SANTIAGO DE LOS CABALLEROS, Dominican Republic – For Dominican Republic GK Miguel Lloyd, qualifying for a Concacaf Gold Cup is a dream that he has been following for a lifetime.
Through two matches of Group B in League B of the 2019 Concacaf Nations League in which his team sit third with three points, the motivation for the experienced 36-year-old to qualify for a first ever Gold Cup has never been greater.
“It would be great to qualify for the Gold Cup, it is what we dream of,” said Lloyd in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com. “We hope it would serve as the first step in eventually one day qualifying for a World Cup.”
The Dominican Republic’s CNL campaign started off in frustrating fashion with a 2-1 loss at Montserrat, but days later they earned a crucial 1-0 home win over El Salvador.
“Both games were very difficult. We knew after the Montserrat loss we had to keep our heads high. The key was staying united and putting into practice the tactical game plan from our coach. We have a lot of games to go so we have to continue preparing and working,” said Lloyd.
With a career that started in 2003, Lloyd has experienced many things on the football field, including one of the most memorable performances from any club in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League when Panamanian side Arabe Unido twice defeated three-time SCCL champion Monterrey in the 2015-16 SCCL.
“I cherish the memory of those games against Monterrey, especially since they are a team with such great history. It was a great experience to beat them at their home and then again in Panama,” said Lloyd.
Lloyd definitely still has several more seasons left before he considers retirement, yet at the same time he is able to reflect and take pride in the rapid growth of football in his country.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing I helped build football in the country. We have a lot of talent here, we have to keep working, but the support is there from the people and that is great to see,” concluded Lloyd.
