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"I want to achieve so much great things like what (Dwight) Yorke was able to achieve for his club and for his country," Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Densill Theobald told the Sport Express on Saturday, "or Michael Jordan was able to do for Chicago Bulls and (Russell) Latapy was able to do with Hibs.


"I want people to remember me as a good person and a great player."

One might expect some level of incongruity between the speaker, 23-year-old Densill "Bleeder" Theobald, and his surroundings.

Theobald, one of Trinidad and Tobago's exciting finds of the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, is seated on the culvert outside his home, which is in one of a series of apartment buildings located between George and Nelson Streets in downtown Port of Spain.

His feet rest inside an empty drain.

Soon, he hopes to stand out in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) for his new employer, Falkirk Football Club. The attention of the world should follow.

Groups of mostly young men witness the interview from a respectful distance. Some offer brief greetings in passing.

"Respect Bleeder," said one youth, without slowing for a response.

"Yeah man, respect," responded Theobald.

The young man's face softened and he nodded towards Theobald with a thoughtful expression.

Theobald left on Sunday for rural Scotland where he agreed terms with SPL team, Falkirk. It was the icing after Trinidad and Tobago's historic qualification for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.

Yet, his story is as remarkable for the obstacles as it is for the achievements. Mature beyond his years, he seemed to grasp this fact.

Born into what he referred to as the "ghetto", modelled by local coaches like Jean Lillywhite and Jamaal Shabazz into the talented player he became and now set to ply his trade in Europe.

The midfielder's best work thus far is his ability to link past with present and future. Theobald's humble beginnings help him to savour his accomplishments while maintaining a hunger for what is still to come.

He is not one to take life for granted. Just a few feet from his sitting place, Theobald witnessed his first murder at age 12.

"A gamble was going on and I was liming right in front there," he said, while pointing to a spot on the pavement. "And the person just walk up and 'pap!'; three to five shots (from) close range.

"Everybody just scattered The man just walked away."

Theobald, who was about to enter first form at Malick Secondary, found sleep hard to come by for months after. The unpredictability of Nelson and George Streets prompts many children to play indoors or on the rooftops.

He found solace in "Jah"; Jean Lillywhite that is. Theobald's cousin, Kervin Serrette, was a member of the Lillywhite Coaching School and took part in an overseas tour with the youth club. Theobald's deceased mother, Jasmine Theobald, was so impressed by this that she quickly talked her son into signing up.

Not that he needed much encouragement.

"I was in the savannah with (Lillywhite) from Monday to Sunday," said Theobald.

The nominal $50 a month fee sometimes went unpaid by the Theobald household. His late mother was a temporary worker doing odd jobs at various warehouses while his father was a government painter. But Lillywhite was so impressed by the scrawny midfielder's temperament that he turned a blind eye to the indiscretion.

Bleeder-he owes his nickname to his first adolescent rendezvous, which had a humorous outcome-progressed quickly up the ranks from schoolboy player to the national under-17 team.

Lillywhite arranged an overseas trial for him and he was signed by Canadian semi-professional club, Toronto Olympians, where he stayed for two and a half years. He credited this stint with his rapid development as a person.

"I was just 17 years when I went there," he said. "I was in and out of the first team and played (more) with the youth set-up... It was a good learning experience because it helped me to grow up as a person and a player.

"I was there by myself so I had to grow up. That is what helped me to be who I am today on and off the field."

There was a two-week trial at an Italian third division club as well before a 19-year-old Theobald returned to Trinidad to kick-start his senior international career. He joined Jamaal Shabazz at Caledonia AIA before winning his first cap, a year later, in a weakened team under interim coach Clayton Morris at the 2002 Sugarbowl Invitational Tournament in St Kitts.

He was then overlooked by Hannibal Najjar, Zoran Vranes or Stuart Charles-Fevrier until Bertille St Clair gave him a second chance. His first appearance came in stoppage time in Trinidad and Tobago's 4-1 loss to Scotland on May 30, 2004.

St Clair was livid with his team's performance on that afternoon and particularly bemoaned an apparent lack of character within his ranks. Perhaps it was that humbling experience which prompted St Clair to take a closer look at the lively Theobald.

Theobald, arguably, does not have the hypnotic final pass of Kerwin Jemmott, the dazzling pirouettes of Arnold Dwarika or the pace of Gary Glasgow. But his game, based on a solid work ethic and maturity in possession, combines some good elements from all three locally-based players.

A month later, St Clair offered Theobald his first international start in a World Cup qualifier away to the Dominican Republic and the Caledonia AIA player responded with a goal in the 4-0 win. He has never been left out of the squad since; even when experienced Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker inherited St Clair's post.

Theobald singled out Beenhakker's first game in charge, a 2-0 qualifying win over Panama, as the most important of his career. He had just returned to full fitness and was desperate not to be left out-even if it meant playing out on the left rather than in central midfield.

"(Beenhakker) said I have the ability to work hard and go up and down (the field) and can use my left foot," said Theobald. "He said he will use me there because he has the balance he wants in central midfield. I have all the respect for Beenhakker; (so) if he sees that in me, I have to see that in myself also.

"I will play anywhere for the national team; even in goal."

Theobald singled out Latapy's return to international duty last September as the turning point for the "Soca Warriors".

"That game changed everything," he said, of their 3-2 win. "We had lost four games straight and, lose or draw, we were out. The return of Latapy brought back our confidence."

There was an added bonus. Latapy, a player/coach at Falkirk, was so impressed with Theobald's ability and application that he approached club manager John "Yogi" Hughes.

Theobald backed up his senior teammate's praise during trials at Falkirk last October and he is about to reap the benefits.

He is particularly intrigued by news that national captain and ex-Manchester United star, Dwight Yorke, might join the Scottish team on loan until the June World Cup Finals.

"It would be a dream come true," he said. "Knowing I would be able to rub shoulders with these guys at a club and national level; that I can call them up when I want to talk."

Theobald plans to force his way straight into the first team and Latapy believes, once fit, there is every possibility that the recruit could run out this weekend.

Once settled, Theobald hopes to strengthen himself mentally and physically for a long and successful career starting with the World Cup.

Theobald, who named United States basketball legend Michael Jordan as his sporting hero, confessed that he is far from the complete article and will not rest until he can rub shoulders with the best in the game.

"What (Jordan) was able to do for basketball and for himself also was just incredible," he said. "That is the thing that is lacking in my game internationally; maybe that is the reason that I don't start for the national team as often as I would like to. Being the person to influence the game; make a difference.

"Like the Russell Latapys, like the Dwight Yorkes; just like what Michael Jordan was able to do for Chicago Bulls... At the pro league level, yes, I am able to accomplish it because there is not much strong competitiveness in the Pro League. No disrespect to them.

"But at the international level, I am trying to do it The better I am is the better I want to become."

Falkirk will be the next mark on his learning curve.