Thursday, May 18, 2006

by Neil Johnston

CHESTER, England (AFP): Dwight Yorke Wednesday insisted that captaining Trinidad and Tobago at the World Cup will eclipse anything else he has achieved in his career.

Yorke, who won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup all in one season with Manchester United in 1999, said that playing for his country in Germany next month would be one of the proudest moments of his life, regardless of how the Caribbean team perform.

Leo Beenhakker's side are underdogs in a tough group which features Sweden, England and Paraguay.

But 34-year-old Yorke, who is contracted to Sydney FC, said that Trinidad and Tobago are ready to surprise the world.

"The treble-winning year at United is something I will treasure for the rest of my life," said Yorke, speaking at Trinidad and Tobago's pre-World Cup training camp in England. "I am very honoured to have played for such a great team like Manchester United and with such great players.

"However, captaining your country at the World Cup - I'm not sure if you can achieve a bigger honour than that."

Yorke, who won a total of three championship-winning medals during four years under Sir Alex Ferguson at United, insists Trinidad and Tobago have nothing to fear when they arrive in Germany.

They are the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup after an impressive two-year qualifying programme which climaxed in a 2-1 aggregate play-off victory over Bahrain in November.

"There are no expectations on us," added Yorke, whose former clubs include Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves - we are a small nation.

"But over the coming weeks we will continue to improve and we have a very experienced manager who is no stranger to the game."

Beenhakker, who managed his native Holland at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, surprised many when he revealed he was desperate Wayne Rooney recovers from a broken foot in time to feature against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15.

Manchester United striker Rooney is facing a battle against the clock to recover from the serious injury.

"I would love Rooney to play," said Beenhakker, who also managed Ajax. "I'm very sorry for him because of the injury.

"The World Cup is a platform for great players and Wayne Rooney is a great player. "I'm very sorry for the guy and from the bottom of my heart I hope he makes it. It would be fantastic to see the guy play against us."

Beenhakker played down the importance of the England match - insisting that Trinidad and Tobago's first group game with Sweden on June 10 was occupying all his thoughts.

"We are not obsessed with England," Beenhakker said. "We are professionals and always focused on the next game."

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