HEAD coach of the Guyana Jaguars football team that will face Canada’s Under-23 Olympic qualifying team, Jamal Shabazz, is of the firm opinion that the locals stand to benefit regardless of the outcome on Sunday.The two teams will meet in an international friendly at the Guyana National Stadium and Shabazz told Chronicle Sport that the positive for Guyana is the fact that they can learn from playing against a team that is at a higher level.
“This game on Sunday will be a great opportunity to play a team that is at a higher level, so we need to see what we can get out of it,” the Trinidadian stated.
Asked what are the Golden Jaguars’ chances against the Canadians, Shabazz said, “We are playing at home for Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary, so we want to do good for our country, so we’ll go into the game with great ambition.”
The 25-member Golden Jaguars squad began a one-week encampment starting yesterday and had their first training session at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Camp Ayanganna ground.
Training sessions will be held everyday at the GDF and Guyana National Stadium until Saturday.
Asked how yesterday morning’s session went, Shabazz said it was a good session and there was a good turnout. He said they concentrated on possession play and the pattern of attack.
He informed that the new members of the squad gelled well with the more seasoned players and he is satisfied with what he saw in them (new players).
Asked what weakness he saw in the team prior to yesterday’s workout and what he plans to do about it, Shabazz said: “The team need to improve on their defensive strategy. We got to be able to take pressure from superior opponents and this we know we’ll get from the Canadians,” the head coach stated.
According to Shabazz, the team need to do more on defensive organisation since their next game in the Caribbean Football Union tournament will be against Curacao, who, according to the coach, will be an uphill task for the Golden Jaguars as they (Jaguars) will be playing away from home. “So we need to play possession football and get results,” Shabazz stated.
The Canadians are expected to arrive in Guyana on Friday and that same night, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Pierre Giroux will host a press conference at his residence.
Sunday’s game is made possible through the efforts of Guyana’s Alex Bunbury who is also a Canadian football Hall-of-Famer.
It was reported that the Guyana Football Federation informed Bunbury that football has been included in Guyana’s 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations and Bunbury immediately made contact with the Canadian High Commissioner, seeking to have the Canadian Olympic Qualifying team play Guyana’s Golden Jaguars in an international friendly. The High Commissioner readily agreed and made the necessary arrangements.
In brief remarks, High Commissioner Pierre Giroux said he and his country welcome the initiative, as Guyana celebrates its 50th anniversary as an independent nation it is also the 50th year that Guyana and Canada share diplomatic relations.