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![]() 19 Dwight Yorke
Position: Forward Whatever happens as Trinidad & Tobago make their finals debut, you can guarantee Dwight Yorke will smile his way through it. Few players derive as much obvious pleasure from their 'job' as the veteran striker, so it is little surprise he has been a crowd favourite throughout the vast majority of his career. Yet he spent four years in the international wilderness after falling out with his country's Football Federation, only returning to play for 'The Soca Warriors' earlier this year. Brought to England by Graham Taylor for £120,000, Yorke left his homeland at 19 to pursue his dream with Aston Villa. At times, it looked as though this was one Taylor gamble that would fail - but Yorke's determination to succeed shone through and 27 goals in the 1996/97 - including one as Villa won the Coca-Cola Cup - meant he had 'made it'. Two more strong seasons saw the hawks circling and it was Manchester United who eventually splashed out in excess of £12million in 1998 to give Villa a stunning return on their outlay. United and Yorke were made for each other, particularly once he was paired with Andy Cole - the two struck up an almost telepathic on-field understanding and were instrumental in the Treble success of 1999 that climaxed so memorably in Barcelona's Nou Camp. Yet within three years he had been sold by Sir Alex Ferguson and unsuccessful spells with Blackburn and Birmingham meant an ignominous end to his career in England. Sunnier climes beckoned, though, with Yorke joining Sydney United despite receiving more lucrative offers from clubs in the Middle East. And this summer gives him the chance to pull on international colours on the biggest stage of all, something he had surely given up hope of doing just months ago.
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