Name: Keon "Schillaci" Daniel.
DOB: 16-Jan-1987.
Position: Midfield.
School: Signal Hill (Tobago).
Club: United Petrotrin (Trinidad, Aug-2006 to present)
Previous Club: St Clair Coaching School (Tobago).
T&T Senior Debut: May, 30th 2007 vs Mexico's Pan American Team in a Digicel Shield Cup final game which T&T won 2-1. Scored his first goal for T&T senior team with a spectacular free kick vs Guyana, January (29th) 2008. Keon showed it was no fluke and scored another spectacular free kick against El Salvador in a friendly encounter on the 19th of March 2008.
NOTE: A talented midfielder who could one day turn out to be one of the best midfielders to grace local football. The exciting midfield player who was discribed as a rare midfielder who posses a great technical eye for the ball, a one of a kind. Seemingly tireless, he battles for everyball and rarely loses a possession. His hard play, combined with great vision has help him to be the best midfielder in the 2003 SSFL season, another Tobago born standout. A member of the 2004 U-20 team, Keon made his debut for the T&T U-20 team in Cuba, November 2004 and was instrumental in all three goals, scoring one and setting up the others after coming on as a sub, T&T ended-up winning that qualifier 3-2. Daniel was also selected on the 2003 SSFL boys All-Star "first team" and, named as one of the top five SSFL players of 2003- along with Thorne Holder (QRC), Julius James (St Anthony's), Kevon Neaves (St Anthony's) and Gorian Highley (Arima). In September 2006 Daniel second game for his new club team United Petrotrin scored a spectacular goal when he curled a left footed freekick around the Tobago United wall that went straight into the goal, his team run away 2-0 winners. He was the best player on the national U-20 team in 2004 and is was also a member of the 2006 national under 20 team where he played a key role.
Had a 2-week training stint with Manchester United in 2005 and in Jan-2007 Keon was called up to the T&T senior team. From since his days at Signal Hill SC- Keon won many admires including Canadian head coach T&T born Stephen Hart who saw the player while on vacation in his homeland and had only high praises for Keon. Daniel was voted the T&T Pro League Round Three Most Valuable Player (2007 season), Keon became the youngest player in the 2007 season to achieve such award.

Keon Daniel in line for top Tobago honours.

T&T Guardian Reports.
18-Feb-2005 - Duane Murray of Charlotteville Unifiers and Keon Daniel of St Clair’s Coaching School will be the leading contenders for the “Most Valuable Player” title in the Premier Division when the Tobago Football Association hosts its presentation awards function on Sunday at Signal Hill Comprehensive School, from 6 pm.
Murray ended last season as the leading goalscorer with 22 strikes while Daniel, who represented the national Under-20 team in midfield, netted two goals less.
Other worthy candidates will be Kirby Spencer (Unifiers), Ashton Benjamin (Sidey’s) and Tyronne Walters, Victor Thomas and Masimba George (Coaching School).
Coaching School’s Kennya Cooper, who topped all scorers with eight goals in the Women’s Division, is expected to walk away with the “MVP” crown ahead of clubmates Candice Alleyne and Cassie-Ann Thomas and Stokely Vale’s Karyn Forbes.
In the Zonal Division, Dyke Reid with 23 goals seems certain to cop the top individual award from Dwayne Dopwell, Kasron Quashie, Kwesi Beckles and Akini Ferguson, who also played for the national Under-17 side.
Coaching School will be walking away with most of the team awards, having completed the double of Pepsi FA Cup ($12,000) and the Warner’s Group of Companies league ($25,000).
Roxborough Lakers, which gained promotion to the Premier Division after a nine-year absence from the top bracket, was tops in the Zonal Division while Stokely Vale and Coaching School shared honours in the Women’s Division.

U-20 coach Anton Corneal impress with Keon Daniel.

Issued By: Shaun Fuentes.
03-Dec-2004 - National Under 20 coach Anton Corneal will continue preparing this country’s Under 20 team for their return leg with Cuba next Friday with an afternoon session at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Saturday.
T&T needs to ensure that they maintain a one-goal advantage having won the first leg 3-2 last weekend in Havana with a performance that Corneal described as encouraging ahead of the next match.
If T&T can progress to the next stage, they will then enter the final CONCACAF qualifying round with the other top teams from Central and North America to be played next year from January 12-16 in California, United States, according to the dates released by CONCACAF on Friday.
Four teams from the CONCACAF will progress to the 2005 World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. If T&T ends up in the group to be staged in the US, they could well end up as one of the top teams to advance to the World stage with Panama and Costa Rica being the other two teams contesting the group. The other Group includes Jamaica, Canada, Mexico and hosts Honduras from which the top two also advances to the World Finals.
Corneal feels his team can get past the Cubans.
“The first result was a good one away from home. Scoring three goals on the road against what I thought was a good Cuban side meant a lot to us,” Corneal told TTFF Media. They (Cuba) were a confident bunch and they played with purpose but we were able to match that. We were faster to the ball in the second half and they were forced to commit themselves early because they were at home.”
He expects they will come all out when the second leg plays at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium from 7pm on Friday. The Under 17s will also meet their Cuban counterparts from 5pm at the same venue.
“They will have to come all out at us and I expect the game will be a close one. We still have some things to correct and hopefully we can close them down and get into the next stage,” Corneal added.
Meantime, Tobago-born midfielder Keon Daniel made an obvious difference to T&T’s play in the second half against the Cubans and has been highly rated by Senior Team coach Bertille St Clair. Daniel scored one and was instrumental in the other two items scored by Hayden Tinto. There have been calls for the versatile playmaker to join the senior team in training but Corneal, who likens the left footed player to Kerwyn “Hardest” Jemmott, feels he still needs to mature before being called up to the seniors.
“He has to become a little more consistent at the youth level first before he could go higher. He did very well when he came on against Cuba but that was in the second half. Ability wise Keon has a great future ahead and should be a real asset once he keeps his focus. He performed the required role exceptionally well in Cuba by coming on and closing down the opposition in the middle but also using his ability to create room and add more fire to the attack,” Corneal explained.
“Right now we are introducing a style of play where we must not allow the opposition any time and room to settle and play. And this is what worked for us in Cuba. It is basically introducing another part to our overall style of play which had been lacking and could play a vital role in making the difference between us and other teams,” Corneal added. Technical Director Lincoln Phillips also lauded such approach, saying it was necessary to be adopted by National teams at all levels.
No away goals rule applies in CONCACAF qualifying tournaments which means that the Under 17s, who lost 3-1 to Cuba, will now have to win by three clear goals to advance. If the aggregate scores are tied on 90 minutes, then full extra time will be played followed by penalty kicks if required. The same applies to the Under 20s who defeated Cuba 3-2. They must now aim to prevent the Cubans from winning by two or more goals. Matches kick off at 5 and 7pm.
Phillips said Under 20 coach Anton Corneal and Under 17s’ Nigel Grosvenor deserved credit for how they handled their respective teams.
“I don’t think the team is two goals better than us,” Phillips said in reference to the Under 17s. “And the style of football we are adopting now, particularly with the Under 20s, is what we will like for all our national teams. It’s one of pressuring, winning the ball in the attacking third of the field and playing on the counter. Of course the aim is to win the ball in the midfield,” Phillips explained to TTFF Media. “Most teams are not good when they are pressured, even Mexico. Teams like Denmark and Greece won the Euro Cup when they played this way.”
The teams were at first accommodated at the Cuban Sports Academy in Havana before having to relocate to the Hotel Nacional after the flights were cancelled.
“But we made good use of it and I can assure you that the teams are much tighter units than before we went there,” Phillips added. “Our guys feel in their hearts that they can win it at home and I think the Under 17s game will be a close one. The Under 20s though will be up for a tougher game because the Cubans are a tricky side. All in all, there’s nothing which suggests that we cannot move on in the competition,” Phillips ended.
It was also mentioned that the current National Under 20 midfielder Keon Daniel is expected to take up a trial at Manchester United in January 2005.

Back To The Top.