BUTLER
ALTIMONT BUTLER had always been different from his peers and the average Jamaican footballer. He was never afraid to take risks or sail uncharted waters.
After impressing in the Manning Cup competition for Dunoon Technical High School, Butler set off to play semi-professionally in the French Department of Guadeloupe for two years.
At the age of 21, two years and an additional language later, he decided to return to school and opted for the University of Southern New Hampshire, where he read for a degree in Sociology with a minor in Computer Information. He distinguished himself at the college level earning three All-American selections before heading off to Portugal and France where he played for Torrence and Brest respectively from 1994-1996.
With the U.S. professional league starting up in 1996 and travel restrictions because of his U.S. green card, Butler headed back to the States. He spent one and half seasons with the Columbus Crew. He opted out of his MLS contract in 1997 to focus on Jamaica's successful qualifications for the World Cup. Interestingly, he made all his football decisions without an agent.
'Freddie' Butler, now a coach and scout, was in the island recently and One on One caught up with him.
Q: Freddie, football has given you a lot and taken you all over the world. How did the professional journey begin?
AB: I was playing for Harbour View in the club championships when L'Toile spotted me and offered me a contract to play for them. At first I did not take it seriously, but when they persisted I decided to give it a try.
Q: What was it like for you in Guadeloupe?
AB: It was an experience not having any friends, but it became fun. It helped when travelling to French countries as I could speak the language. I was one of the few people if not the only one in the squad who could speak French which made it even more disappointing when I did not go to the World Cup. The fact that I did not go was more personal than anything to do with football. It was a thing with (Rene) Simoes, Paul Young and I.
Q: Explain that?
AB: A week after we qualified for the World Cup, Simoes said that he was going to all ends of the earth to find the best talent to play for Jamaica because he wanted to win the World Cup. We disagreed with that position of recruiting people after we qualified and told him that we had a dream of qualifying for the World Cup and we should live that dream.
Looking back it is still sad that not even (Captain Horace Burrell) and Horace Reid said anything about it.
Q: You drifted out of football soon after that, why?
AB: After not going to the World Cup I got frustrated and decided to retire from the whole game. It is the dream of every kid who plays football to play in the World Cup. I was 31 then and I thought there was no point in playing on after that.
Q: What have you been involved in since that time?
AB: I have been into coaching since that time. I have been coaching the New Jersey Dynamos Soccer Club and have been doing so for more than six years.
Q: I understand that you intend to become a football agent. Is that so?
AB: I have a former teammate of mine from the San Jose clash in the MLS, Michael Emenalo, who played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cup for Nigeria, who is an agent. He was involved in the move of Fredi Kanoute from Tottenham Hotspur to Sevilla in Spain. I help with trying to find talent all over the world and placing the talent.
Q: Have you identified any talent in Jamaica?
AB: So far we have been working with two people in Jamaica. Newton Sterling is one of them. We sent him to Israel and the club wanted to sign him for US $50,000, but Mona did not want that. They wanted a straight loan deal. This is after the club invested in the player by performing a serious surgery on him.
We then sent him to Sweden where they liked him, but he pulled a hamstring in the second training session.
We have another target in O'Neil Thompson of Boys' Town. He should be going on a trial soon. Outside of those players, getting talent in Jamaica is kind of touchy as everyone wants a million-dollar transfer fee. Nicholas Addlery another Jamaican is handled by us .
Q: What is next for you?
AB: Becoming a licensed agent is my next thing. I will pick it up and run with it. I will take the examination soon and continue learning the business for another year and a half before branching out on my own.
- Nodley Wright
