Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath believes that Kevin Molino will be ready to earn his place back in the national team and will show his worth as T&T looks ahead to upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Panama and Mexico on March 24 and 28, respectively at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.
Molino is currently engaged in preseason preparations for the MLS with Minnesota.
“I was worried about how he was going to take it,” Heath said. “After the initial shock for the first five or six weeks and trying to come to terms with it, his attitude after it was incredible. I don’t think anyone went to the training facility and didn’t see him working away. He’s worked very hard to get himself back,” Heath said as he spoke about Molino’s return from injury.
“I know him inside and out,” Heath added. “I certainly have no worries about Kevin on or off the field. He is a delight to work with. He is a professional and a great teammate. What other people might say doesn’t really concern me because they have probably not been in his company or met him. In terms of that, it doesn’t concern me in the slightest.”
Jones gets green card
Atlanta United announced on Tuesday afternoon that Kenwyne Jones and Chris McCann have finalised the paperwork to acquire US Permanent Resident Cards (green cards). This means they’ll no longer count as international players and won’t require international slots in the club for the MLS.
Before this move was announced, 12 international players were on the roster with only nine international slots in the club’s possession.
Atlanta has a marquee-name coach in former Barcelona and Argentine national team manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino. Its designated players are Paraguayan national team midfielder Miguel Almiron, Venezuelan Josep Martinez and Jones. US national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan, will join the team in the summer.
The Atlanta team is already a success at the box office. More than 27,000 season tickets have been sold, and 40,000 tickets are sold for the March 5 season opener against New York Red Bulls.
Morace praised by Canadian defender
Canada international full back Rhian Wilkinson retired from international football this month after making 181 appearances for her country, closing off her achievements with the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Wilkinson played under current TTFA director of women’s football Carolina Morace during her tenure as Canada head coach and had some words of praise for the Italian.
“If she hadn’t been that middle step between Even (Pellerud) and John (Herdman), we wouldn’t have won the (bronze) medal in London (at the 2012 Olympics). I truly believe that. The work she did with us was a very important step on the journey,” said Wilkinson in a CBC Sports interview.
The former Italy Women’s head coach changed the way the Canadian women played the game, “from very direct soccer to controlled tactics”.
Morace stepped down after the team finished last at the 2011 World Cup. Not one to shift blame, Wilkinson says she is still embarrassed by the way that part of the journey ended.
“Finger-pointing is a horrible thing to do and I was culprit of that. And I didn’t take too much of the heat when I should have. We disappointed ourselves and her and Canada in the World Cup in 2011. And from that broken place emerged John,” she added.
Morace is currently also the T&T senior women’s head coach and this weekend she and her staff will conduct women’s Under-17 screening at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella.
Jacksonville coach: Kevan is a true professional
T&T defender Kevan George has been described as a true professional by Mark Lowry, head coach of Jacksonville Armada.
George was named as vice captain of the club’s team for the upcoming North American Soccer League season.
“Aaron (Pitchkolan, captain) and Kevan are true professionals,” said Lowry. “They are leaders every day, on and off the field. They are great examples of what being a pro is all about, and we are in a stronger position as a group by having them as captains.”
Shaun Fuentes is the communications manager for the TTFA - shaunfuentes@yahoo.com