Postby TriP » November 18th, 2014, 12:53 am
Local Football ~ Strike Squad 25th Anniversary
25 years ago today,the entire country joined the “Strike Squad” on the Road to Italy in its quest to achieve World Cup glory with a brand of soccer, inspired by myself as coach, coined “Kaisosoca”, which captured the spirit and the rhythm of the people and its indigenous music such as tassa, pan and calypso.
From toddler to senior citizen joined the emotional journey which begun a mere two years before the final match against the USA on November 19, 1989.
We got a good thing going was the phrase coined by singer Lancelot Layne and the country believed we did. Many expressed that it was the first time since we achieved independence in 1962 that they felt proud and patriotic as a nation. The entire country was united in support of the team.
The Strike Squad was an inspirational movement about self-confidence in our ability to compete with the best in the world with our own style and was a source of inspiration beyond football and within the region.
Brian Lara, a regular member of the camp and 18 at the time, went on to achieve world recognition in cricket and Jamaica made World Cup history a few years after inspired by our efforts.
Our “Soca Warriors” led by their inspirational captain Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy, two of the key players of the Strike Squad, finally took Trinidad and Tobago to World Cup glory in 2006.
The Strike Squad, in addition to being disciplined and motivated, also was a well-knit group of committed individuals and patriots who gave their all to Trinidad and Tobago and had a deep sense of commitment to team, community and country
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