David Nakhid

David Nakhid: Bahrain must wait.

By: Nigel Simon (Guardian).
01-Nov-2005 - Axed T&T assistant coach, David Nakhid, said yesterday he will be taking legal action against the T&T Football Federation, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and a local newspaper for what he claims were libellous statements against him.
Pointing out that any arrangement with Bahrain would have to wait until the November 16 match, Nakhid sought to give his side of the story at a press conference at the Hilton Trinidad yesterday.
Nakhid shot into the headlines when he was accused by the T&TFF of making racist statements towards the Syrian Community on a morning talk show two weeks ago.
The T&TFF then issued a press release distancing itself from Nakhid’s comments and of his dismissal as a scout for the T&T team.
In response yesterday, Nakhid said his firing from the T&TFF had nothing to do with his comments made on the television, which he said was not racist intent.
Instead, he said it may have stemmed from a quarrel with one of the assistant coaches from Holland.
“After our argument which climaxed into a good cuss-out between two big men, I was not spoken to again by head coach, Leo Beenhakker, who is also from Holland.”
Nakhid also referred to an article released by the T&TFF, which alleged that he was un-earthed as a spy for Bahrain.
Armed with documents and photo-copies of e-mails between himself and the Bahrain Football Federation and of conversations with Jack Warner, Nakhid said he was in Lebanon when he was offered the job to coach the Bahrain Under-20 team.
He said he was asked to forward his proposal which he did.
Nakhid explained that he made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with their team until after the second-leg match on November 16 between T&T and Bahrain.
Nakhid said that contrary to reports, he never spoke to the Bahrain national coach.
He said the Bahrainis were up to tricks and had seized the opportunity to try and destablise the T&T team which, he said, was fuelled by Warner and the T&TFF comments.
Asked if he had spoken to Warner since he was fired from the Warriors, Nakhid said that he e-mailed Warner prior to his arrival in Bahrain, asking to meet with him.
“He responded by saying that he would have been in Bahrain by the Wednesday.
“I was looking forward to meeting with him to end the bickering, but it then became apparent that I would not be able to speak with him.”
Nakhid also felt that he saw nothing wrong with his timing to visit the Asian country.
“Why was it wrong?” he asked. “I was offered a job and I was unemployed. All this was done over the telephone and via e-mail.”
Nakhid, who was player/coach of Lebanese club Al Mabara, prior to taking up the job as an assistant coach under Bertille St Clair and then Beenhakker said:
“Over the last six or seven months I have given up my post at Al Mabara to the assistant coach. So when the Bahrain offer came, I saw it as an interesting one.”
Nakhid said he was in Bahrain to also meet with the directors of some of the clubs.
“Bahrain is in transition and I want to be part of that experience once given the chance.
“My presence in Bahrain should not have been a big deal and should have had no big effect on the public, but Warner and the T&TFF made it.”
With respect to the matches between Bahrain and T&T, Nakhid said:
“It’s all about football, so let us keep things in perspective.”
He said he called the press conference to clear his name.
“I have given my country 24 years as a player, coach, scout... you name it.”
Asked if he had sent tapes of the T&T team to Bahrain, Nakhid said:
“ I sent 10 tapes of the Guatemala game with the knowledge of our T&TFF and coach Beenhakker.”
The outspoken former T&T player, who boasted about his past where he stood up for the rights of previous team-mates, added: “This has also had an impact on my family.
“I had been through this in 1989 and to have the T&TFF tarnish my reputation again its not right,” ended Nakhid.

Bahrain-gate gathers momentum.

By: Lasana Liburd (Express).
26-Oct-2005 - Trinidad and Tobago football fans anticipated a dramatic, hard-fought contest laced with patriotic fervour as the national team moved within three weeks of a possible place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament in Germany.
They got more than they bargained for, although the first ball is yet to be kicked.
The local media remains gripped by the buzz surrounding Trinidad and Tobago's upcoming two-legged Play-Off fixture against Asian outfit, Bahrain, but it is an axed scout and equally-controversial high-profile administrator who hog the spotlight.
Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special advisor and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner called his former employee, David Nakhid, a traitor on Monday and accused him of trying to gather footage for the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) in the build-up to their crucial qualifiers on November 12 and 16.
Nakhid, who worked as a chief scout for the T&TFF for much of their 2006 qualifying campaign, countered via live broadcast on I955FM that his former boss was stupid and dishonest.
Nakhid and Warner were unavailable for further comment yesterday, while national coach Leo Beenhakker, a Dutchman who previously held posts at top European teams like Real Madrid and Ajax, tried to keep his distance.
Nakhid alleged that Beenhakker's Dutch assistant, Wim Rijsbergen, racially insulted him and their dispute led to the Trinidadian being ostracised from the national set-up.
He also charged that Rijsbergen exchanged videotapes of Trinidad and Tobago players with a Bahrain official.
"No, he does not know what he is talking about," Beenhakker told the Trinidad Express. "It is unbelievable."
The veteran coach then remembered an urgent meeting he had to attend and asked to be excused.
Nakhid suggested he had proof and that the matter was not closed.
"I have some e-mails which I can provide in the near future, God willing, that show (Rijsbergen) has been exchanging videotapes of Trinidad with a Bahrain official," said Nakhid, in response to Warner's accusation. "To say that sending a tape or receiving a tape is treachery is just stupid."
Nakhid, who claimed to be Bahrain's national under-20 coach-in-waiting, has repeatedly denied having any role with the Asian country's senior team or, more specifically, in helping plot the downfall of the land of his birth.
The ex-national captain countered that Warner was trying to escape from fulfilling financial obligations to his former employee and suggested the FIFA bigwig might be trying to destabilise his own team.
"They owe me certain monies and they seized the opportunity to do this and not pay which is Jack Warner's typical tricks," Nakhid told I95. "I guess he has the Trinidad and Tobago public distracted now, which is what he wanted to do.
"As a matter of fact, it reminds me of 1989. I only hope they won't sell the country out a second time around by distracting the country from the issue at hand, which is going to Germany."
Nakhid insisted he did more for Trinidad and Tobago than Warner and that he still had his country at heart despite being on the verge of accepting a post from the BFA.
"My record is there for anyone to see," he said. "Let Jack Warner show his record...let the T&TFF show their record. The public will always have me down as a son of the soil and somebody who has always given his heart to Trinidad and Tobago.
"I think the Trinidad and Tobago public already knows how many times (Warner) has sold them out for more than 30 pieces of silver. Look at the 2001 World Cup (Under-17 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago) and how many credits and grants were given to him and members of his family for this tournament."
Nakhid's opening statement was arguably his most pertinent. "It has reached the stage of ridiculous now," he said.

Nakhid says he’s no sell-out.

By: Zaid Mohammed (Newsday).
26-Oct-2005 - Under fire former Trinidad and Tobago football captain David Nakhid yesterday rubbished claims by the Football Federation that he had sold out his country to Bahrain for 30 pieces of silver.
And he has launched a stinging attack on FIFA vice-president Jack Warner who made the charge as Special Advisor of the Football Federation.
Nakhid also promised to reveal everything about his reported links to the Bahrain Football Association and the reasons he was axed as team scout for the Warriors when he returns to Trinidad and Tobago early next week.
Nakhid spoke yesterday to Newsday sports columnist Andre Baptiste on the Dale and Tony Show on radio station i95.5FM.
The 41-year-old is currently in Bahrain where he has been reportedly been offered a top coaching position for the Bahrain Under-20 team which he said he will consider after November 16.
He is currently at the centre of a swirling controversy surrounding a reported offer extended to him to assist the Bahrain Football Association, weeks away for a crucial two-leg play-off with Trinidad and Tobago.
Winner of the play-offs on November 12 in Port-of-Spain and four days later in Manama will secure a berth in the 32-team World Cup Finals in Germany next year.
Yesterday Nahkid said it was ridiculous to suggest that he is a traitor as suggested by a Football Federation media release on Monday which stated that an acquaintance of his has been attempting to secure video material of recent Trinidad and Tobago team matches. "The exchange of tapes is quite normal. In fact the coaching staff has sent video material to Bahrain. I have e-mails to prove this. So it is absolutely stupid to suggest otherwise," said Nakhid.
He said Warner and the Football Federation were trying to distract the public from the issue at hand which he said was getting the national football team to the World Cup in Germany.
Nakhid said the Football Federation has realised that they made a mistake by terminating his services by claiming that he made racist comments about the Syrian community in a televison interview two weeks ago.
Nakhid said that he was fired because of a run-in he had with assistant national coach Whim Rijsbergen in Panama City prior to a crucial CONCACAF World Cup qualifier earlier this month.
He said he has given 24 years of his life to Trinidad and Tobago football and has not benefited in any way from his exploits on the field. It is understood that he has an outstanding claim of US$100,000 for his work as national team scout which he intends to collect from the Football Federation.
While in Bahrain Nakhid said he was invited to watch the senior team practice but bluntly refused acknowledging that he could be photographed and the image used for publicity purposes which will further place him in a bad light with the Trinidad and Tobago public.
He suggested that the focus should be on getting the national team ready for the play-offs and not about treachery. The former midfielder also slammed what he described as a "culture of mediocrity" being promoted by the Football Federation.
He maintained that he is a free agent and that he must explore his options since he had a wife and family to maintain but insisted that he is not a traitor to the Trinidad and Tobago cause.

By: Shaun Fuentes.
24-Oct-2005 - The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, following its own investigation, can reveal that by all knowledge, a female acquaintance of former TTFF employee David Nakhid, had approached local media houses for footage of recent matches played by the Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team.
These enquiries were in fact made early last week before the news broke that there was some form of link between Mr Nakhid and the Bahrain Football Association..
Mr Nakhid’s link contacted TTFF Media for videotapes or DVDs of the National team matches of recent and also whatever was possible from the earlier stages of the 2006 “Journey to Germany” campaign, stating that it was for use in producing of a documentary on the team’s progress, for which documentary Nakhid never discussed with anyone of the team management nor with the TTFF nor with the Local Organising Committee Germany 2006.
Sunity Maharaj, Executive Producer of local television show Total Football also revealed that she was approached by the same female acquaintance.
“I was given a request by this person and was told that it was for the sake of a personal archive after enquiring why the tapes were being asked for. I then referred her to the TTFF because I am well aware that they hold the rights to these type of footage,” Maharaj stated.
Another well known local media man, Ruskin Mark of NCC Channel 4 also recalled receiving a similar request.
“Nakhid's female acquaintance called and asked for the tapes or whatever footage that may assist her and I could only refer her to the TTFF following that request,” Mark said.
Since the story broke, David Nakhid, former assistant coach of Trinidad and Tobago's football team, has been appointed as scout advisor of Bahrain's national World Cup team. The President of the General Organisation for Youth and Sports (Goys), Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, told Bahrain Tribune that he has made a lucrative offer to Nakhid which he could not refuse. Shaikh Fawaz also made it clear to the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) that they have an open budget for their final campaign to World Cup 2006 and that they must do everything in their power to overcome Trinidad & Tobago at all cost. Bahrain will take on Trinidad and Tobago in a two-legged playoff matches on November 12 and 16. The first leg will be played in Trinidad and Tobago and the second leg in Bahrain.
When contacted in Zurich on Monday evening, FIFA Vice President Jack Warner confirmed that the talk in Zurich is all about Nakhid's treachery which has caused him to hang his head in shame.
“For 30 pieces of silver, T&T has been sold out ! ! ! .This makes what Jamaica has done look guiltless,” Warner told TTFF Media. He promised that in spite of all these unfortunate occurrences, that all will be in place to ensure that the T&T team is fully in tune for the matches on November 12 and 16 against the Asian opponent.
Warner will be in Bahrain on Tuesday. He is being accompanied by General Secretary of the TTFF, Richard Groden and Team Administrator, George Joseph. Meanwhile Bahrain is playing a match against Panama in Bahrain on Thursday for a match which Bahrain has paid all Panama's expenses including a match fee of some $500,000 USD, it has been reported.

By: Lasana Liburd (Express).
24-Oct-2005 - Former Trinidad and Tobago national football team captain David Nakhid yesterday denied any approach from the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) to spy on his homeland for next month's crucial 2006 World Cup qualifiers between the two countries.
However, Nakhid, an employee of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) for much of their World Cup campaign, admitted that he already accepted an offer to coach Bahrain's national under-20 squad and oversee their youth programme.
Nakhid claimed to have insisted on one condition. He would have nothing to do with the Bahrain senior team until the completion of their qualifying schedule.
Trinidad and Tobago tackle Bahrain in home and away qualifying fixtures on November 12 and 16. The winner alone would advance to the Germany showcase tournament.
The 41-year-old Nakhid, who was fired by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) via email on October 15, made no secret of his bias for next month's vital play-off match.
"I want Trinidad and Tobago to qualify," said Nakhid, who represented T&T as a player in three qualifying campaigns. "I have had no discussion with any member of the Bahrain national team. Everything that has been written is just speculation by the Bahraini press."
Nakhid claimed that he received a courtesy call by a Bahraini scout, on October 15, congratulating him on his role with the national squad. He insisted that there was nothing unusual about the gesture since he was well known in the Middle East because of his playing career in Lebanon.
He told the official that he was no longer employed by the T&TFF and, two hours later, he allegedly received an e-mail from the Bahrain Minister of Sport, which offered him the role of national youth coach. Nakhid said that the Bahraini minister was a fellow American University past pupil who had kept abreast of his career.
He insisted that he was never asked to provide a dossier on the Trinidad and Tobago team.
Nakhid also dismissed reports in the Trinidad and Tobago media that the Bahraini players were promised US $1 million and a Mercedes Benz each if they booked a place at the 2006 World Cup and claimed the story was met with anger in the Asian country. Like Trinidad and Tobago, Bahrain have never qualified for a Fifa senior tournament.
"There is a misconception that countries like Bahrain have money throwing around," said Nakhid. "That is real stupidness. The fact is the (Bahrain) players don't make more than a thousand Dinars a game (US$2,652.00). So the Trinidad players actually make more."
In contrast, Jack Warner, T&TFF special advisor, promised that each T&T player will receive between US$10,000 and $12,000 in match fees for next month's clash against Bahrain.
Nakhid spoke to the Trinidad Express from Bahrain where he has already began putting things in place for his new role, which officially commences at the end of their qualifying campaign.
He again insisted that his split from the T&TFF was due to a dispute with assistant national coach Whim Rhizerburg-who, like head coach Leo Beenhakker, is Dutch-and not because of comments aired on the TV6 Morning Edition regarding "some members of the Syrian community, who are allegedly involved in the drug trade".
The alleged incident occurred at a Panamanian hotel on October 7, a day before T&T edged their hosts 1-0 in a crucial qualifier, when Nakhid took exception to the quality of sandwiches provided for the players by a waitress and voiced his disapproval of the hotel's fare.
Certain comments by Rhizerburg about Arabians, according to Nakhid, then ignited the situation.
The pair came close to blows.
Beenhakker, who coached Nakhid in the early 1990s at Swiss club, FC Grasshoppers, was not present at the time but Nakhid said that the ex-Real Madrid and Dutch national boss never spoke to him again.
Nakhid believes that his split from the T&TFF had more to do with the Panama incident than the TV6 episode.
"Warner knew he could not give the real reason why I was fired," he said. "So he used the TV6 programme instead."
Nakhid's run-ins with the establishment are as famous as his crafty passes.
Shunned by Cummings, he joined the national team in 1992 towards the end of their unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign. He was elevated to the role of captain in 1994 when he helped T&T regain the Caribbean title and was adjudged the Caribbean's Player of the Year.
In the 1994 Caribbean Cup final, though, the national team refused to play unless they were paid outstanding monies owed by the local association. A deal was clinched and they went out to hammer Martinique 7-2-the highest score ever in a regional final.
Nakhid went on to fall out publicly with the Lebanon FA (he was jailed but subsequently cleared by FIFA of alleged dishonesty as a football agent with Warner playing an integral role in his release), the T&TFF (he was declared persona non grata after the 2001 Concacaf Gold Cup), his former teammate Russell Latapy (he hinted that Latapy's handlers initiated a protest against his return as a player last year) and CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh coach and ex-English international Terry Fenwick (he questioned Fenwick's coaching capabilities and role as a sport agent on a live radio broadcast).
In each case, Nakhid landed on his feet with little evident long-term damage.
He is the only Trinidad and Tobago player in this decade to be afforded a testimonial match by the T&TFF while he returned to Lebanon to work as a player and then coach. His position within Beenhakker's squad also survived Latapy's return to international duty.
Nakhid, who said he had no personal problems with either Warner or Beenhakker, insisted he was no troublemaker but merely someone always willing to stand up for what was right in his opinion.
"Anyone who disrespects me or who I am," said Nakhid, "I will not accept it. I want to go to the World Cup but not at the expense of my dignity. My ambition (as a person) is to lead a happy and fulfilling life.
"I wish Trinidad and Tobago all the best. It was great to have been involved but I cannot say I am saddened because nothing surprises me in football."
Nakhid's imminent switch from the T&TFF to the Bahrain FA is the latest of many surprises by one of the country's most gifted past players.

By Zaid Mohammed (Newsday).
23-Oct-2005 - Former Trinidad and Tobago football captain David Nakhid last night refused to confirm or deny that he has been offered a position on the coaching staff of the Bahrain national team.
Nakhid, who was recently sacked as a scout for the Trinidad and Tobago team after comments he made about the Syrian community on local television, was speaking on i95.5 FM Radio to host Andre E Baptiste.
Yesterday a report carried in a Bahraini newspaper and confimed by the Sports Editor of the Gulf Daily News stated that Nakhid, 41, will be joining the Persian Gulf team in a "technical capacity."
Vijay Muratallah, also speaking on i95.5 FM yesterday, said Nakhid will be providing information to the Bahrainis about the Trinidad and Tobago players ahead of their crucial two-leg play-off series for a spot in the World Cup Finals in Germany next year.
The first leg is on November 12 in Port-of-Spain with the return match in Manama, four days later.
"I am a free agent. For the past eight months I have been with the Trinidad and Tobago team and two matches away from the World Cup Finals they make a decision that had nothing to do with what actually happened," said Nakhid yesterday.
He said that the decision to fire him as a team scout was unrelated to the statements he made on the crime situation linking it to members of the Syrian communirty on TV6’s Morning Edition programme two Tuesdays ago.
Instead, Nakhid told i95.5 FM that he almost came to blows with assistant team coach Whim Rijsbergen while the team was in Panama recently for a CONCACAF World Cup qualifying match.
"He has always been making remarks about Islam and Muslims. But when he spoke about Moroccans ruling Dutch society, I could not take it anymore, especially in the month of Ramadan," Nakhid, a Muslim said.
He said he had an intense verbal confrontation with Rijsbergen which was witnessed by national coach Leo Beenhakker, a compatriot of Rijsbergen.
"Beenhakker did not say anything at the time but after I spoke on television on the crime situation I saw the Football Federation claim that the remarks were racist and were disassociating themselves from it. I think that the statement is libellious and my attorneys are looking into it," said Nakhid yesterday.
He also disputed Beenhakker’s claim that he was hired for two matches insisting that he had e-mails which proved otherwise.
The former national midfielder, who has played professionally in Lebanon, Switzerland and in the MLS in the United States said that he is keeping his options open since he had outstanding issues to settle with the Football Federation. "If I am offered a job with the Bahrain team I will tell you about it," Nakhid told i95.5 FM’s Baptiste.

Trinidad Express.
15-Oct-2005 - Trinidad and Tobago senior team assistant coach and former national footballer David Nakhid has defended himself against charges made by his employers, the T&T Football Federation, that he used "racist remarks" in a television interview on CCN TV6's Morning Edition last Tuesday.
In an interview with the show's host, Andy Johnson, Nakhid diverged from footballing issues to air his views on the crime situation that has beseiged the country.
Speaking to the Sunday Express yesterday, Nakhid said: "All I did was say that we have a very bad crime situation and some members of the Syrian community, who are allegedly involved in the drug trade, we want to know why they are not being addressed or investigated. I also added that any community involved in criminal activity should be addressed or investigated, so I don't know how that makes the comments racist."
Nakhid said he was disturbed to learn that the Football Federation had branded his comments as "racist" without them even bothering to seek out his side of the story.
"None of my remarks were racist," he emphasised. "They were specific to the crime situation and to categorise my remarks as racist without speaking to me, there must be something with an agenda that is going on in the T&TFF."
Nakhid did not elaborate on what the agenda might be.
It took the T&TFF four days to respond to Nakhid's alleged remarks yesterday when they stated the organisation and the LOC Germany 2006 Ltd "wish to disassociate themselves, both individually and collectively, from the racist comments or any comments that may be interpreted as racist, that were made by David Nakhid in an interview on national television on the morning of Tuesday October 11, 2005."
But Nakhid was not shocked by the T&TFF reaction and suggested that the organisation may want to get rid of him soon.
"This is no surprise to me," he stated, "but things will show themselves in the next few days. All I can say is my remarks were in no way racist. In fact, they were very well received by the public and in the wider national community. To say that they were racist, that is offensive to me."
He continued: "Syrian is not a race, it is a community, but I attacked the powers up on high and this is just another way for the T&TFF to victimise David Nakhid. I'm getting that the T&TFF feel they have already qualified (for the World Cup) and think it is time to get rid of David Nakhid...we will see."
The T&TFF release, signed by general secretary Richard Groden, went on to say that both T&TFF and LOC Germany 2006 are organisations that pride themselves on the respect they hold for all individuals and groups "regardless of race or religion".
It went further to state that Nakhid was hired by the T&TFF to assist the senior national team in its efforts to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and that "he is not a spokesperson for either the T&TFF or LOC Germany 2006 Ltd and the views expressed by Mr Nakhid are therefore not the views of either the T&TFF or LOC Germany 2006.
"On behalf of the T&TFF and LOC Germany 2006, we hereby apologise unreservedly to the national community, and especially to the Syrian community towards whom the comments made by Mr Nakhid were directed, and once again affirm our total respect and regard for all human beings regardless of race or religion," the media statement concluded.

By Ian Prescott (Express).
06-Sept-2005 - David Nakhid somehow has a penchant for making everything he does seem the most important thing in the world. An astute passer of the ball in his heyday, Nakhid, 41, is now doing his most productive work, not from the midfield where he served the national team faithfully for many years, but in the stands as a scout.
Even as the Warriors go through their final paces before entering a hostile environment in San Jose against Costa Rica, Nakhid is in Panama. His job there is to look at the Panamanians who will be T&T's next World Cup opponents on October 8 in Panama City. Nakhid has to pick out Panama's weakness and possibly procure a dvd tape of their match against Costa Rica. His work might well be crucial to helping T&T's Dutch national coach Leo Beenhakker formulate a plan for beating the Panamanians.
"When Trinidad and Tobago had their home game against Panama earlier this year, I was in Guatemala watching our next opponents, Mexico. Against Mexico, I was in Panama watching the United States, who we had to play next," Nakhid said. "During the Gold Cup, I saw eight games in five American cities".
Obviously, Nakhid has been busy. But although his new role is one which he relishes, the former T&T captain and Caribbean Footballer-of-the-Year, admits missing the on-the-field action.
But like everything else, Nakhid realises that very few things last forever.
And, he also recognises the importance of his new assignment.
"I look at the teams that we play next and see their weakness and where we can exploit them to win the game. I also look at their strengths and report on where we have to be careful."
It is obvious that Nakhid is taking his job as a scout seriously; so seriously, that he travels all the way from his Lebanon home base to pick up assignments on the other side of the world. He has also alerted his Lebanese club so that at this point in time, T&T can be his first priority.
A player/coach at the club, Nakhid said his Lebanese employers were not too pleased with the arrangement. But he said: "This is a World Cup we taking about. You don't get to go to that every day. As you know we are in pre-season, but that is the sacrifice I have made."
Obviously, Nakhid still has a hunger to get to the World Cup, even if he does not do it as a player. However, he still intends to lend his support to the players and usually joins Beenhakker's training sessions.
"I am there for the younger players. I am there to pass on my experience and answer questions that they might have. And they do ask questions. Aurtis (Whitley), Densill (Theobald) and Chris (Birchall) all come from time to time and ask me questions. I also make suggestions, to any player, who I see needs some help in certain areas. There is a lot that they can learn from me."

By: Shaun Fuentes.
25-May-2005 - David Nakhid has been appointed as a National Senior Team scout to serve from within the Technical Staff assigned to work under Team head coach Leo Beenhakker with immediate effect.
The appointment was agreed upon after Beenhakker made the offer to Nakhid on Tuesday and a meeting will be held with TTFF Special Advisor Jack Warner on Friday to finalize the terms and conditions of the new position.
As a result of this, Nakhid, a former National Captain, is no longer available to the current “Warriors” outfit as a player.
The 41-year-old midfielder said he had no qualms over having to give up his role as a player and is ready to scrutinize T&T’s upcoming opponents.
“The coach spoke to me and he explained the situation. He did make the offer open to me saying that he would like me to be a scout for the team but he also said he still felt I could make a contribution as a player and the choice was up to me,” Nakhid told TTFF Media.
“I thought about it and it was a hard one to decide on, particularly when you know you can do it as a player but then up came the chance to make a valid contribution to the effort to get to the World Cup. It also means that I could continue my football in Lebanon and still be involved with the national team which is something I cannot turn my back on.
“I think as more time passes on, the team is becoming a stronger unit and all of the guys realize how important it is for them to make an honest and worthwhile contribution and for me, this new position will give me an opportunity to stay involved and be part of what will be history created by us when the team gets to the next World Cup,” Nakhid added.
He is expected to take up his first assignment on June 4, the same day T&T takes on Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Beenhakker commented on the latest development regarding Nakhid.
“It is something that we discussed and I respect his decision. I was the one who offered him a chance to make a contribution as a player and now something different has come up whereby I felt David could make a significant contribution and we have agreed upon this,” Beenhakker said.
Meantime, Beenhakker will have a second outing against Bermuda when they clash with the “Warriors” in a second friendly at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium from 6pm this Friday. The match will be the first game of a double header with the Pro Bowl Final playing off between CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh and Vibe CT 105 W Connection.

By: Shaun Fuentes.
28-Jan-2005 - National Team assistant coach David Nakhid will be inducted into the American University Hall of Fame in a ceremony scheduled to take place at the Wardman Park Marriott hotel in Washington, D.C. on Saturday February 6, 2005.
At the event, which FIFA Vice President Jack Warner has been invited to attend, the University will also be launching their athletics.
Capital campaign to raise US$7.5 million. Another teammate of Nakhid during his period at the University between 1983-86, Michael Brady will also be inducted. Also among the inductees will be NBA player Kermit Washington who played for the Portland Trailblazers during the early 80s.
Nakhid noted that he was also the first ever graduate out of the United States College system to play First Division football in Europe when he joined Grasshoppers FC in 1988.“It’s an honour for me to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American University. There have been a lot of good personalities coming out of that school so that in itself made it even more of an honour to be rated with these people,” Nakhid told TTFF Media following training on Friday.
The former national team skipper, who graduated at American with a double major in international relations, was drafted by Major Indoor Soccer League side Baltimore Blast before joining Grasshoppers FC in Switzerland. He later played for Waragem in Belgium and POAK Solanki in Greece before also lining up for New England Revolution in the MLS and Al Ansar in Lebanon. During his time at American, Nakhid also lined up alongside local players Barry Henderson, Dwayne Gonsalves and Troy Regis. Current national team player Avery John also attended later on.
“I think part of the reason for my induction is also because of something that a lot of people are not aware of which is me being the first player to graduate from the US College system to play professionally in a First Division in Europe,” Nakhid said.
When quizzed about his desire to don the national team shirt again if needed, Nakhid laughed, especially having heard comments that he looks to be one of the fitter men on the pitch these days in national team sessions.
“I am prepared for any occasion. Whatever the team needs I will deliver. My fitness right now is no accident, it’s because I’ve kept up with the times,” he said.

David Nakhid to serve as Assistant coach of T&T senior team.

Issued By: Shaun Fuentes.
22-Nov-2004 - Former National captain David Nakhid has agreed to join the National Senior Team as assistant coach to Bertille St Clair with immediate effect.
This was announced following talks between the technical committee of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and St Clair following Saturday's meeting among several of this country's football officials and coaches at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence.
St Clair made the request for Nakhid's services and the TTFF readily agreed to have the former Greece-based professional come on board. Specific senior team roles for technical director Lincoln Phillips and Alvin Corneal are yet to be finalized.
Nakhid, who is expected to arrive in the country to take up duties on the weekend from Lebanon, expressed enthusiasm ahead of his new role.
"It is always an honour to serve one's country and I am very pleased that Bertille has asked me to come on board," Nakhid told TTFF Media on Monday. "I played under him for several years and we have a deep respect for each other. I have been doing a lot of coaching recently and I know that I can make a contribution to the Technical Staff. I am really looking forward to the challenge."
St Clair, currently preparing the local team for Wednesday's opening Digicel Cup fixture against Puerto Rico, said Nakhid's addition to the staff is a welcomed one and he expects his involvement to be an inspiring one to the "Soca Warriors"not only because of his professional attitude but because of the fact that he has been involved as a player in the past with several members of the current World Cup squad.
"I am very pleased that David has accepted my offer and I think he will be a great addition to the Technical Staff. He knows the game and he is a great example for the players. When he was here a few months ago he came directly to me and said that he was willing to assist the national team in any way we wanted.
“He has always been committed to the national team and I decided that it was time to bring him in. He is a fine example of how former national players should operate. The door is open for all those who feel they have a contribution to make but we need people who are committed to the national cause and who are willing to put country before self,"St Clair told TTFF Media.

TnT Guardian & Joel Bailey.
07-Aug-2003 - FIFA vice-president and Concacaf boss, Austin Jack Warner once has again come to the rescue of ex-national player, Lebanese-based David Nakhid who had a two-year deal with Al Ansar terminated.
Warner, speaking the the closing ceremony of the second annual anti-racism competition for school children and the FIFA Development Office yesterday said the former St Mary’s College player was involved in a battle with the Lebanon Football Federation over his own playing rights, which stem for a battle he took up on behalf of some 25 players, in 1997.
Warner said: is David Nakhid again in problems and again in Lebanon to the point where he had to leave the country and flee to England up to some days ago for the last two months because of problems in Lebanon.
“He left his wife, his children and his home and fled to London, and I took up his fight through FIFA, the world governing body for football because I felt he was the victim of racism.”
He noted he was even told to stay out of the situation involving Nakhid, whom he had a feud along with former national coach Tobagonian Bertille St Clair, over national players salaries at the 2000 Gold Cup.
“Some of my colleagues in Trinidad and Tobago told me he should rot in jail, leave him alone, in fact he wrote a local newspaper who refused to publish his story.
“When he put his situation to me I fought it to the point that he won his battle and got US$58,000 and the right to play his football anywhere he wants to.
“If ever you had racism that was it, and that was a fight against racism”, Warner added.
The 39-year-old midfielder found himself in hot waters with the team’s administration, as well as the Leb-anese Football Federation after they terminated his two-year deal, after one year. Nakhid, who was then accused of breaking the contract was also ordered to repay the club a penalty of US $100,000. The midfielder was a member of Al-Ansar in the mid-1990s, but was embroiled in a dispute with the club and the Federation in May 1997. He was accused of fraud concerning the transfer of striker Peter Prosper from United Petrotrin and was jailed for three days. Through the intervention of FIFA vice-president Jack Warner and then FIFA head Joao Havelange, the matter was settled out of court after his US$40,000 bail was paid by the FIFA’s Players Status Committee. But Nakhid was ruled the liable party and was ordered to repay the bailout sum. He was also restricted to playing in international matches for Trinidad and Tobago. Nakhid, who was also accused of inciting 26 African footballers in Lebanon to protest their ill-treatment by the Federation, saw his ban lifted on September 12, 1997.
Speaking from Lebanon yesterday, the former St Mary’s College and Joe Public captain, who also plied his trade in the United States, Switzerland, Greece and Sweden gave full details of the saga, which began in 2001 when he rejoined Al-Ansar after a spell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “The Lebanese (Football) Federation was changed after the intervention of their Government, and FIFA and I rejoined the club under its new president Salim Diab, who is also a member of Government and a right-hand man of the Prime Minister Rafique Heriri. Without any legal reason, they (Al-Ansar) paralysed the Federation, who in turn, couldn’t do anything and refused to give a verdict in the matter. I got my lawyer, Jean Haider, who is the Honorary Consul to Lebanon from Trinidad and Tobago to assist but, after three months had passed, we realised that the media was silenced and couldn’t reveal anything about the issue. We had to take it to FIFA,” Nakhid said.
Haider made his client’s case known to Warner who, “because of (his influence) in FIFA, went beyond his duty to get the decision, which was made in our favour, on July 4 in Zurich, Switzerland, at a meeting of the FIFA Dispute/Resolution Chamber.” Nakhid was awarded financial damages, which he did not reveal, and is now a free agent, but stated that the FIFA decision “was big news, since I’m basically the most popular player in Lebanon. The Lebanese people thought my cause was lost due to the stance by the Federation, while it was significant for me that Warner intervened, since no politician would’ve been able to do what Warner did with the matter,” Nakhid affirmed. The outspoken Nakhid is currently residing in the Middle East country with his wife Rima and three-year-old son Ali Kazim while he admits to frequently visiting his other two sons - Dmitri and Jafar, at his other location in Greece. Nakhid, who wore the T&T captain’s armband from 1996, retired from international duty on April 1, 1998 but made a comeback during the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA.

Related	News:
17-Jun-2008	Warner, Nakhid bury the hatchet.
12-Oct-2006	David Nakhid backs Soca Warriors.