The fam­i­ly of for­mer Trinidad and To­ba­go Se­nior Men's Head Coach Leo Been­hakker has an­nounced his pass­ing at age 82.

Been­hakker, who held the role be­tween May 2005 and Ju­ly 2006, was al­so a for­mer Re­al Madrid, Ajax, Poland and Sau­di Ara­bia coach.

A na­tive of Rot­ter­dam, the coach etched his name in T&T's foot­ball his­to­ry when he took the So­ca War­riors to the 2006 FI­FA World Cup in Ger­many.

The Dutch­man is a Cha­co­nia Gold re­cip­i­ent, this coun­try's sec­ond high­est na­tion­al ho­n­our, for his trans­for­ma­tive role in T&T's first ever se­nior World Cup qual­i­fi­ca­tion.

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙚𝙤 𝘽𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙠𝙚𝙧

It is with pro­found sad­ness and deep grat­i­tude that the Trinidad and To­ba­go Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion (TTFA) ac­knowl­edges the pass­ing of Leo Been­hakker — a ti­tan of world foot­ball, and an en­dur­ing hero in the sto­ry of our na­tion’s game.

Leo was more than a coach to Trinidad and To­ba­go. He was a vi­sion­ary leader, a men­tor, and above all, a be­liev­er. When he ac­cept­ed the chal­lenge in 2005 to lead our na­tion­al team dur­ing the fi­nal stretch of the FI­FA World Cup qual­i­fi­ca­tion cam­paign, he walked in­to a dream many thought un­reach­able — and turned it in­to a liv­ing re­al­i­ty.

Un­der his calm, con­fi­dent, and mas­ter­ful stew­ard­ship, Trinidad and To­ba­go achieved the un­think­able: qual­i­fi­ca­tion for the 2006 FI­FA World Cup in Ger­many — the first and on­ly time we have reached the world’s biggest stage in foot­ball. He led with in­tegri­ty, tac­ti­cal bril­liance, and a deep re­spect for our play­ers and our cul­ture. In do­ing so, he unit­ed a na­tion, brought pride to the Caribbean, and in­spired gen­er­a­tions of foot­ballers and fans.

The jour­ney to Ger­many was not just about foot­ball. It was about be­lief, iden­ti­ty, and hope. Leo saw not just ath­letes, but am­bas­sadors in our So­ca War­riors. He nur­tured tal­ent, in­stilled dis­ci­pline, and brought out the best in every play­er. That un­for­get­table No­vem­ber night in Bahrain — when we se­cured our World Cup berth — will for­ev­er be etched in the hearts of every Trinida­di­an and To­bag­on­ian, and it would not have been pos­si­ble with­out Leo’s steady hand and un­wa­ver­ing faith in our po­ten­tial.

His lega­cy in Trinidad and To­ba­go tran­scends the field. Leo Been­hakker re­mind­ed us of what we are ca­pa­ble of when we dare to dream and when we are guid­ed by those who see great­ness in us — even when we for­get to see it in our­selves.

We ex­tend our deep­est con­do­lences to his fam­i­ly, loved ones, and the glob­al foot­ball com­mu­ni­ty. Trinidad and To­ba­go mourns with you. But even in our mourn­ing, we give thanks — for Leo’s time with us, for the his­to­ry he helped us make, and for the pride he helped us feel.

Rest in peace, Leo. Your name is for­ev­er writ­ten in our hearts, and in the an­nals of our foot­ball sto­ry.

𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣