SPORTS
Young Cayman Islands footballers score in Brazil
David Bodden Jr., Dave McLaughlin, and Tevon Levine
on one of the Vasco de Gama football fields.
The Cayman players do some off-the-pitch
conditioning on exercise bikes at Vasco da Gama.
From left: David Bodden Jr., Tevon Levine, and
Dave McLaughlin.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
It is not often that young players from the Cayman Islands get the
opportunity to impress one of the greatest football clubs in the world.
However, at the moment, three young Cayman footballers are making their
presence felt at C. R. Vasco da Gama in Brazil.
David Bodden Jr., Tevon Levine and Dave McLaughlin have completed two weeks
of their four week visit, which is part of an exchange programme between the
club and the Cayman Islands Football Association, and are creating such a stir
that Vasco officials are thinking of an extended stay, or at the very least a
return trip by at least one of them.
David Bodden Jr. leads the scoring with seven goals in three games. And
Cayman junior team coach, Brazilian born Thiago Cunha who is with the
youngsters, said Vasco’s Coach Rene, a former 15-year professional, asked
whether the under-14 player can stay on or re-visit.
Additionally Mr Cunha reported that Dave McLaughlin continued to put on an
excellent performance in the defence, and club officials described a goal
scored by Tevon Levine outside the 18-yard box as a ‘golazo’ – translated from
Brazilian to mean something beautiful and amazing.
The exchange programme with the 106-year-old club kicked off earlier this
year with arrival in the Cayman Islands of 18-year-old Diego Brandao, who
plays defence in CIFA competitions for East End.
CIFA President Jeffrey Webb, who initiated the exchange programme, said
that this type of connection with Vasco for exchange of young players further
puts Cayman football in position to improve. “It shows the Association’s focus
on development of young people. The performance of our three players now in
Brazil speaks volumes of the way our youth development is going.”
Tevon plays in the under-17 local competition, and David and Dave are in
the under-14 leagues in Cayman. After going through training and their
exercise paces the three Caymanians along with other club players are split
into two teams, pitting new players against older ones. Coach Cunha explained
that competition is keen because selection for the club team depends on
performance of the players in these matches.
In their time off the Caymanians get more football exposure through
opportunities to attend national games. They recently saw a match between
Vasco and Corinthians. Vasco lost 2-3, but among the outstanding players the
youngsters saw on the field was former World Cup player Romario, who scored a
goal. They also played friendly beach football games with former Brazilian
national players and former professionals.
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