KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Shavar Thomas was stuck on Peter Nowak’s bench when the expansion Union visited CommunityAmerica Ballpark in late June.
Only days later, Thomas found himself back in Kansas City not as visitor, but returning for his second stint with the club. In the two months since he was traded from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Thomas has started every game for the Wizards.
MLSsoccer.com sat down with the Jamaican central defender to talk about his return to the Midwest and recent call up to the national team.
MLSsoccer.com: A few months into your most recent stop in Kansas City, how is everything going so far?
Thomas: I think we’ve shored up a little bit in the back. We just need to start, as a group, putting away games that we should put away and getting those three points. It’s crunch time right now, and we need to get those wins.
MLSsoccer.com: Is it nice for you to playing consistently again since you didn’t get much time in Philadelphia?
Thomas: Definitely. I mean I didn’t play at all for Philadelphia. Playing with a lot of these guys that I’ve played with before and won trophies with is even better.
[inlinenode:311381]MLSsoccer.com: Are you and Jimmy Conrad starting to put some of things back together from your last stint here?
Thomas: Definitely, definitely. But it’s not just us as a defensive unit. It also starts with the guys in front of us. They have to set the tone so we can play off of them.
MLSsoccer.com: You got your 28th cap for Jamaica last week. What’s that like for you to represent your country?
Thomas: Every time I get a chance to go play for Jamaica, no matter who we are playing, is a tremendous opportunity. Not very many players get a chance like that to play for their country. I am truly honored to do that.
MLSsoccer.com: How much better is it when involves a 3-1 victory against Trinidad and Tobago?
Thomas: Well, Trinidad and Tobago is our rival in the Caribbean. So to get a win against them, no matter who they put on the field, I always look forward to that.
MLSsoccer.com: How much do the people of Jamaica take joy in the team’s success?
Thomas: For sure, it is very special. Right now, we are looking ahead to 2014 and the next World Cup. It’s been a process that we’ve started since the Gold Cup last year. We’re working and trying to get there.
MLSsoccer.com: What would the reaction be in Jamaica if the team qualified?
Thomas: We made it in the 1998 World Cup in France. After the older team made it, we made it to the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups. It’s a tremendous feeling. It unifies the country. It gets everybody in that happiness and that frenzy. It’s good to know what soccer can do.
MLSsoccer.com: Was it a little disappointing that your countryman Khari Stephenson helped beat you last week in San Jose? What do you see him bringing to the Earthquakes?
Thomas: You can see in his first game that he has helped them a lot. If you look back on how they played in previous games, what the coach had him doing was tremendous for them. The forwards can play off him because he is a big body. He played here in KC, and he was tremendous in our run to get to the finals in 2004. He scored one of the goals against San Jose at Arrowhead to start our push. He is going to do well for them.
MLSsoccer.com: What do you think about some of the young Jamaican talent coming through the league and overall? There are a lot of guys starting to make a name for themselves.
Thomas: It was never about the talent. If you asked any of the coaches or any of the past players, it wasn’t about the Jamaican talent or talent from the Caribbean in general. It was just the mentality and the attitude. Right now, I think young players are starting to learn and starting to get the drift of being a professional.
MLSsoccer.com: What do you think is behind that?
Thomas: Younger players have learned from the older guys. They’ve seen what it takes. For example, they can learn from a Ricardo Gardner, who plays for Bolton. Why has he been at Bolton for 10 or 11 years? They see that it is not about the talent. It is about the mentality. It is about the attitude that you bring every day.
[inlinenode:315781]When we get a chance, especially in the national team, to mingle with those young guys, we let them know that. We tell them that, so more and more they can go back to their clubs or their high schools and relate that to their other teammates. I think that is part of the domino effect.
MLSsoccer.com: Who is somebody to look out for in Jamaican soccer or who you think is a special player?
Thomas: Right now it is a lot of players. High school soccer in Jamaica is big time. If you have a name in high school soccer in Jamaica, you are really a good player. A lot guys like Andy Williams, Dane Richards, Omar Cummings and myself went through high school soccer in Jamaica. Off the top of my head, Marvin Morgan. There are a lot of young guys coming up right now.
