Leipzig 2005 – The World Cup draw
**LEIPZIG 2005
When Trinidad & Tobago Stepped Into the World’s Spotlight
A “Back in Times’ feature revisiting the moment the T&T Warriors announced themselves to the world — and why we can dare to dream again.
By Shaun Fuentes TTFA Media Officer, Leipzig – December 2005
THE MOMENT WE ARRIVED
There is a photograph — stiff collars, winter coats, and the kind of December light that only a German city can produce — that captures a chapter of Trinidad and Tobago’s history few could have imagined. Lined up outside in Leipzig, the official delegation stood proudly, representing a nation that had just punched above its weight to reach the biggest stage in sport.
In the photo were then TTFF General Secretary Richard Groden, Terry Joseph, George Joseph, Bruce Aanensen. Press Officer Shaun Fuentes Front row: then TTFF President Oliver Camps, Roy Augustus, Tracey Davidson.
Look at the faces.Those are not just officials. Those are witnesses to a dream becoming real.
LEIPZIG OPENS ITS ARMS
The welcome began almost immediately. As the temperature dipped below freezing, the warmth of the reception cut through it.
The group included:
Oliver Camps, TTFF President, Richard Groden, General Secretary, Bruce Aanensen, Team Manager, George Joseph, Assistant Manager, Terry Joseph, Cultural Liaison, Roy Augustus, Security Officer Tracey Davidson, Tourism Development Company, Shaun Fuentes, Media Officer.
Later, Dr. James Hepple of the TDC and then FIFA vice president Jack Warner would join in time for the grand ceremony.
At check-in, the delegation received welcome letters from Bernd Listner, Honorary Consul of Trinidad and Tobago. “We share your happiness that Trinidad and Tobago has qualified for the World Championship in Germany,” he wrote.
This was more than courtesy. The Germans were fascinated by T&T, by our spirit, by our improbability, by our story.
By the time we had unpacked our bags, Sky Sports and several German stations were already requesting access to follow the delegation, shoot documentaries, and chronicle the “Soca Warriors” journey.
For the first time, Trinidad and Tobago wasn’t just participating. We were being featured.
THE WEIGHT OF PROUD SHOULDERS
In the lobby, Oliver Camps paused and looked around at the swirl of activity.
“Everyone must be proud of the fact we are on display worldwide,” he told me, voice steady but full of emotion.
“This experience will benefit us in more ways than people can imagine.”
For Camps, the moment was deeply personal. He had come close to the World Cup as team manager in 1974 and 1990. He attended the 1998 draw only as a guest. But Leipzig 2005? This time, he walked in representing a qualified nation.
Decades of waiting had led to that hotel lobby.
THE DRAW OF DRAWS
FIFA’s meticulous seeding criteria were unveiled: a combination of past World Cup performances and recent FIFA rankings. Brazil topped the chart, with Italy and the USA behind them. Trinidad and Tobago found itself placed in Pot 4, alongside teams such as Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, and the USA.
We were a World Cup nation preparing.
Serbia and Montenegro, the lowest-ranked European team, were placed in their own pot to avoid overly heavy groups. It was all part of FIFA’s elaborate dance — a choreography of geography, rankings, politics, and history.
On Thursday, a private jet brought in head coach Leo Beenhakker, arriving alongside Dutch coaching greats Guus Hiddink, Dick Advocaat, and Marco van Basten. It was a surreal sight: three of the most respected tactical minds in world football, walking through the same arrival lounge.It was the moment we realized: We were no longer a minnow dreaming. I had my baptism of fire with Leo as he checked into the delegates hotel. Within a minute, a barrage of reporters and cameramen converged on Beenhakker at the check in desk. “Where are you Fuentes, you need to be here to control them,’ Leo said to me in stern fashion.
Leipzig was fully awake now. The world was gathering.
A NIGHT OF LEGENDS
The FIFA Banquet at the Glashalle shimmered with football royalty — names we grew up hearing on foreign broadcasts, now shaking hands with Trinbagonians in winter scarves.There are photographs from that night that have become part of our folklore.
But beyond the images, the words mattered. I was introduced briefly to host Heidi Klum while I had the chance to interact with 1990 German World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus, fellow Germans Franz Beckenbaur and Jurgen Klinsmann as well as 1990 Cameroon World Cup star Roger Milla. They were all generous enough to give me a quote for TTFF Press Releases.
“It’s indeed a tremendous achievement by such a small country like Trinidad and Tobago ,” Beckenbauer told TTFF Media. “To now be the smallest country ever to qualify is a major accomplishment and it means now that you are at a level where only the top countries on the world belong. This is the big stage.”
Then German head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a World Cup winning player in 1990, also congratulated T&T.
“We are all preparing for this tournament now and I am sure Trinidad (and Tobago ) must be feeling all the excitement because it’s the first time for them at this competition. It’s a wonderful feeling to be part of a World Cup and I wish them many good things,” the former Tottenham Hotspur striker told TTFF Media. He also expressed satisfaction with his team’s grouping along with Costa Rica , Poland and Ecuador . “I think we got a good draw and it’s onto the football now,” he said.
And a former captain, the man who lifted the World Cup when they defeated Argentina in 1990, Lothar Matthäus also felt the qualification was something T&T should use as a stepping stone to achieve further.
“There’s nothing better than qualifying for a World Cup especially when you come from such a small place and had to go through several struggles to get to it. That alone is a big success story.
And then there was the moment that lives forever:
When FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced all 32 qualified nations, Trinidad and Tobago was the final country called.
The applause swelled. Heads turned. Eyes found our table. The smallest nation ever to qualify was receiving one of the loudest ovations.
THE STATISTICS THAT STILL AMAZE
FIFA also produced a Facts and Figures piece in which T&T was featured. It was noted that T&T is officially the smallest country to ever compete in the FIFA World Cup Finals. “The country’s population is just 1.088 million (last estimate July 2005). T&T is also the smallest country at Germany 2006 with an area of 5,128 km” the publication stated.
T&T, back then,also has the record now for the highest number of World Cup qualifying defeats for a qualified team. T&T lost seven of it’s 20 matches, more than the previous record of six defeats held jointly by Paraguay and Uruguay in 2002. as well as by Costa Rica, Ecuador and Paraguay in 2006.
It was also noted that head coach Leo Beenhakker would participate in a World Cup for the second time after leading Holland in 1990, notching up three draws and one defeat. Beenhakker was now second on the all-time ranking of longest break between FIFA World Cup Finals as a coach, after Zagallo’s 24-year long break with Brazil between 1974 and 1998, and will join Austria’s Karl Rappan (Switzerland 1938-Switzerland 1954) and Sepp Herberger (Germany 1938-Germany 1954) who both returned to coaching World Cup teams after a 16-year break. And for the first time ever at a World Cup, Germany 2006 featured three Dutch coaches, Beenhakker (T&T), Guus Hiddink (Australia) and Marco Van Basten (Netherlands).
It was also mentioned that the T&T player to have contested the most FIFA World Cup Qualifying Matches was Marvin Andrews with 38 games, followed by Russell Latapy with 36 appearances and Dwight Yorke with 35. Latapy and Yorke have both played in five different preliminary competitions (1990- 2006), along with Michael Maurice who collected 20 caps between World Cup 1982 and 1998. T&T made it through to its first finals on its eleventh attempt.
That alone is a Caribbean epic.
THE WORK BEHIND THE MOMENT
Before the grand draw, representatives from all 32 federations gathered for daily seminars — the unglamorous but crucial side of the World Cup.
Trinidad and Tobago was represented by: Oliver Camps, Richard Groden, Bruce Aanensen, George Joseph, Shaun Fuentes. “It was excellent,” Camps reported.
“Especially important for a first-time country.” Everything was covered:
Accommodation, travel planning, security protocols, media operations, match schedules. For a nation entering uncharted territory, every detail mattered. The day following the draw, Beenhakker along with Aanensen, Joseph and Fuentes started visiting its match cities, Nuremberg, Dortmund and Kaiserslautern as well as Rotenberg where Beenhakker had chosen for the team base.
WHEN WE REMEMBER, WE BELIEVE
Leipzig 2005 was more than a moment. It was a feeling. A national heartbeat. We were the smallest.
Then came Germany 2006. We drew our opening game with Sweden. We struggled, stumbled, and still found ourselves among the best. We walked among legends — and they welcomed us.
Today, as Trinidad and Tobago continues its footballing journey, Leipzig stands as both memory and motivation.
A reminder that: We did this. We lived this. We can return. Because once upon a December night in Germany, a tiny Caribbean nation stood proudly in the world’s light. And the world applauded.
“It’s fantastic…. I love it”
Right away came those words from Beenhakker about T&T’s placing in Group B with the likes of England, Paraguay and first match World Cup opponents Sweden.
Beenhakker was sitting next to assistant coach Wim Rijsbergen and manager Bruce Aanensen along with the rest of the T&T delegation in row four before the main stage when it was announced that T&T were placed in Group B at the Gala draw in Messe Leipzig.
A few sections to his left, a football lob away was Jack Warner, who instantly looked on with smiles as if to say “Yes, we get it”. Interestingly, moments later as he hugged Beenhakker, he added “I told you so, ent I told you so. We shall play England and the others and we shall be the smallest nation with the biggest passion.”
Another interesting note was Beenhakker saying on Friday that he wouldn’t mind facing Sweden as it would suit his pre-tournament preparations fine in Austria as he could line up Scandanavian-like teams for matches.
“This draw is very good and we must go in there and do what we have to do. We could spoil it for them,” Beehakker told TTFF Media. In the middle of this, he was answering questions from all directions, in Dutch, Spanish and of course from the English, the BBC, the Sky Sports, the Daily Mail and others.
“I like what we got and I have a squad of players who will love it. We have to be professionals like we have been in the qualifying campaign and I have no doubt we can do this well. I love it,” Beenhakker added.
