Latest update February 23rd, 2025 6:05 AM
Mar 01, 2015 Sports
The man who scored the goal which changed the history of Guyanese football, Ricky Shakes, has announced his desire to once again feature for the National Team and help the Golden Jaguars roar in their 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Shakes, who currently plays in England for club side Boreham Wood, has an unusual history when it comes to international football: he represented Trinidad and Tobago in 2006 for a single friendly game before deciding to commit to Guyana in 2011, becoming the first ever professional English league player to represent Guyana. The irony was not lost when Shakes ultimately eliminated T&T from World Cup qualifiers in 2011 with a magnificent volley that sent Guyana into the next round. Speaking exclusively to reporter Santokie Nagulendran, Shakes recalls his journey with the Guyana National Team:
Santokie Nagulendran (SN) –Ricky, you initially played for Trinidad and Tobago in an International Friendly, what convinced you to join up with the Guyana National Team?
Ricky Shakes (RS):‘’I played for T&T in 2006, I was on standby for the 2006 World Cup with them, but then after that, nothing happened. I carried on playing club football for Ebbsfleet United, my club at the time in England, and eventually it was FIFA Agent Faizal Khan who watched me in a game one day in 2010 and approached me (to join the Guyana National squad). He knew my father was Guyanese and asked me if I wanted to play for Guyana. A Guyanese team featuring National players were coming to England for an exhibition game around that time and he asked me if I wanted to feature in it, so I played in the match and really enjoyed it. The players who came across from Guyana for the game made me feel welcome and from that point I was interested in playing for the National Team. I went over to Guyana for the World Cup qualifying games against Barbados and Bermuda in late 2011, my first trip to Guyana, I liked the set-up, met the coaches, staff, they made me feel very welcome, everybody was a family’’.
(SN):What was the highlight of your Golden Jaguars career?
(RS):When we played against T&T on 11/11/2011 and achieved a historic victory, helping Guyana reach their further ever stage in World Cup qualifiers. We won 2-1, I scored the first goal and assisted the second. It was the highlight of my Golden Jaguar’s career.
(SN): What was the influence of Head Coach, Jamal Shabazz, on the team?
(RS): Jamaal Shabazz is a brilliant coach, he made us work together as a team and his tactics were superb. For example,when we played Mexico in June 2012, he told us we had to sit back, be patient, and defend as a unit, knowing that Mexico would be likely to dominate possession, with the aim of trying to score via a counter-attack. In general, I think he is an excellent coach.
(SN): What has been the biggest game of your career so far?
(RS): Playing against Mexico at the Azteca Arena in June 2012 was a big experience for me and the highlight of my career: playing in front of 90,000 fans was amazing.
(SN): Has playing for the Golden Jaguars helped you develop you own game as a footballer? (RS):Definitely it has made my game better and developed my understanding of the game: the two sides of it. I have learnt about the important of patience; not always focusing on attack, but learning to defend and score by creating breaks from that. (SN): Finally, with Guyana set to play St Vincent and the Grenadines in June for 2018 World Cup qualifiers, would you consider making yourself available to feature?
(RS): Yes, most definitely. I have spoken to Coach Shabazz about potentially playing in June, and I would be happy to feature for Guyana once again.
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