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Police United Get Ready For CONCACAF Champions League
Wed, July 27, 2016

The Police United FC play their first game of the CONCACAF Champions League in less than three weeks. On drawing day two months ago, the team drew a tough card when they landed in group E- effectively matching them up with Mexican powerhouse Pachuca and Hondura’s top club Olimpia for the first round of the tournament.

So how will Belize’s Police United fare off against these top league teams? It is their first time ever representing Belize at the Champions League tournament. But as green as they are, the team is hopeful. They are currently in their 7th week of intense training and the executive has been recruiting both local and international talent to reinforce their squad. Today we spoke to the head coach and even got a chance to meet some of the players on the roster as they prepare for the upcoming game against Olimpia, which is to be held in Tegucigalpa Honduras on the 16th of August.

Charlie Slusher - Coach, Police United FC
"Our strategy we have come up with it basically after watching a lot of tapes of our opponents and deciding how we will approach his game and even we had 2 practice games that we already started that approach as if we are playing on the road which is very different from when you are playing at home. I believe as long as the Belizean people see that go out there and we fight and we play football they will be proud of us regardless of the outcome but our aim is really go out there and to get a victory even though we know we are on the road so we'll be a little bit more conservative and more working and counter acting styles; but we definitely going to be playing football there."

Emanuel Pech
"I know you guys had been looking at international players. Talk to us about how many of those international players are in the roster."

Supt. Andres Makin Sr. - Manager, Police United FC
"To be exact at this time on the pitch here we have five, four Brazilians and a Guatemalan and this weekend we're expecting two more international players from Europe. Right here speaking about the team itself we have about 9 players that were with the Belize Jaguars that are on the national team hence the reason I said we had a good nucleus and all we had needed to do was to patch up the little pieces and that's what we've done with the international players and with the 2 addition that the European players that are coming this weekend I believe we should stand good enough against those clubs."

Emanuel Pech
"Talent and skill is one thing but chemistry is quite another. Talk to us about the chemistry that you are seeing with this team."

Charlie Slusher - Coach, Police United FC
"I am glad that you brought that up because of me that's the most important thing when it comes to me coming to this club. From the first week we started was to work on our chemistry, work on our system of play because if you cannot play organized football out there and everybody just running around on the field it will be a disaster. So up to presently we are fine tuning our system but that was the most; if you don't have that Emanuel nothing in football important. Whether you can shoot good or you can pass good if you don't have a system of play and play chemistry in organized football everything doesn’t matter so that was the most important thing for me as a coach to get the team to be able to do that first. As long as we got that then everything else will fall into play."

Andres Makin Jr. - Captain, Police United FC
"When it comes to motivation on the field the management is doing a great job, Mr. Makin all the logistic personnel doing a great job and I think right now the team morale is high. Coming in from the mere fact that we are at the CONCACAF stage now, CONCACAF level now everybody all motivated and you know we ready."

Player - Police United FC
"When it comes to strategy style that depends on the coach and that is what we the work pan whole of these previous weeks whe pass. I believe that we done deh pan a level fi the game. The expectation yes it very high da the work will tell time we reach out there. We no want count our eggs before it hatch but mentally we are prepared."

Player - Police United FC
"Well I believe that Honduras Olympia da a big club right but da 11 against 11 so if we go out there and put in our mind that we can play against these guys and most of these young guys whe deh with we they want they out they so this da the time. Show them that we could and we will gah a good game, I say a draw game."

The team management has set a budget of $200 thousand dollars to fund the first two rounds of the tournament. And while they have not yet fundraised that figure, they remain confident that they can comfortably carry the team through the next two rounds.

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