Past & Present: Meet Haiti’s National Football (Soccer) Team

I’m not a big soccer fan, but my interest in the Haiti National Team was sparked when my brother Saurel Broyen Olrish joined the team a few years ago. Prior to the last few months, information about the team was usually communicated  between my  brother and I  via phone calls, it was rare almost never did I see anyone posting on social networks about the Haiti National team. But log into any social network today and I guarantee you’ll scroll through numerous post from friends showing support to the team and their recent games, all of a sudden pictures and videos about the National Team are everywhere.

It’s no surprise when it comes to Haiti, Haitians are always very proud and show their support for anything or anyone who represent the country,  but I’ve been following this team for years and this is the first year I’ve seen people this enthusiastic about them. After receiving a call from my very good Haitian American friend Chris Jacques, who also noticed the increase in excitement over the team, he went into detail about how we are cheering on the team yet most Haitians probably cant name two players on the team.

“The Haitian National Soccer team has begun to re-instill a sense of pride in the community! People are paying attention to futbol, becoming excited, emotional, and engaged in our rich soccer culture and heritage. In this respect we owe it to these players who are training, practicing, and competing at the highest level to at least KNOW WHO THEY ARE. They deserve the courtesy of us knowing the identity of the brave men following their dreams and bringing back a strong sense of pride and excitement to the Haitian community.” – Chris Jacques

Like any other sport, these guys work hard, travel, and put on a great game for their country,  and like Chris said, we owe them the respect of at least knowing their names, especially the ones who are scoring the points. Thank you for the motivation conversation Chris and on behalf of  the team and its players, here is all the information I could find about the team and the players.

Haitian Fans Showing Love:

Spain vs Haiti (Haiti scores first goal & supporters go crazy )

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Historically, in Caribbean football, the Haiti national football team have a good standing. They are one of the few smaller island nations to actually make it to a World cup finals competition. In 1974 Haiti made it to the World cup held in West-Germany after coming through a tough qualification campaign. Their group proved to be tougher still as they were drawn alongside Italy, Argentina and Poland. Haiti as a country is known worldwide for the wrong reasons. It is a country that has been deeply affected in recent history by natural disasters. In 2004 the country was hit by a hurricane and in 2008 it was decimated by four tropical storms in the space of four weeks. Unfortunately worse was still to come as in 2010 the country was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. It was the most severe earthquake to affect Haiti in 200 years. In football terms it was believed that thirty players, coaches, referee’s and medical staff with links to Haitian football lost their lives. Another twenty were feared buried in the ruins.

The Haiti national football team (Haitian Creole: Ekip foutbòl nasyonal Ayiti, French: Équipe d’Haïti de football) represents Haiti in association football and is controlled by the Fédération Haïtienne de Football, the governing body for football in Haiti. Haiti’s home ground is Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince and their head coach is former Cuban International Israel Blake Cantero. They have made one appearance at the FIFA World Cup, in 1974, but were beaten convincingly in the opening qualifying stages by three of the pre-tournament favorites; Italy, Poland, and Argentina. Their most recent achievement was in 2007, when the national team won the 2007 Caribbean Nations Cup.

Here is a picture of Haiti National team in 1974. This is what many would call Haiti Dream Team, the 1974 World Cup team. Haiti’s coach was Antoine Tassy. He was also the team’s trainer as well as being the country’s Director of Sport.

Haiti has one of the longest football traditions in the Caribbean and was an early participant in World Cup qualifying. Throughout the 60s, and 70s, Haiti’s footballing status in the region remained very strong, being considered the third strongest team in CONCACAF after Mexico and arguably Costa Rica. The strength of the national selection ultimately culminated in Haiti’s first ever World Cup appearance in 1974, in which they surprised the world in their opening goal against a considerably stronger Italian team. The island nation has produced many talented star players over the years. The period from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s could be considered a golden age for Haitian football. With Antoine Tessy as coach for much of this period, Haiti would emerge as one of the strongest teams in the CONCACAF zone, being pooled with other regionally strong football nations such as Mexico and Costa Rica. By 1965, players like Henri Francillon, Philippe Vorbe, Renold Jean Francois and Guy St-Vil were already playing in the team and would be stalwarts of the side in the coming years.

The team developed sufficiently to reach the final round of qualifying for 1970, where they faced El Salvador. After losing the first leg at home, Haiti pulled off a 3–0 win away but the rules of the day dictated a play-off on neutral ground which El Salvador won to secure a place in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In the 1974 qualifiers, Haiti once again reached the final round in a qualifying tournament completely played at home. This time, with all odds on their favor, they would top the group and qualify for the 1974 World Cup. In West Germany, they would be drawn in an extremely tough group with Italy, Argentina and Poland. However, they surprised the football world in their debut game when star forward Emmanuel Sanon scored to give Haiti a lead over Italy, at the same time ending Dino Zoff‘s still standing record run of 1142 minutes without conceding a goal in international matches. They eventually lost 1–3, and would lose to Poland (0–7) and Argentina (1–4).

Haiti would reach the final rounds of 1978 and 1982 qualifiers, but failed to make the cut. The years since have seen Haiti’s footballing status decline markedly. In recent years, the political situation in the country has led to numerous defections from members of the soccer team. The team has rebuilt somewhat through the Haitian diaspora in Miami, Florida, and some Haitian home games have been played in Miami in recent years. Haiti as of recently has been rising once again as a footballing power in CONCACAF.

In the 2010 Haiti earthquake at least 30 people with ties to Haitian football perished, including players, coaches, referees and administrative and medical representatives. Twenty others with ties to Haitian football were feared to be buried in the ruins.^[1][2][3]

In November 2011 Haiti was knocked out of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Antigua and Barbuda under the leadership of Brazilian coach Edson Tavares. In 2012 Tavares was replaced by Cuban coach Israel Blake Cantero who lead the national team through the 2012 Caribbean Championship. The Haitian team finished 3rd in the Caribbean Championships warranting a spot in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The following year Haiti would have a bad string of defeats against Chile, Bolivia, Oman and the Dominican Republic. In June 2013 Haiti bounced back from these shortcomings with a close 2-1 loss to reigning world champions Spain and an astonishing 2-2 draw with footballing powerhouse Italy, with goals scored by Donald Guerrier, Olrish Saurel and Jean-Philippe Peguero respectively. – SOurce

Video & Photo Highlights From The Recent Games:

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Current Players For 2013:

0#0	Pos.	Player	D.O.B	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Frandy Montrevil	January 14, 1982	5	0	Valencia de Leogane
	GK	Julien Jospy	June 3, 1983	1	0	AS Cavaly
	DF	Judelin Aveska	October 21, 1987	30	1	Independiente Rivadavia
	DF	Reginal Goreux	December 31, 1987	5	2	Krylia Sovetov Samara
	DF	Jean Garry Rubin	December 19, 1989	15	0	América des Cayes
	DF	Jean-Jacques Pierre	January 23, 1981	56	5	Caen
	DF	Bitielo Jean Jacques	December 28, 1990	0	0	VSI Tampa Bay FC
	DF	Donald Guerrier	March 31, 1989	11	1	América des Cayes
	DF	Kevin Lafrance	January 13, 1990	8	2	Baník Most
	DF	Mechack Jerome	April 21, 1990	22	0	Sporting Kansas City
	DF	Olrish Saurel	September 13, 1985	18	2	Antigua Barracuda FC
	MF	Jean Sony Alcenat	January 23, 1986	43	5	Petrolul Ploiești
	MF	Constant Monuma	April 1, 1982	22	4	Racing Haïtien
	MF	Jeff Louis	August 8, 1992	6	0	Nancy
	MF	Jean-Eudes Maurice	June 21, 1986	10	8	Le Mans
	MF	Peterson Joseph	April 24, 1990	13	0	Sporting Kansas City
	MF	Yves Desmarets	July 17, 1979	1	0	C.F. Os Belenenses
	MF	Herold Charles Junior	July 23, 1990	2	0	Tempête
	MF	Jean Alexandre	August 24, 1986	23	2	Orlando City
	FW	Kervens Belfort	May 16, 1992	10	5	Le Mans
	FW	Peguero Jean Philippe	September 29, 1981	26	21	Don Bosco
	FW	Leonel Saint-Preux	May 12, 1985	36	6	FELDA United

Current Staff:

• Men’s Coach: Israel Blake Cantero
• Men’s Asst. Coach: Pierre Roland Saint-Jean
• Fitness: Gregorio B. Modesto Gomez
• Fitness: Ernst Jean-Baptiste
• Medic: Jean-Mary Fritz Henry

2013 Schedule:

Date	Location	Opponent	Result	Competition
January 19, 2013	Concepción, Chile	Chile	0-3	Friendly
February 6, 2013	Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia	Bolivia	1-2	Friendly
March 20, 2013	Muscat, Oman	Oman	0-3	Friendly
March 24, 2013	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	Dominican Republic	1-3	Friendly
June 8, 2013	Miami, United States	Spain	1-2	Friendly
June 11, 2013	Rio De Janeiro, Brazil	Italy	2-2	Friendly
July 8, 2013	Harrison, United States	Honduras		Gold Cup
July 12, 2013	Miami Gardens, United States	Trinidad and Tobago		Gold Cup
July 15, 2013	Houston, United States	El Salvador		Gold Cup1

All Players:

Name	D. o. B.	Position		Current club	M	S	G	M	S	G
Montrévil, Frandy	1982-01-14	Goalkeeper		Valencia Léogâne	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jean-Zéphirin, Dominique	1982-06-03	Goalkeeper		Staines Town	1	0	0	0	0	0
Romondt, Guerry	1985-08-10	Goalkeeper		Tempête Saint-Marc	1	0	0	0	0	0
Guerrier, Wilde-Donald	1989-03-31	Defender		América des Cayes	3	1	1	0	0	0
Rubin, Jean Garry	1989-12-19	Defender		América des Cayes	3	0	0	0	0	0
Lafrance, Kévin	1990-01-13	Defender		Baník Most	2	1	0	0	0	0
Saurel, Olrish	1985-09-13	Defender		Don Bosco Pétion-Ville	2	0	0	0	0	0
Pierre, Jean-Jacques	1981-01-23	Centre Back		Stade Malherbe Caen	1	0	0	0	0	0
Aveska, Judelin	1987-10-21	Defender		Independiente Rivadavia	1	0	0	0	0	0
Bertin, Frantz	1983-05-30	Defender		PAE Véroia	1	0	0	0	0	0
Canès, Jean-Charles	1987-03-06	Defender		Bayamón FC	1	0	0	0	0	0
Duverger, Mackenzie	1976-06-01	Defender		Valencia Léogâne	1	0	0	0	0	0
Maurice, Jean-Dany	1993-11-27	Defender		Valencia Léogâne	1	0	0	0	0	0
Raymond, Ednerson	1985-05-14	Defender		Baltimore Saint-Marc	1	0	0	0	0	0
Joseph, Géraldy	1990-05-29	Defender		Valencia Léogâne	0	2	0	0	0	0
Jean, Jean-Robert		Defender		Valencia Léogâne	0	1	0	0	0	0
Jérôme, Mechack	1990-04-21	Defender		Sporting Kansas City	0	1	0	0	0	0
Sonthonax, Foreste	1988-01-21	Defender		Cavaly Léogâne	0	1	0	0	0	0
Monuma, Constant	1982-04-01	Midfielder		Racing Club Haïtien	4	0	0	0	0	0
Fucien, Brunel	1984-08-26	Midfielder		L’Aiglon du Lamentin	3	0	0	0	0	0
Louis, Jeff	1992-08-08	Midfielder		AS Nancy Lorraine	3	0	0	0	0	0
Sirin, Vaniel	1989-10-26	Midfielder		Tempête Saint-Marc	2	1	0	0	0	0
Hérold, Charles	1990-07-23	Midfielder		Tempête Saint-Marc	2	0	1	0	0	0
Hilaire, Max	1985-12-06	Defensive Midfielder		Pau FC	2	0	0	0	0	0
Saint-Louis, Wiselet	1992-09-10	Midfielder		Don Bosco Pétion-Ville	1	1	0	0	0	0
Desmarets, Yves	1979-07-19	Left Midfielder		CF Os Belenenses	1	0	0	0	0	0
Alcenat, Jean-Sony	1986-01-23	Midfielder		Petrolul Ploieşti	1	0	0	0	0	0
Alexandre, Jean-Marc	1986-08-24	Midfielder		Orlando City	1	0	0	0	0	0
Augusmat, Wilberne	1994-12-08	Midfielder		Violette Port-au-Prince	1	0	0	0	0	0
Goreux, Réginal	1987-12-31	Midfielder		Standard Liège	1	0	0	0	0	0
Horat, Luckner	1994-09-27	Midfielder		Aigle Noir Port-au-Prince	1	0	0	0	0	0
Joseph, Peterson	1990-04-24	Midfielder		Sporting Kansas City	1	0	0	0	0	0
Pierre-Louis, Kennel	1989-01-31	Attacking Midfielder		SA Thiers	0	1	0	0	0	0
Beaugé, Nicodème	1990-10-09	Midfielder		Victory Port-au-Prince	0	1	0	0	0	0
Désir, Spencer	1993-12-20	Midfielder		Cavaly Léogâne	0	1	0	0	0	0
Belfort, Kervens	1992-05-16	Secondary striker		Le Mans FC	3	0	1	0	0	0
Louis, Fritznel	1989-12-20	Striker		Racing Club Haïtien	2	1	0	0	0	0
Milien, Pascal	1986-03-05	Striker		Sligo Rovers	2	0	0	0	0	0
Maurice, Jean-Eudes	1986-06-21	Left Winger		Le Mans FC	1	1	0	0	0	0
Alexandre, Junior	1989-03-25	Striker		Baltimore Saint-Marc	1	0	0	0	0	0
Peguero, Jean-Philippe	1981-09-29	Striker		Don Bosco Pétion-Ville	0	2	0	0	0	0
Edmond, Pierre-Richard	1989-09-14	Striker		AS Porto-Vecchio	0	1	0	0	0	0
Pierre, Bony	1991-04-24	Striker		Victory Port-au-Prince	0	1	0	0	0	0
Saint-Preux, Leonel	1985-05-12	Striker		Felda United	0	1	0	0	0	0