Trinidad and Tobago's men's national football team is known as the Soca Warriors. Last year proved to be a year of sheer disappointment for the small island nation, finishing dead last in the final round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification through CONCACAF.
One of the members on that Soca Warriors side that gave it a valiant go is midfielder Chris Birchall of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
A member of the 2006 team that competed in Germany, Birchall will look to ease the pain of qualification failure with success in Major League Soccer.
Christopher Birchall was born on May 5, 1984 in Stafford, England. Located in the West Midlands, Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire.
With a population of 63,681 (as of the 2001 Census), Stafford is home to St. Chad's Church, one of the oldest in England. It was also a major shoe manufacturer during the 19th and 20th centuries.
A notable former resident of Stafford is author J.R.R. Tolkien, who used the cottage owned by his wife Edith as the inspiration behind notable works such as The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Birchall graduated from Alleyne's High School in nearby Stone before beginning his football career at Port Vale, a club competing in Football League Two. He started out as a youth player for the Valiants in 1993, rising up the ranks before debuting for the first time a day after the September 11th tragedy.
On October 18, 2003, Birchall earned his first start for Port Vale. As time went on, the young man from Stafford blossomed, scoring seven goals in 39 games during the 2004-05 season to earn Young Player of the Year honors.
In the 2005-06 season, Birchall helped lead Port Vale to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. The season would also be his last, as he would with Football League Championship side Coventry City. Birchall scored seven goals in 78 appearances with Port Vale.
During his time with Coventry, Birchall made 29 appearances and was loaned off to St. Mirren of the Scottish Premier League and Carlisle United of Football League One.
After returning to Coventry in November 2008, Birchall chose not to have his contract with thr Sky Blues renewed. There was no need for him to sign with the Cumbrians after negotiations to join the Los Angeles Galaxy (who, at the time, were the unnamed American club in the negotiating).
In January of 2009, Birchall signed with Brighton & Hove Albion for the remained of the 2008-09 season, making just nine appearances.
However, it didn't look as if the move to the Galaxy was going to be set in stone. The Seagulls chair at the time, Dick Knight, blocked the move by Birchall to join the Galaxy.
It didn't work.
At the end of the 2008-09 season (which save Brighton spares relegation to League Two), Birchall was released from his contract, allowing him to join Los Angeles.
After signing to a four-year deal with the G's, Birchall made his Major League Soccer debut on July 16, 2009, replacing David Beckham 70 minutes into the Galaxy's match against the New York Red Bulls.
Birchall is the first white player to represent Trinidad and Tobago in sixty years.
He has been able to don the red and black of the Soca Warriors because his mother was born in the Trinidadian capital of Port-of-Spain. Birchall's upbringing has led to his Soca Warrior nickname, "Me Mum."
Currently, Birchall has made 36 appearances for Trinidad and Tobago, scoring four goals while making a splash at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
But while he has the honor of being a Chaconia Medal recipient, Chris Birchall is not satisfied with earning a national award in the land where his mother was born.
This year, the White Soca Warrior himself, the no.11, is pursuing a prize bigger than a Chaconia Medal: an MLS Cup.