30549: Hermantin(News)Haiti soccer on mission (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Jun. 06, 2007
Haiti soccer on mission
BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN

Haiti is playing its best soccer in more than 30 years, in large part because 
of a Cuban coach whose Haitian roots never left him.
Luis Armelio Garcia was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1967, and shunned baseball 
for soccer, which is hardly a surprise considering his heritage. His father is 
Haitian and his maternal grandfather is Haitian.
''Even though Cuba wasn't participating in World Cups or big soccer events, I 
was fascinated with the jogo bonito [beautiful game] of Brazilian soccer and 
also with the French team and Michel Platini,'' he said.
By age 20, he was working as an assistant coach in Cuba, and he took over its 
national team from 2003 to 2005.
He then left Cuba ''for various reasons'' he didn't wish to get into, and ended 
up in Martinique, where he had worked as a trainer and fallen in love with a 
local woman. They married, and he emigrated. It was there that the Haitian 
soccer federation, desperate to upgrade its global status, approached Garcia, 
and signed him to a contract in December 2006.
The team began to transform almost immediately under his direction and is 
favored to win tonight's Gold Cup opener against Guadeloupe at the Orange Bowl. 
Cuba also is entered in the 12-team tournament, which is being played at six 
U.S. venues through June 24.
''I am personally proud to be leading the Haitian team, and also proud that 
Cuba has qualified, two nations from the Caribbean rising from grains of sand 
in the region,'' Garcia said in Spanish, and then repeated in French during 
Tuesday's pretournament news conference.
Haiti earned a spot in the Gold Cup by winning the Caribbean Cup championship 
in January, beating Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of-Spain. It was the first 
Caribbean title for Haiti since 1973. The victory injected the team with 
confidence, and over the past few months, the Haitians have earned attention 
with victories over Panama, El Salvador and Honduras, and a hard-fought tie 
against Chile.
''For the first time, the Haitian team is entering a big tournament to win, not 
just to participate,'' said ZeNono Baptiste, a Miami resident who is a former 
player and coach for the Haitian national team. ``This new coach has brought 
Cuban discipline to the team, and the whole mentality has changed. We've always 
had good players, but discipline has been our problem. This Haitian team is 
here to take care of business.''
Stephane Guillaume, a Miami FC defender who plays for Haiti, agreed.
''There is a different attitude among the players with this coach,'' Guillaume 
said. ``The players are more serious. We really want to go out and show the 
world that Haiti can play world-class soccer. We always wanted to, but now we 
believe it.''
Said Garcia: ''The progress we've made in the last few months has been due to a 
lot of hard work and good communication with our federation. It has been very 
rewarding to see the team's evolution since January, and while we don't want to 
give anyone false expectations, we certainly think Haitian fans have reason to 
dream,'' he said.
And that, said Guillaume, is a victory in itself.
''When the Haitian national team plays, all the problems go away for two hours, 
nobody's hungry for two hours,'' Guillaume said. ``We aren't playing just to 
win matches, we are playing to rise the spirit of Haiti, and this new coach has 
made our team respect the game in a way we never respected it before.''


© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights 
Reserved.http://www.miamiherald.com
_________________________________________________________________
Live Earth is coming.  Learn more about the hottest summer event - only on MSN.
http://liveearth.msn.com?source=msntaglineliveearthwlm