Molino vs Jones for MLS Western crown

FORMER MUCURAPO Secondary School teammates Kevin Molino (Minnesota United) and Joevin Jones (Seattle Sounders) will meet in the Audi 2020 Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Playoffs Western Conference final on Monday.

A brace from Molino in the opening half of Thursday’s conference semi-final spearheaded Minnesota’s 3-0 triumph over top seed Sporting Kansas City.

One day earlier, Jones helped defending MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders into their second straight conference final, courtesy a 1-0 victory over FC Dallas.

Seattle are one win away from making their fourth final in the last five years while Minnesota are into their first Western Conference final in only their fourth year as an MLS club. In 2019, Minnesota exited the MLS Playoffs in round one.

Molino is a contender for the MLS Playoffs MVP, having bagged two goals against the Colorado Rapids in a similar 3-0 round one rout two weeks ago. The 30-year-old midfielder has now tallied 13 goals and four assists in 19 games this season.

National men’s coach Terry Fenwick has been closely following the pair’s competitive exploits on the US circuit and is eager to witness Monday’s conference final. He dubbed the pair “a breath of fresh air” to climax an unsettling year for TT football.

“After all of the issues regarding football, these two guys are flying the flag high for TT. They alone, and without the national team, are putting TT on the map because of their professionalism, energies and positivity moving football forward,” said Fenwick.

The English coach considers Molino and Jones role models for the younger generation of national footballers.

He is in constant contact with the pair, among other foreign-based senior nationals, via WhatsApp. Fenwick rues the fact that Molino and Jones will be going up against each other and will not be able to share the title as teammates.

He added, “The goals Molino have scored have been fantastic. They were great goals with good buildups that he was also involved in. He’s done a remarkable job and it’s absolutely a good look for him.

"It’s a shame they’re not on the same team so they can both win.”

On September 24, FIFA suspended the TT Football Association (TTFA) after ex-president William Wallace and his former executive challenged the global governing body’s decision at the local courts, instead of the Switzerland-based CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) to remove them, on March 17, and implement a normalisation committee, headed by Robert Hadad.

FIFA’s decision to remove the TTFA executive was due to the $50 million debt accumulated by the local body.

The suspension was lifted on November 19 after an October 23 decision by the Court of Appeal for all legal claims brought against FIFA by Wallace, former vice-presidents Clynt Taylor and Joseph Sam Phillip) to be terminated.

In a recent interview with Newsday, Molino threatened the TTFA that he would hang up his boots if the fraternity does not get its house in order before the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers in March 2021.

Because of the eight-month legal wrangling between the sports’ global governing body and TTFA, Molino said the players have suffered the most.

Arguably TT’s most talismanic striker of this period, Molino serves as a key asset to TT’s chances of securing qualification for both the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Fenwick understands the player’s frustration and called on the powers that be to observe the short- and long-term repercussions of TTFA’s power struggle.

“It’s a big statement from a big player. His sentiments are right, because we all want to move the game on positively in TT. We’re all hoping he returns to the national team.

“Football is not a corner-shop business any more. It’s a huge conglomerate. World football is huge today. We’ve got to take it seriously.

“Unfortunately the warring factions on the ground here in TT are not seeing it for the magnitude of how the game’s being played around the world and how it’s affecting players,” Fenwick said.

The national coach acknowledged TT football is going through a difficult time. He believes the squad will approach the coming competitive season with enthusiasm and clear intent to return the national team to a competitive standard in Concacaf.

“We’ve come to a very difficult time in TT football and we’re trying to move it ahead. The best we can do at the moment is take it step by step. We’re still looking at resources and finances coming from the normalisation committee and remain optimistic.”