Newly-appointed Trinidad and Tobago senior football coach Leo Beenhakker is optimistic that the "Warriors" can for the first time qualify for the World Cup finals, in Germany next year.
Although the 62-year-old Dutchman sees the current position of the team's qualification campaign-with just one point from three games-as a "big challenge", he declared himself up to the task.
"It's a big challenge for me to realise that I believe for the first time in history the team can go to a World Championship," Beenhakker said yesterday on his arrival at Piarco International Airport from London. "And I like big challenges, in my life, always in my life, I love it, and I can only assure that from the beginning I will do everything that is in my possibilities to do a good job together with the players and with the people around the team, of course, with the staff members, we will go for it."
Beenhakker also believes that even with the difficulties the team currently faces, they can still qualify for the 2006 tournament.
"It's a difficult situation after the first three matches, but it's not hopeless, and I think there is still a lot of possibility to qualify for Germany 2006. And if I didn't have the confidence to do the job, I would not (be) here. It's as simple as that."
The new national coach also dismissed the notion that the many teams he has coached in his long career reflects negatively on his effectiveness.
"I was several times working during my whole career two or three times for the same club. I was with Ajax Amsterdam three times, Real Madrid called me back one time. So it's a long career, a lot of clubs, but with most of them I worked two or three times. That also means that perhaps they were satisfied about me. I think so."
Beenhakker, who also coached former T&T captain and present assistant coach David Nakhid at Swiss club Grasshoppers, expressed his pleasure at working with Nakhid once more.
"That's great," he said. "We had a great time in Switzerland in '93. He demonstrated already he's a very nice person. Apart from that he was a great professional, a great player, and if that's the standard level of the players here, well, I am satisfied and I have a lot of confidence in our possibilities. Because he was, at that time, the first time I worked with a player from Trinidad, but he impressed me the way he played, and the way he was living for, and working for his job."
Beenhakker will be in Trinidad for the next four days, meeting with the players and coaching staff, and observing the local training facilities.