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Soccer stars leave on Olympic quest
20 February: The Cook Islands Football squad kick into a final training campaign tomorrow as they get ready for Olympic qualifiers to be held in Fiji early next month.
A 13-man Rarotonga based squad will travel to New Zealand tonight with team coach Tim Jerks, assistant coach Joseph Chambers, team manager Paul Turepu and team physio Lindsay Bull.
The local players will combine with six New Zealand based players - all under 23 - to spend five days in camp and play two warm-up matches before departing for Fiji next Tuesday.
Team coach Tim Jerks says the squad has been training since early December for the Olympic qualifiers and they are scheduled to play five tough teams including favourites New Zealand.
"We have pretty stiff competition," says Jerks of the teams the Cook Islands will play off against in the qualifier.
He says that the squad players were selected based on certain criteria including individual performance during the domestic season, tactical understanding of the game, soccer skills, player attitude and ability to fit into a team environment.
The winner of the qualifier match will head to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China this coming August.
The Cooks will face Vanuatu in their first match on Saturday 1 March followed by the Solomon Islands on 3 March, Fiji on 5 March, Papua New Guinea on 7 March and New Zealand on Sunday 9 March.
The Cook Islands are the only Polynesian squad in the qualifier with American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga pulling out of the event.
Jerks admits that the teams in the qualifier match will be stiff competition for the Cook Islands squad but says they have prepared well.
"It's like the Cooks taking on the All Blacks," says Jerks in describing the challenge for the Cook Islanders.
"A lot of these teams in the qualifier have professional players that play overseas," says Jerks.
Despite what seems to be an enormous challenge for the Cook Islands, the players are reportedly ready to take it on and give it their best shot at qualifying for Beijing. - Matariki Wilson
The squad and management: Remi Wearing (Nikao), Abraham Tangi (Avatiu), Mii Joseph (Tupapa), Eddie Brogan (Takuvaine), Steve Willis (NZ), Adrian Shepherd (NZ), Joseph Le Mouton (NZ), Davey Sila (Matavera), Grover Harmon (Tupapa), Paavo Mustonen (Tupapa), Thomas Le Mouton (NZ), John Michael Quijano (Nikao), Branden Turepu (Tupapa), Gichin Fuhiniu (NZ), John Bataillard (Nikao), Roger Manuel (Tupapa), Kunda Tom (Nikao), Ngatamaine Sila (Matavera), Tuka Tisam (Nikao/San Francisco), Tim Jerks (coach), Joseph Chambers (assistant coach), Paul Turepu (manager) and (physio) Lindsay Bull.
Paavo Tariu taas mukana, seuraavaksi jännitämme miten pärjäävät Vanuatua vastaan lauantaina.
"It's like the Cooks taking on the All Blacks," says Jerks
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