This qualifies as a busy week
Joseph's visit home no day at the beach
Shalrie Joseph is preparing for two big games this week and he is doing so almost with a split identity. As a member of the Revolution, Joseph will lead the team into an MLS Cup rematch with the Houston Dynamo in the season-opener at Gillette Stadium Saturday. But first, Joseph will play for his home country, Grenada, in a World Cup qualifier against the US Virgin Islands tomorrow at the National Stadium in St. George's.
In his role with the Revolution, Joseph will perform his professional duties. He has gone to Grenada as much as a patriot as an athlete.
The Grenada-US Virgin Islands match is a small expression of national identity, both countries facing astronomical odds of qualifying for the World Cup finals. Grenada is still recovering from Hurricane Ivan, which hit the island nation in 2004. But the eyes of Grenada will be focused on the Spice Boyz, the national team, which will show the outside world what its young athletes can accomplish. Should Grenada win, its next opponent will be Costa Rica, a favorite to advance to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Joseph is wrapping up preseason training with the Revolution, which included some intense conditioning as well as exhibition games in Bermuda, Mexico, and New Orleans. But Grenada has also been on his mind, and he has been in contact with Grenada teammates about tomorrow's game. Joseph took time earlier this month to add a "Grenada" tattoo on his right shoulder.
"I could have played for the US if things hadn't gone the way they went," Joseph said. "But this is where my roots are. My calf has been tight but if I feel good enough to play I want to play for my country. The players and coaches expressed a desire for me to play and they really want me to come back. I talked to my mama [in Brooklyn] about it and she said it was important to represent my country."
Only Jason Roberts, a London-born striker who is with Blackburn Rovers, has surpassed Joseph on the world scene among soccer players of Grenadan descent. Recently, Joseph was described as the best player in Major League Soccer by former US national team coach Bruce Arena, who had hoped to recruit him, and Joseph is considered the top candidate to be named Caribbean Football Union player of the year for 2007.
But Joseph has made his reputation solely on the domestic front in MLS. He attracted the attention of Celtic during an exhibition game, but the Glasgow club's $1 million-plus transfer bid failed.
Joseph has not played for Grenada in nearly four years, when it fell to the US, 3-2, in St. George's. Three months later, in September 2004, Hurricane Ivan devastated the island. Joseph and the Revolution raised funds for recovery. But Grenada's soccer program has been in the doldrums since and Joseph will be in the role of returning hero to a land whose population of 90,000 could nearly fit into Gillette Stadium.
"We made a good showing against the US [in '04]," Joseph said. "This is a chance for us, because we don't play a lot of friendlies, to show what we are about."
Joseph seems comfortable juggling identities. He grew up in Grenada, moved to Brooklyn as a teenager, and has been with the Revolution since 2003. A tall, powerful, technical player, Joseph has thrived in a professional environment. Several former Revolution players are with European clubs, and Joseph seemed destined to follow that route, also. No MLS player can match Joseph's physical presence and ability to distribute in midfield, not just one-touch short passes, but also well-weighted long balls to the wings. He seldom is off target and even less often is dispossessed.
"If you give the ball away it comes back to haunt you," Joseph said. "Joey [Franchino] gave the ball away in practice one time and he was killing himself over it. He told me we've got to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We don't want to have the mentality where we lose the ball.
"A lot of guys want the responsibility, but not everyone can handle it. I think I make the right decisions and distribute the ball and get everyone involved. It's all about getting the ball to the right person in the right place. It's about quick thinking, getting into transition, getting the ball wide. You can make the safe pass, but we're a team that's good going forward, and I like to give the killer ball, the penetrating pass, for guys to run on to. I have the mentality that, if I am going to make a mistake, to move forward and keep competing. I still feel I don't get enough touches, I always want to be involved. I want to be one of those guys that makes a difference.
"I'm not in a glory position, where you score a lot of goals. My coaches and teammates appreciate me. I give everything I have. I'm always around the ball, where I can dictate the game and control the game."
Grenada should defeat the US Virgin Islands, which has played only three times in the last four years, losing in 2004 to Jamaica (11-0) and to the Dominican Republic (6-1 and 6-0) last year.
Joseph will face stiffer competition when he returns to Foxborough. The accomplished, confident, and physical Dynamo defeated the Revolution in the last two MLS Cups and last week eliminated Guatemalan champion Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament.
"My ultimate goal is to win the MLS Cup," Joseph said. "This will be our hardest year in a while, since we've lost some key guys and I don't know if we can overcome that. We have some new guys who are fitting in well and this hasn't been our best preseason for preparation. But we're still favorites and we'll be ready. It's our goal to win the MLS Cup and every year we feel it could be our year to win it."
