Jamaica's Rudolph Austin juggles with his head in a Reggae Boyz pre-game warm-up session in Sao Jose dos Pinhais on the Brazilian tour. (Photo: Sean Williams)

CURITIBA, Brazil - Jamaican player Rudolph Austin dreams big. His lofty goals serve as a source of motivation in his pursuit of a career as a professional footballer.

Based on his rhetoric and sense of mission, one gets the feeling that this ambitious young man will settle for nothing less. His mind is already there.

Austin, 22, currently plays at Portmore United, but the St Catherine club is a rung on the midfielder's ladder of success.

"My goal is to work hard and get a professional contract overseas so I can help my family.," he said. He would prefer to play in England where so many of his countrymen are already contracted.

"Definitely England, but I'd play anywhere that I would consider to be worthwhile. but I would prefer to go to England as I have a little thing with Stoke (City) where they partly own me and it's just my work permit that is the problem... if that comes through, I would go straight to them," explains the former Clarendon College daCosta Cup star.

Austin, who represented Jamaica at the Under-20 and Under-23 levels, now sets his sights on consolidating a place in the senior squad preparing for the World Cup qualifiers. Based on his performance in Brazil on the three-week training camp, he appears well on his way.

But while it is the consensus that Austin has been the stand-out of the camp, the Clarendon native is not about to rest on his laurels.

"I'm not quite satisfied, but I'm getting there. I know it's a long journey and I know that I have to keep working hard and do my best," he said from the team's base at Hotel Executivo in Sao Jose dos Pinhais - a municipality outside the Parana state capital, Curitiba.

Austin is a no-nonsense player. He tackles hard, shoots well, passes immaculately and is rock-solid in possession. Still, he yearns for more.

"I can kick the ball very well so I should be participating more in attack to get some more shots toward goal. That (passing) is one of my strong points, and I'm happy doing it and I just have to keep on doing it," he noted.
The captain of the team on its Brazilian tour, Austin pushes his fellow players, all of whom share the dream of playing in the 'Back to Africa' World Cup qualifying campaign which begins in June against either the Bahamas or The British Virgin Islands.
"Most of the players look up to me as a leader, so I... have to do my duty encouraging them to let them know that whenever we hit the pitch we are one unit...," Austin said.
These local-based players are not fooling themselves. They know making Simoes' final cut won't be easy as they'll be competing against several foreign-based professionals. Austin joined Simoes in telling the players that "the sky is the limit".

"My encouragement to them is that the sky is the limit for everyone. The past players like (Theodore) Whitmore have been encouraging us; they started from here (Brazil) so we have to just believe in ourselves and do what we have to do and show people that local football has improved. At the end of the day, it's each player who can put himself in the team," said Austin.

Austin, who made his debut at the senior level against Guatemala in a friendly in Fort Lauderdale as an 18-year-old in 2004, says he is encouraged by his and his teammates' improvement since arriving in Brazil.

"Definitely they're learning because they're playing better. The first night we came to Brazil I said to them that 'we are here for a reason and that is to get ourselves into the senior team', and if they're not here for that, it wouldn't be good for their sake," he said.

In the seven games Austin scored three times, but he lambasted his team for playing below par in the first three matches.

"In the first three games I wasn't too satisfied because we should've won... but I was satisfied with the game against Operario. we would have won if the referee didn't give us a bad deal, but it was one of our best games and the performance... shows that we're learning and growing as players," he said.

In the Operario draw, the Boyz were fluent throughout and dominated their opponents. With five minutes to go, the referee awarded a goal after the ball came off the Jamaican upright and back into play. It had not gone anywhere near the goal line.

Austin aimed praise at Portmore, the club that has shaped him to this point.

"Portmore is a very organised team and they train very well, and if you go to training and train hard every day, then you'll improve... Also, there is a high level of discipline there," he said.

The strapping player was one who quickly caught Simoes' eyes when the Brazilian took over in January. Austin played in all four friendly internationals - against Guatemala, El Savador, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago - since Captain Horace Burrell returned as JFF president last November. And he looked the part for a relative newcomer.