Cuba ’s National footballers will arrive in Trinidad on Wednesday night with one main intention on their minds. And that is to prove to the “Soca Warriors” that they too can compete creditably at the world level and they are to be looked at as serious contenders for South African 2010.

The Cubans were the first team to book their place in the Finals by way of a 3-1 win over Suriname back in November and skipper Odelin Molina and coach Triana Gonzalez feel they can emulate what T&T did in Germany . First up though, they know they must stamp their authority in the Digicel Cup and subsequently the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June.

“If Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica qualified (for Germany 2006), why can’t we?" Molina asked recently.

The Cuban national team players trained on a daily basis at Havana ’s Pedro Marrero stadium and watch the World Cup matches.

"I felt my a tug on my heartstrings when I saw Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica, against whom we fought tooth and nail. We beat Trinidad & Tobago on the last two occasions that we played them," stressed Molina. He recalled that in the World Cup qualifiers, Costa Rica knocked out Cuba , without beating them, drawing 2-2 in Havana and 1-1 in San José .

Cuba finished eleventh in the 2004 Olympic Games and is the second strongest country on the American continent, after the United States , with respect to sports, but has never achieved results in competitive soccer tournaments.

José Ramón Fernández, president of the Cuban Olympic Committee, recently affirmed that the sports authorities intend to capitalize on the passion aroused by the World Cup in Germany to "work intensively to consolidate and encourage interest in soccer" throughout the island.

However, Fernandez stated that the most important thing is not to think about "a team representing Cuba in the World Cup, but of thousands of people knocking a ball about in every corner, because that’s where champions are found, in the same way as baseball."

The Cuban Football Association has announced that it is about to distribute balls donated by the Spanish club Getafe throughout the island.

Besides that, nine Cuban trainers and coaches also attended World Cup in Germany at the invitation of the team from Bonn and subsequently took a team on tour of the World Cup host land.

Molina, emphasized that "working on the basis of mass participation and confronting top teams without the fear of them thrashing us are the secrets to growing as a team."

Faiffe, Alcantara and Cervantes affirmed that Cuba will be in South Africa in 2010.

"We were so close during the last World Cup qualifiers and it was very sad because if we had made it, we would have provided the boost needed for soccer to take off on the island," he lamented.

Cuba has only taken part in one World Cup, in 1938 in France and they were the first Caribbean team to make the World Cup, which they did in 1938. There, they defeated Romania in a replay 2-1 after tying them 3-3. They were then eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sweden , 8-0.

Cuba finished second in the Caribbean Cup in 1996, 1999 and runners up to Jamaica in the Digicel Cup Final in 2005.

In recent times they have had to do without former star player Maykel Galindo, who took the opportunity to defect to and seek political asylum in United States during the last CONCACAF Gold Cup. With a FIFA ranking of 46, they will be banking on making an impression and a strong challenge for the US$120,000 first prize.

Talented player Geosvani Balbonado,the talented Yordinas Oropesa and prolific scorer Reiner Alcantara who has seven goals in the Digicel series so far, will be hoping to take care of business when they on Guadeloupe in their opener at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella on January 14. They also face St Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana on January 16 and 18 at the southern venue. The Vincentians are also carded to arrive here on Wednesday. (January 9, 2007)

Guyana coming confident

Trinidadian Technical Director of Guyana ’s national football team, Jamal Shabazz is confident ahead of the upcoming matches Digicel Caribbean Cup Football and is even tipping his new found team to leave here with the US$120,000 winners prize.

Speaking to reporters,Shabazz said the team's chances of winning the title "are as good as any of the other finalists." They at least want to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June in the USA .

Guyana is in the Bobby Sookram group along with St Vincent and the Grenadines , Guadeloupe and Cuba .

"We have respect for the other teams, but we do not fear any of them,” said Shabazz, who was also delighted with the inclusion of English-based goalkeeper Jason Lloyd, son of former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.

The local ball-weavers arrived in Trinidad on Thursday and began their final week of preparation that very afternoon. Shabazz was also to convince former T&T based professional striker Collie Hercules to come out of retirement at age 32. Hercules was attached to the technical staff of the Guyana Under 16 team last year but Shabazz insisted that he return to playing. He has worked on his fitness and will aim to bring back the form that saw him as one of the more dangerous players in the Pro League back in 1999/2000.

"They are working like slaves. They are working just as hard as any of the other teams and I'm confident they will bring home the title,” Shabazz said about the Guyana team in preparations.

He said the new addition to the technical staff, Americo Felopa of Brazil , who is the physical fitness trainer, carried the squad through some intense sessions of physical training in the gym in order to improve their fitness levels, since this was one of the areas of their weaknesses while finishing while on the attack was another.

He added that they were to do a training session on the beach yesterday afternoon.

Asked if the team would play any warm up matches prior to their opening encounter against St. Vincent and the Grenadines on January 14, Shabazz said he would like to give the team a warm-up match against a Trinidadian club sids but plans for that had not been finalized. He did not disclose the possible club team, but stated that "lots of clubs wants to play us but nothing has been finalised as yet."

Guyana's second group match is scheduled for January 16 against Guadeloupe, whom the defeated 3-2 in a Group H match at the GCC, Bourda ground last November and their final match two days later will be against the Caribbean's number-one ranked team, Cuba.

The top two teams of their respective groups will advance to the semi finals and automatically earn a spot to July's CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament which will be played in the USA .

Quizzed about the state of Shawn Bishop's injury, Shabazz said that Bishop had visited a doctor yesterday and had been advised to rest his ankle for two days.

Bishop injured his ankle during the recently concluded Kashif and Shanghai tournament.

Prior to the present Trinidad encampment, the `Golden Jaguars' as they are called, had a four-day encampment in Guyana during which emphasis was placed on fitness and tactical work. The team's training has been affected by the lack of finance and Shabazz said yesterday the situation had not improved.

"At this point the team is getting by on miracles. I don't know how long it will last, but right now we are looking for someone who can turn water into wine.

"I personally tried on three occasions to get sponsorship for the team but never got anything. So right now we are looking for a saviour to come. We thought at one point that that saviour would have been the Government of Guyana, then the private sector, but we're still awaiting the deliverer. Right now we're doing the best with the limited financial resources and with the hope that after this hardship, ease will come."

Meanwhile, there are two additions to the squad in overlapping midfield player Dwight Peters and defender Anthony Harding, while expected to join the squad in Trinidad over the weekend are English-based players Shawn `Bubbly' Beveney (defence) and goalkeeper Jason Lloyd, along with US-based defender John Rodrigues and Trinidad-based professional players, striker Randolph Jerome and defender Abassi McPherson. (by Shaun Fuentes)

The full Guyana Squad : Goalkeepers -Richard Reynolds, Andrew Durant and Jason Lloyd; (defenders) Charles Pollard, Howard Lowe, John Rodrigues, Leslie Holligan, Walter Moore, Abassi McPherson, Kelvin McKenzie and Anthony Harding; (midfielders) Kayode McKinnon, Gregory Richardson, Shawn Bishop, Konatta Manning, Carey Harris, Shawn Beveney and Dwight Peters; (forwards) Nigel Codrington, Anthony Abrams, Randolph Jerome and Collie Hercules. (January 9, 2007)