’s the rest of the world who is unable to appreciate that fact… unlike you.
People are free to criticise anyone they want. You can bash Ching all you want but if you do that then you will have to accept that people will notice your consistency in this matter and then comment on the fact that you accept no critcism of Adu who,to date, does not have the professional pedigree of Zamora and Ching. Zamora’s record is slighty below average while Ching’s is slightly above average, given their different circumstances. Those two will likely finish their careers at that level. I will say that Zamora and Ching probably get the most out of what they have while Adu is just wasting what he has.
Given his circumstances, Adu is still a consistent underachiever. Time will tell with him. So I see no double standard, other than yours.
“Are you crazy? Ching is not in Zamora’s class. If you were saying that about McBride, maybe I would agree. But Ching is no where Zamora is in talent. -Iammetro”
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Iammetro- Zamora is not in McBride’s class. Ask any serious Fulham fan. As for Ching comparisons, it is pretty difficult to compare two players who don’t play in the same league. Ching is a better scorer but of course the competition is different.
The best person to ask would be Clint Dempsey.
As is the case in business sometimes location is everything. Zamora and Ching are probably equivalent in talent but, for an EPL team, why go through the hassle of getting a Ching when you have a Zamora on hand? If Zamora had been born and raised in Hawaii, I doubt he would be in the EPL. However, he is there and stays employed becuase the English seem to value his qualities as a “holding target man”. Unlike McBride, he is not a real scoring threat but you take what you can get.
Harry is envious of Ching because Ching plays regularly for the US, while his beloved Adu can barely get on the field for anyone. Otherwise there is no real sane reason to compare these two players the way he does. They are,in all probability, pretty equal.
Oh good. Now Zamora can launch the ball into the 30th row in non-EPL stadiums.
Posted by: ko’d
As a West Ham supporter all I can say is well played, sir. He had a couple of very big goals and a bunch of useless performances.
When you’re sitting in row Z and the ball hits your head that’s Zamora.
Zamora was consistently shite for Fulham last season. He lost the ball all the time, I don’t think I ever saw him score. I was surprised Hodgson kept him in the lineup all the time.
the TFC goal was not a pass from one player to another, but hitting in a rebound after a shot the goalkeeper blocked