Golden Jaguars Senior Men’s head-coach Márcio Máximo, declared that a youthful programme which emphasizes a change in mentality and a long term succession and development plan, are the fundamental areas for the sustainability of the senior football programme.
This was disclosed by the Brazilian native ahead of Guyana’s preparation for the pivotal home and away CONCACAF Gold Cup first round qualifying playoff with Barbados. Guyana will travel to the Land of the Flying Fish on the 26th before hosting the Barbadians on the 31st.
Maximo said, “It’s very important for me to not only reduce the average age of the senior team but also change the mentality of the players to one that is competitive, displays good commitment, professionalism and with a desire to proudly play in the senior national team.”
According to Maximo, “Of course their (older players) experience is very important for our group but we also need to refresh the team, put new ideas and players who have ambition to play in the development leagues, pursue international clubs/academies, help the local clubs to improve…if we don’t have the continuation of the senior team, we’ll lose the group again. We have been able to recover some players, 22– 23 years old who had lost interest due to the absence of a senior team programme. Now, they have the option to continue if they are selected, of course. We now have a pool of 60 players.”
He revealed that 12 players from the current U20 program will be integrated into the senior setup, adding, “We have already selected six players to join the senior team but after the tournament, six or seven additional players will be selected to be permanently integrated into the senior team. It’s a good opportunity for the players to keep their ambitions to play at a professional level, have a chance to be attached to international academies, if age permits, and we will endeavor to provide the fuel for them to achieve their highest goal.”
