By Dylan Butler
Brent Sancho made his first start Sunday with Dundee of the Scottish Premier League in a 2-0 home loss to Dunfermline.
The former St. John’s soccer standout inked a two-year deal with the Dark Blues last month and, after coming on as a late sub in a 2-0 road win over KS Villaznia in a UEFA Cup qualifier in Albania last Thursday, made his home debut in front of an appreciative crowd at Dens Park, nearly scoring in the first half.
Sancho said playing in Europe was a dream come true, but it was a dream that almost died when the Scottish Football Association denied the Trinidad and Tobago international player’s initial work permit bid.
The reasoning was that Sancho didn’t meet the minimum requirement of playing in at least 75 percent of his national team’s games.
Sancho’s soccer future was up in the air and it basically stemmed from a decision he made just hours after being named captain of the Trinidad national team, the crowning moment of his playing career.
“It’s a tremendous honor to captain the national team and it was a great accomplishment because I wasn’t part of other Trinidad national teams,” he said. “It was just icing on the cake and it showed me that the sky is the limit.”
Fully aware that Dundee was interested in him, Sancho put his soccer career in jeopardy anyway and did what any good captain would do: he orchestrated a 19-player walkout to protest what they perceived to be a host of injustices by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation against its own national team.
One day after reaching the pinnacle of his playing career and 24 hours prior to a friendly match against Finland, Sancho was stripped of his captaincy and, along with the other national team players, banned indefinitely by the TTFF.
“I thought I blew my chance [to play in Scotland], but I looked at it as a situation where we couldn’t sit back and continue to be taken advantage of,” Sancho said of ban that was lifted in March. “I don’t want [future players] to go through what I’ve gone through.”
What Sancho said he went through was worsening conditions for the national team players, who are supposed to be the Caribbean nation’s shining stars.
He said a culmination of things, including inadequate training facilities without water and medical supplies, nonpayment of match fees and reimbursement for travel expenses, led to their decision.
Because of his lofty standing as captain and his senior status on the team, Sancho served as the spokesman for the group that demanded change.
“I was just in a situation where we had to do something,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about the ramifications and it is still something I believe in deeply. We need a players’ association in Trinidad.”
Sancho, a member of the 1996 NCAA national championship team at St. John’s, credits Red Storm coach Dave Masur as being the catalyst for his maturation from happy-go-lucky college player to civic-minded leader.
“As I look back, coach Masur has been an instrumental part of my success. I didn’t raise my game to my potential, but his words still motivate me,” Sancho said. “His life lessons really help me be a better athlete and a person. It’s like a parent — you don’t grasp the concept of what they say until later.”
Masur, who has turned the Red Storm into a perennial national championship contender in his 13 years at the helm, said Sancho is just one of several former players who serve as positive role models to today’s St. John’s soccer team.
After playing for Mypa 47 in Finland — the first Trinidadian to compete professionally in Finland — as well as A-League teams Charleston and Portland in addition to his national team caps, Sancho finally embarked on the next stage of his career after receiving his work permit by the Scottish FA on appeal.
“Brent had raw ability and he also had some injuries. I think he had great potential, but he was young and he was just trying to fulfill the tactical and technical part of the game,” Masur said. “As he’s done that, he’s found his role and playing professionally he’s understood what it takes to be successful.”
Sancho’s future back in Trinidad appears to be brighter today. A new coach — Stuart Charles Fevrier — brings new optimism and change, which according to Sancho, is slowly happening.
“Now there’s a better relationship with the federation, the coaching staff and the players, but there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Sancho said. “Any kind of improvement is good.”
As for his future on the national team and a possible return to wearing the captain’s arm band?
“It’s more important to get Trinidad back on the map,” the dread-locked defender said. “We’ve been doing well and I think we have a really good chance at qualifying for the World Cup. I just want to be a major contributor of the team.”
Sancho doesn’t have to worry. Even if he never steps foot on the field wearing a Trinidad uniform, his contributions have been felt for years to come.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
