After a change in scenery, Márcio Máximo, new Head Coach of Guyana’s flagship senior men’s national team the ‘Golden Jaguars’, will have his first test come this evening at the Stadion Ergilio Hato, Curacao. The action against Aruba begins at 19:00hrs.
A glimpse of the Golden Jaguars’ practice session
With a surface similar to the Guyana Football Federation’s National Training Centre at Providence, the facility will see Guyana’s quest for qualification to participate in back-to-back Gold Cup tournaments commencing.
Coach Máximo, his technical staff and the players (Guyana & Internationally-based) arrived in Curacao on Monday, and have been going through their paces as they seek to get going the chemistry of playing under a new head coach ahead of two important matches in four days.
A 20-member team with a blend of locally and foreign-based players was selected
Guyana will face Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz on Monday evening from 19:00hrs at the Leonora Track & Field Facility, West Coast Demerara.
The Golden Jags’ Head Coach informed that the players have already begun to adapt to the new methodology and philosophy, and are settling in well to the tactical and physical training as they aim for a good start tomorrow night.
He said this match is the start of a new era of continued building of the national senior programme, and would be used to assess the potential of all the players, locally and internationally-based
“It is our target to prepare the best group for World Cup qualifying, also the next Gold Cup qualifying. Of course we want to do well in this competition, but you should understand that this competition we can use to test as many players as possible,” he said.
Guyana will be seeking to build on the momentum created on debut at this year’s edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Coach Máximo posited that they are very optimistic, and noted the reality is not easy when it comes to opening campaigns away.
“But we go to the pitch with high confidence, and we will do our best job. We’ll do our best in the three days possible to evaluate the team. We will do our best to come back with a good result, to play Jamaica on Monday. I also look forward to the full support of everyone in Guyana to back this team,” he said.
Admission to the Guyana-Jamaica match is $2,000, and tickets will be available at the ground on match day.
