Guadeloupe players celebrate their qualification for the Championship.
Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer
AFTER MONTHS of qualifying action the Finals of the Digicel Caribbean Championship will kick off next Wednesday at the National Stadium with three-time champions Jamaica going up against Barbados at 7:00 p.m. and eight-time winners Trinidad and Tobago facing Grenada at 5:00.
The Championship, which was inaugurated in 1989, and for the past five stagings - with the exception of 2005 - was held in Trinidad and Tobago, will make its return to Jamaica for the first time in 10 years and, based on the line-up of nations, promises to provide excitement for football-loving fans. To be hosted at three venues, the National Stadium, Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium and Jarrett Park, the eight-team Championship, will be divided into two groups with defending champions Haiti, Cuba, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda down to contest Group B and perennial challengers Trinidad and Tobago, title aspirants Jamaica, Barbados and the ever-improving Grenada down to contest Group A.
The winners and runners-up of both groups will advance to the semi-finals of the Championship and to the region's premier CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will be held in the United States next year.
Heading into the Championship, Haiti and Jamaica, by virtue of being champions and hosts, gained byes, while all the other teams had to play-off. In the final round of qualifiers, Trinidad and Tobago topped Group H ahead of Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and St Kitts, while over in Group G, Cuba emerged winners ahead of Barbados, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.
The other two qualifiers, Guadeloupe and Grenada, qualified as winners and runners-up of Group F, which also included the Cayman Islands, and former champions Martinique, who in 1993 surprised Jamaica in wet and slippery conditions at the National Stadium for their first and only title.
Based on the fact that they are the only Caribbean team left in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors are expected to start favourites for the Championship with the Reggae Boyz and Haiti expected to give them a good fight.
Guadeloupe and Cuba, who over the years have made it to the final four, and to a lesser extent, Grenada, are expected to be competitive, while Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda, who narrowly qualified, are expected to bring up the lower half of the table.
As it relates to star players, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are expected to field units with a number of overseas-based professionals while Haiti, Cuba and Guadeloupe are expected to field primarily home-based talents.
The Championship's prize pool is a whopping total of US$270,000 with the winner to take home a grand prize of US$120,000 and the coveted Digicel Caribbean Championship trophy.
The runners-up will receive US$70,000 and third and fourth places will receive US$50,000 and US$30,000 respectively.
GROUP A
HAITIIT MAY come as a surprise to many Jamaicans that Haiti are the defending champions of the Championship but they are deserving champions as after being given little chance to make it to the final, much less win last year in Trinidad and Tobago, they were able to come up trumps against the hosts.
One of three teams from the region to have qualified for the World Cup, Haiti are known for producing good youth teams. However, that has not translated to the senior level, as evidenced by their poor showing in the recent South Africa 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign where they fell prey to El Salvador and Costa Rica at the semi-final stage.
As it relates to the Championship, it is expected that they will advance to the semi-finals but whether or not they have it in them again to surprise all and sundry, including World Cup final round qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago and hosts Jamaica, and defend their title, is left to be seen.
CUBAKNOWN FOR their track and field and baseball prowess, Cuba enter the finals with a lot of hopes and expectations, having topped Group G of the second and final round of qualifiers with relative ease.
The Cubans, in showing that they are developing, recorded spanking 6-0 and 7-1 wins over Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles in the qualifying round and a 1-1 draw against dogged Barbados was their only blemish.
The team will be led by midfield playmaker Alain Cervantes and striker Lazaro Alfonso, who were both influential in the Cubans progress, and should either Haiti or Guadeloupe fail to get their act together early, the north Caribbean boys could find their way into the semi-finals.
GUADELOUPELike neighbours Martinique, French outfit Guadeloupe has always provided stiff competition for the Caribbean's top teams and come next week things are expected to be no different.
After getting by the Cayman Islands 7-1 and Grenada 2-1, Guadeloupe stopped Martinique 3-1 and as such advanced winners of Group F in the second and final stage of qualifying. This came as a surprise to many who were looking forward to Martinique topping the group, but led by strikers Jean-Luc Lambourde and Eric Sabin and midfielder Loic Loval, the Guadeloupians had other ideas.
With a number of players who ply their trade in France in their line up, Guadeloupe may not be a hot favourite for the title but are tipped to advance to the semi-finals and the Gold Cup.
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDAIf there is a surprise team of the finals, it is Antigua and Barbuda. Competing in Group H of the second and final round of qualifiers, Antigua put in a steady performance against hosts Trinidad and Tobago in a 3-2 loss and by virtue of defeating highly-fancied Guyana 2-1 and St Kitts and Nevis 4-3, they advanced to the final eight.
The Eastern Caribbean nation, which is known for producing cricketers and not footballers, will consider itself privileged to be competing in the Finals and while not expected to make a major blip, should enjoy the opportunity of competing with the big wigs of the region.
The Antiguans will be led by strike partners Peter Byers and Jamie Thomas, who were outstanding in their final game do-or-die clash against St Kitts and Nevis, and should they be able to hold either Haiti, Cuba or Guadeloupe to a draw, much less win, would return home with their heads high.
- Jermaine Lannaman
GROUP B
JAMAICADESPITE NARROWLY missing out on a place in the final round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Reggae Boyz remain one of the firm favourites to win the Digicel Caribbean Championship.
However, the Jamaicans, who last won the tournament in 2005, will have to stave off stiff challenges from the likes of defending champions Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Reggae Boyz will be boosted by the inclusion of a number of their overseas-based players including Luton Shelton, Rodolph Austin, Omar Cummings and Dane Richards.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOTRINIDAD AND Tobago, who are the only Caribbean team to secure a berth in the final round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, are the most successful side in the competition with eight titles. The Trinidadians will be using an under-strength side for the tournament as a number of their overseas-based players including captain Dwight Yorke, Carlos Edwards and Kenwyne Jones are playing in Europe .
BARBADOSBARBADOS HAD a good chance to qualify for the 2005 Gold Cup as they hosted this competition. However, they finished fourth of the four teams. In 2001, they surprised many by making the semi-final round of 2002 World Cup qualifiers. In the first game of that round they pulled off a shock 2-1 win over Costa Rica but lost their remaining games.
GRENADAGRENADA, WHO are ranked 139 in the world, defeated the Reggae Boyz 2-1 in a friendly international in June. Their team will be at full strength for the tournament with the addition of their overseas-based players including the likes of Portmore United's captain Anthony Modeste, midfielder Shalrie Joseph, of New England Revolution (US) and Rudolph Williams.
- Robert Baily
