White follows his heart

Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer

FLORIDA, United States:

After a tough, drawn-out wrestling match, with the decision of whether to play for the land of his birth or his adopted country, striker O'Brian White is set to make his senior team debut for Jamaica in tonight's friendly football inter-national here against Costa Rica.

The St Ann-born White, who recently finished his second professional season for Toronto FC in North America's Major League Soccer (MLS), had been strongly wooed by Canada. According to Canada's head coach Stephen Hart, White was invited to that country's senior team camp in January, but declined, citing studies.

In late August, White, who represented Jamaica at several youth levels, indicated he would make a decision on which country to represent at the end of the MLS season.

He was then invited to play for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago last month, but he did not make that game, due to business with his club. Now, it appears he has finally made up his mind. But the call, White admitted, was not easy.

"Yeah, very hard decision," he said, after completing his first training session with the Boyz here yesterday.

According to White, who migrated to Canada as a teenager, he was not contacted by Jamaica earlier on, although he was willing to represent the country. Canada's persistence also gave him second thoughts.

"My heart was always with Jamaica," the 24-year-old said. "I was disappointed that I never got called back [to the national programme] for such a long time. And then, I live in Toronto and (Canada) came knocking, so obviously I was thinking about playing for Canada, definitely."

Yet the 6'1", 175-pound White claimed there was no dramatic turning point for his final decision.

"I just think it is in my best interest to come out and play this game [for Jamaica]," he said.

The choice left Hart disappointed, but the Trinidad and Tobago-born coach said there were no hard feelings against White.

"Players make these decisions based on what they think is best for them," Hart said on Monday after learning that White was joining the Reggae Boyz at the same hotel where he is with Canada's Under-23 squad. "I wish him the best of luck."

Meanwhile, Jamaica's coach, Theodore Whitmore, is anxious to see what the striker can do, especially with the Reggae Boyz set to defend the Digicel Caribbean Cup (DCC), beginning later this month.

"O'Brian White is someone that we've been looking on over the past couple of months," Whitmore explained. " ... We have a game before the DCC, so we see it necessary to bring O'Brian White so we can see what he has to offer for the team and the country."

However, a major question mark still lingers. White suffered a major knee injury in college. Although Toronto FC was sufficiently impressed by his near 50-goal tally at University of Connecticut and selected him in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft, White missed the bulk of his rookie year due to surgery and rehabilitation. He finished the 2010 season with two goals and four assists in 24 appearances.

White said his knee is fine now. He is also happy with the reception he has received so far from his national teammates, who include some familiar faces.

"It's good," said White. "I'm kinda like reunited with the guys. It's been a long time. I know most of them since I was like 13 ... . I feel comfortable with them."