'Sorry lady, I wasn't looking'

BY FRED WOODCOCK

Paul Ifill settles into a couch in the Marriott Hotel foyer and immediately looks at ease.

The Phoenix's gun striker never appears agitated or uptight so today is no different, despite being the eve of the A-League preliminary final between Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC.

He has a lot to be comfortable about too. His first six months in New Zealand could not have gone better, and the English-born Barbados international admits he is playing the best football of his career in a city his family loves, and in a league which suits his attacking style.

But the conversation quickly drifts back to his first day in Wellington and a "ridiculous" story that had Ifill wondering just how long he would stay in New Zealand.

It's the middle of the day and, fresh from his first fitness test, he is standing outside Molly Malones bar in Courtenay Place, trying to get to Tory St to meet up with team-mate Reece Crowther.

He picks up the story: "I didn't know where I was going so I was looking around everywhere and as I went to put my phone in my pocket, I felt someone punch me in the side of the face.

"I thought it was one of the lads being a bit overzealous, but I look around and I see someone running off down the street so I thought 'right, I'm not having any of that'.

"I went after them and got them by the shoulder and it's a woman. I couldn't believe it. I'm like 'What are you doing?' and she went 'I know people like you. I saw you looking me up and down, I know what you're thinking. I could see it in your eyes'.

"I said 'I don't even know you, I've got no idea what you're talking about. This is a big misunderstanding'. When I went to walk off she started kicking and punching me.

"I'm thinking, 'I can't do anything that's going to get me in trouble, they'll send me back home'. So I tried to walk off again and she came after me again.

"I grabbed her and she went to bite my hand so I knew I couldn't win with this woman. I started jogging off and she ran after me so I had to pick up the pace. Unbelievable."

He estimates the woman was about 50.

"You get into a fight with a bloke, you can finish it and walk off, but I couldn't do anything, I couldn't hit her. It was horrible."

At that moment Ifill was wondering what he had got himself in for. But any doubts did not linger for long.

"Everything has been plain sailing since," he says.

"I feel like I've played some of the best football of my career. The league and the style we play suits me, most of the time we play a 4-3-3 and I have a free licence to go and get the ball.

"I've not enjoyed football for so long, so this year has been pretty special. I'm just really lucky I chose the right place."

Ifill is undoubtedly the best import the Phoenix have seen in their three years, and his performances suggest he is one of the best imports to play in New Zealand.

His efforts have rightly been acknowledged. He was voted the third-best player in the A-League and cleaned up at the Phoenix awards this week with the golden boot, alongside the members', media and players' awards.

Believe it or not, they were his first individual awards in 13 seasons of professional football, though he reckons he was hard done by in his first season at English club Millwall, when he scored 11 goals and had 19 assists.

"I thought I'd nailed young player of the year here and bloody Tim Cahill [the Socceroos and Everton star] nicked it off me, which isn't too bad considering what he's gone on to do.

"But it's really nice to be recognised by the fans, the media, and my peers. For me, that's the big one. To know the players around you are confident in what you're doing gives you a big boost."

He says his game has flourished in the A-League for two key reasons.

Firstly, there is no promotion-relegation as there is in England, which often reduces teams to playing "kick and rush" football as they attempt to do whatever it takes survive.

"It's not the sort of football you want to play or people want to watch. It's not good for players like me either. The A-League is more open."

He has also managed to stay injury free, reaping the benefits of learning to take care of his body along with regular massages and visits to the chiropractor. "I could not tell you the last time I've played 29 games on the bounce without an injury – probably 13 years ago."

It helps, too, that he's a "terrible" trainer, with no wasted energy during the week. Ricki Herbert labels Ifill the worst trainer he has seen.

"Most managers would tell you the same thing," Ifill says.

"If I had to go anywhere on trial I think I'd be in trouble.

"The lads will tell you, six days out of seven in training I'm terrible. I do have the odd day when I'm decent. I don't know what it is – maybe it's a mindset that I just don't want to waste it.

"It's not that I don't work hard, it's more I try things I shouldn't. But if you don't try something outrageous on the training pitch, when do you?"

Ifill says he barely gets nervous before matches these days but expects some butterflies before tonight's showdown with Sydney.

While the Phoenix have exceeded all expectations in getting this far, they don't want to waste a golden opportunity to reach a grand final.

The Warriors have shown just how rare that opportunity can be.

"I was lucky enough to play an FA Cup final [with Millwall] but there are much better players than us who have not played in cup finals.

"You can't think if you lose 'oh well, we'll get to the finals next year,' because you might not. Newcastle won a grand final two years ago and finished last the next season."

- © Fairfax NZ News