The Guyana Senior Men’s Football Team is on the brink of yet another international stint, but this time much is at stake; especially if the team is hoping to make it to the FIFA football World Cup someday.
Head Coach Marcio Maximo (centre) and other coaching staff having a pre-training chat with the local team (Jemima Holmes Photo)
While the COVID-19 pandemic has put a major dent in the kind of preparation the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) would have liked to offer the National Team, the Guyana Golden Jaguars have, since January, been readying themselves for the CONCACAF version of the FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.
Head Coach Marcio Maximo
On the occasion of their final practice session on Monday, Guyana Times Sport visited the GFF’s National Training Centre at Providence to get a glimpse of just how intense the preparation has been.
Following two months of preparation with the local component of the team, Head Coach Marcio Maximo is pretty confident about what the Golden Jaguars would be able to produce later this month.
The local component of the Golden Jaguars
“Confidence is always high. Because, for me, the tournament reflects what you did in training before – if you train well with our local players. Also, I see the big interest of international players to join us, the senior players; so, I think that is a good combination,” Maximo shared.
The highly anticipated team announcement is expected to be made today (March 17), and giving a hint of what to expect, Maximo divulged that not only would the team be balanced, but a new crop of local and international faces is to be expected.
Head Coach Maximo stressed the need for balance in the National Team by stating, “We maintain our balance because you understand the real development, you should include the local players. You don’t have real development if you bring international players without using our local players, especially the younger players.”
The National Team in a training session
He went on to elaborate on the pertinence of having local players in the lineup for reasons of representation and development. “Because they should feel they are part of the process, to maintain the level of the team, of course. We don’t lose the competitive level, but you also encourage players in Guyana to play, to produce more players. It’s like a cycle, when you have more players that come from here, our chance to compete in higher, level will be great, it will be big,” Maximo explained.
On the topic of the team that would be travelling, Maximo let it slip that there might be a handful of newbies. He said, “We have a plan to prepare and train well there. We have a good combination, they know each other, we have some changes. It is important to say we renew, not only local squad, even the international players, we renewed that group too. We reduce the age to maintain this dynamic of the team, and I hope we take a good result.”
Omari Glasgow may have what it takes to step into the Senior Team
From the team’s perspective, their preparation has been intense and rigorous. Both Goalkeeper Akel Clarke and forward Omari Glasgow are tipped for National Team selection, and shared their thoughts on the preparation.
National Goalkeeper Akel Clarke
Clarke, who was part of the CONCACAF Gold Cup team in 2019, stated, “I’m real confident with the guys coming in, and joining with them. Every game I go in, it’s always with high confidence. So, I have a lot of trust in the training that the coach was doing with the younger players, and I think we have a good chance of going into our first game and coming out victorious.
Members of the National Team and coaching staff took a photo opportunity after meeting with Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr on Tuesday
“It’s been exciting. (There’s) a lot of exposure (in) coming into this squad. I’m glad for the opportunity, and I’m waiting to see what more Coach Maximo has to teach me,” teenage National Team hopeful Glasgow shared.
Members of the National Team and coaching staff on Tuesday paid a courtesy call on Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. It is assumed that the players who were given the privilege to meet with the Minister are among the local selectees for the National Team. Those players include Jeremy Garrett, Ryan Hackett, Nicholas McArthur, Trayon Bobb, Kelsey Benjamin, Omari Glasgow and Akel Clarke.
