Theobald gets his New Year’s Wish

Caledonia AIA captain Densill Theobald had his New Year’s wish granted when he got a recall to the National Senior Team ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying encounter against El Salvador on February 11.Theobald had not played for T&T since the 3-1 victory over Cuba in August. He had previously been dropped after a friendly with Guadeloupe in February. But now head coach Francisco Maturana has given him another chance by naming him in the 20-man squad which leaves later this month for Argentina for a training camp prior to the clash with El Salvador.For Theobald, good opportunities come to those who “work and wait for them.”“I think my chance came again because of the added amount of hard work that I had put in the last quarter of 2008. It was a devastating feeling for me when I got dropped and had to look on at the games in the last round but coming from where I grew up I have learnt to struggle through the hard times and turn things around. Knowing that I had been to a World Cup with some of the same players and now I was being left out wasn’t a good feeling. So I knew I had to go the extra mile to get my spot back and thankfully this has been given to me,” Theobald told TTFF Media on Tuesday.“I know my spot isn’t sealed but it’s an incentive to go all out and like Russell (Latapy) said yesterday, all of us players need to go out and fight to earn a spot on the World Cup team and it should be an exciting time for all of us.”He credited the set up at Caledonia AIA for his comeback.“Winning the 2008 FA Cup was a great achievement for us and the work that I was able to put in with the staff and the players at Caledonia played a great part in me getting my form back to a decent level again. I was able to see the positive results and I think it’s important for all players to realize what kind of results can be achieved from hard work and cooperation.“Football in Trinidad and Tobago is heading into an exciting period in 2009 and what we as player and athletes need to realize more is that we need to put down our heads and make it work for the country. The same goes for the leaders and the people in general. There is a lot of crime now but through football and sport we can bring back the love in T&T.”Theobald is one of the few players who has had the opportunity to work along with Russell Latapy in an overseas professional environment as they both were attached to Falkirk FC prior to the 2006 World Cup.“I must say I feel blessed to have had that opportunity to work with the ‘Magic’ in Scotland. The kind of respect he had there and the admiration of the fans and the players was tremendous. I was able to see this man as someone who is very serious and committed to football. He is a totally different person when it comes to being out there on the pitch. I think that he will be a great addition to the staff. Having him involved in a coaching capacity with the team and being around football in T&T just makes it even more exciting for the game in this country,” Theobald said.