DWIGHT YORKE - TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Date of birth: Dec. 3, 1971
Birthplace: Canaan, Trinidad and Tobago
Club: Sydney FC (Australia)
Position: Midfielder
International debut: May 1989 vs. United States

At the height of his career, Dwight Yorke was one of the best strikers in the world.

Even though Yorke's best days are behind him, he's still capable of producing moments of flashing brilliance. Trinidad and Tobago will be looking to the experienced veteran for leadership when the tiny Caribbean nation makes its World Cup debut in Germany.

Yorke, a former star in the English Premiership with Manchester United, is unquestionably his country's most famous and successful player. He has amazing quickness for a 34-year-old and has reinvented himself as an effective midfielder on Trinidad's national team.

Though age has slowed him somewhat, Yorke is still a fantastic dribbler and has the ability to run at defenders and find open space with his piercing runs.

Yorke was discovered by former England manager Graham Taylor in 1989 and made his English league debut for Birmingham-based club Aston Villa in 1990. He was used primarily as a right winger at first before becoming a striker in 1995-96. That season, Yorke scored 17 goals and was well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most dangerous forwards in England.

Yorke helped Aston Villa win two league cups (1994 and 1996) and scored 97 goals during his eight seasons with the club. Manchester United took notice and paid Villa 12.6 million pounds in transfer fees to procure the striker.

It was a match made in heaven, as Yorke scored 46 goals in his first three seasons with United and helped the club win three consecutive league titles. Forming a deadly partnership with Andy Cole, Yorke played a key role in United's 1999 treble season in which they won the league title, the FA Cup and the Champions League crown.

Yorke lost his starting role in the team when United signed Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2001. The following summer he was dealt to Blackburn Rovers, but he wasn't able to duplicate his Manchester United form during his two years with the club and he joined Birmingham City in 2004.

A lacklustre campaign seemed to bring an end to his career but Yorke found new life with Sydney FC in the new Australian league where he has been transformed into a playmaking midfielder.

Yorke made his debut for Trinidad in 1989 and was part of the team that came within a hair's breath of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup. Needing only a tie at home in its final game, Trinidad lost 1-0 to the United States, and saw its World Cup dreams cruelly dashed.

He quit international soccer in 2001 after a falling out with Trinidad's coach at the time, but was coaxed out of retirement for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. This time, there would be no denying Yorke and Trinidad as the Caribbean nation qualified for the finals for the first time in its history.

Now, in the twilight of his career, Yorke hopes to recapture past glories on the game's biggest stage.