Maxwell and Brown

THE 1998 GOLD Cup was a fairytale wrapped within a greater dream for the Reggae Boyz.

In November of 1997, the Jamaica national football team qualified for the World Cup in France with a goalless draw against regional giants Mexico at the National Stadium.

That was the final stanza of a laborious, painful but ultimately exhilarating qualification march along the Road to France.

Three months later, Jamaica began its refinement for the world's ultimate single sport extravaganza at the Gold Cup in Miami's Orange Bowl against world behemoths Brazil. Upon reflection, the highlight - or high ground - of the World Cup campaign was not that draw with the Mexicans; nor stepping on the world stage with Croatia, Argentina and Japan, but proving worthiness over two soggy February weeks in the United States during the Cup of Gold.

On a tornado-dampened February 4 evening, Jamaica recorded the greatest draw of its football history: 0-0 with Brazil. The Reggae Boyz had shown the world they were for real.

Four days later in Los Angeles, Jamaica accounted for Guatemala 3-2 and 24 hours later crunched El Salvador 2-0 to reach the event's semis and defy even the most ardent fan's expectations.

It took a golden goal from Mexican blond bombshell Luis Hernandez in the first period of extra time to snuff out Jamaica's improbable run at the title and a Romario strike two days later to relegate Jamaica to fourth -- but for less than a fortnight, Jamaica danced with kings.

"Yes, you could say the performances against Brazil and Mexico were probably the best part of the whole campaign," Carl Brown, the national coach on the Road to France, said.

"Although I think the Cup qualification game we played against the US in Washington was the best we played; overall, I believe the Gold Cup was the best display we put forward in both performance and preparation.

"We just couldn't recapture that for the World Cup."

Former national coach Geoffrey Maxwell agrees.

"I think, upon reflection, that was the crowning glory of the whole World Cup campaign," Maxwell said.

"They played very well, (keeper Warren) Barrett was exceptional -- it all seemed to come together," he said. "Then they seemed tentative at the World Cup."

At the '98 Gold Cup, Jamaica were fine-tuning; this coming Cup (which kicks off for the Reggae Boyz on February 12 against Colombia at the Orange Bowl) will be a self-discovery tour.

Technical director of football Rene Simoes, barring the recent two-game tournament in China, has to start putting together his team to board Orient Express 2002. The Gold Cup will be the first real test to gauge if this crop of passengers is worthy of the Cup Express, which departs the platform in September with the team's first clutch of regional qualifiers.

"This is not like the last Gold Cup, Rene is going to have to take a good look at some of the Under-23s and start building the team from there," Brown said.

"Marco McDonald and Winston Griffiths are two players that should be watched closely; particularly Griffiths; he showed a lot of maturity in the '98 Shell Cup final and his four years in the national programme should have done him the world of good."

Maxwell believes Simoes must know by the end of the Gold Cup who will be leading Jamaica's charge to 2002.

"I think the midfield is going to be the area Simoes will focus on primarily," Maxwell said. "Who is going to join Whitmore there? "This is the time Jamaica has to start building up for the World Cup qualifiers. At the moment, I think we are behind some of our rivals like Trinidad; they are at the fine-tuning stage and we are still finding ourselves."