Hislop tackar för sig
Shaka Hislop flyttar till USA för spel med FC Dallas i Major League Soccer.
West Hams populäre målvakt Shaka Hislop lämnar engelsk fotboll efter 14 år. Av dessa år spenderades fem hos West Ham, i två olika omgångar. Shaka kom tillbaka till West Ham inför den gångna säsongen. Han var i första hand tänkt som en backup till Roy Carroll tillsammans med James Walker. På grund av skador fick Shaka dock göra en del matcher för West Ham under säsongen med FA-cup finalen som den absolut största höjdpunkten.
Shaka fick även chansen att spela i VM med sitt Trinidad & Tobago. Han vaktade som bekant målet mot Sverige och höll nollan i den matchen. Nu bär det alltså av till USA för att representera FC Dallas i den amerikanska fotbollsligan, MLS (Major League Soccer). Den största bakomliggande orsaken till USA-flytten är att Shaka vill komma närmare sina rötter i Trinidad & Tobago. Shaka berättar själv om detta till West Hams officiella hemsida:
"The opportunity was presented to me during the summer, and the possibility of moving to the States is something that I've been thinking about and considering for some time now. My kids are getting to the age now where I want them to have stability in the next few years, and my wife and I decided that we both wanted to move closer to Trinidad, where our families still live. Being on the south coast of the USA means that I can get home very quickly whenever I need to and, after the experience I have just had at the World Cup finals, that has taken on even more of a significance. There is so much passion for the game in Trinidad and Tobago, which has just been amplified this summer, and I want to be closely involved with that.
Shaka om sin nya klubb:
And from a football point of view, joining Dallas is a very exciting and interesting challenge, and one I am really looking forward to. I lived in the States for four years before I came to England and the MLS is a league that has grown and grown since then. I've signed an 18-month contract as they are in mid-season at the moment, but I am not really looking beyond that - it's just a case of settling in to our new surroundings and taking everything as it comes.
Shaka har slutligen en avskedstext till alla West Ham-supportrar:
I've been racking my brains thinking about what to say to the fans. They've meant so much to me during my time at West Ham - in the four years I spent here originally and in the last 12 months - and I just want to thank them for the wonderful support they have always given me. I will look back on my last year in English football with a lot of fond memories - it really was something to be a part of - and I look forward to coming back to Upton Park in the not too distant future, to sit with the Hammers fans and cheer the team on."
Tack för allt och lycka till i framtiden, Shaka!
