Boca ready for fired-up Phoenix

MAARTEN HOLL/Dominion Post

MAORI WELCOME: Argentinian football club Boca Juniors are welcomed to Wellington with a powhiri at the Intercontinental Hotel on Monday.

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Boca Juniors were welcomed to Wellington with a haka yesterday and the famous Argentinian club is expecting Friday's pre-season clash with the Phoenix to be equally spirited.

The match has been billed as a festival of football but Boca's first match Down Under, a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory last Friday, was anything but friendly.

Promising midfielder Marcelo Canete, who scored a superb solo goal, suffered a bleeding nose after colliding with the referee's elbow, and tempers frayed in a spiteful match that featured six yellow cards.

Boca coach Claudio Borghi, who was a member of Argentina's World Cup-winning squad in 1986, was prepared for yesterday's haka – "we've seen the rugby players, where they make you be afraid of them" – and expected another physical match against the Phoenix.

"From what I've seen of the World Cup ... your natural condition is that physically you are bigger than our players," Borghi said through an interpreter.

"You had a great World Cup ... and it made everybody aware that you not only play rugby in New Zealand."

Canete, 20, was a shining light in Melbourne but Boca's tour has been robbed of some star power with playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme and striker Martin Palermo not making the trip.

Borghi said the average age of Boca's squad was "22 or 23" and the illustrious club, winners of 18 international titles, are looking to rebound from a poor 2009-10 season.

But Phoenix captain Andrew Durante said his team was genuinely excited about the match, the club's last hit-out before the A-League opener against Gold Coast United on August 13.

"It's not often that we get to play against players like that and they showed against Melbourne that they've got a lot of flair and they're a quality team," Durante said.

Phoenix assistant coach Luciano Trani said four of the club's five All Whites were set to play on Friday, with Tony Lochhead likely to rest a minor groin problem.

"Tim Brown played 15 minutes last week [in a 2-0 loss to Adelaide United], he obviously needs a lot more than that," Trani said. "Leo Bertos hasn't played any practice games so for Leo it will be valuable time spent on the pitch."

About 8000 tickets have been sold for the match, with the Phoenix hoping to attract 20,000 to Westpac Stadium.

Only 13,000 turned up in Melbourne but there is no financial risk of a flop for the Phoenix as the match is being underwritten by MP and Silva, a Singapore-based international sports media company.

The Phoenix will receive an undisclosed match fee – believed to be about $100,000 – plus a share of any profits.

ON PARADE:

TODAY: Phoenix players attend an Upper Hutt junior coaching clinic at Awaikarangi Park, 4pm.

TOMORROW: All Whites/Boca Juniors/Phoenix street parade, from Parliament to Civic Square via Lambton Quay and Willis St, 12pm-2pm. Speeches from Prime Minister John Key and Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast.

THURSDAY: Boca Juniors open training session, Westpac Stadium, 4pm-5pm.

FRIDAY: Phoenix v Boca Juniors, Westpac Stadium, 7.30pm.

- © Fairfax NZ News