FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — A fantastic preseason by Errol Stevens saw Arnett Gardens won the Claro Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Champions Cup, but more importantly, earned him a call to the national senior team.

Stevens, 25, banged in five goals during the tournament with some impressive performances and caught the eyes of the national coaches and is now on the cusp of representing his country for the first time against Colombia tomorrow.

"Right I feel proud. It is every kid's dream to play for the national team and I guess it's the hard work that I have put in and it's a good achievement," he told the Observer yesterday, moments after joining his new teammates.

Stevens, who transferred from Portmore United for the new season, had no doubt that his impressive showing got him his dream phone call.

"Yea, I don't know if they saw me play before except in the Claro League," said Stevens, who was invited to the national programme days before then technical director Bora Milutinovic was fired in 2007.

"Bora called me and I trained for about two days before he was fired," noted Stevens, while shrugging his shoulders to indicate his bad luck then.

But Stevens, a former student from Greater Portmore High School, had a four-month stint with Russian club FC Khimki in 2009 and made his debut against CSKA Moscow on August 22.

That loan spell to Russia, Stevens notes, made him a stronger person amidst the several adversities and that has now paid off.

"I used to put football second, but I now I have to put it first and work hard. Once you put in the work, God will give you the reward," said the 6 ft 2 inches striker.

"Russia made me into the person I am today. Here (Jamaica) we grow comfortable and take things for granted. But in Russia, the racism, the cold climate was the toughest thing in my life," he explained. "It made me tougher and every time I go out on the field I must just enjoy".

As for the national team, his aim is to work hard and score goals, and he's not short on encouragement from Arnett coach Paul 'Tegat' Davis, a former top striker for Jamaica.

"I always ask myself, how Ronaldo and Messi always score? But with coach Tegat, he always pushes me a lot to fire. They say I have a big kick and right now every time I get the ball I want to kick," revealed Stevens, who returned to Harbour View from FC Khimki in 2009, and later switched to Portmore United last season where he notched only three goals.

"Things at Portmore wasn't working out, perhaps my performance wasn't enough and I felt for a change," said Stevens.

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