Football is a Kiwi sport now
BY SAM BUCKLEIn January 1982, when the All Whites took the field against China in Singapore in their do-or-die World Cup playoff, six of the starting XI were English or Scottish-born (Bobby Almond, Duncan Cole, Steve Wooddin, Steve Sumner, Adrian Elrick, Allan Boath), as was the coach (John Adshead) and the chairman of New Zealand Soccer (Charlie Dempsey).
On Saturday against Bahrain, assuming we start the same XI that played in Manama, only one English-born player will run on to Westpac Stadium (surprisingly, Tim Brown was born in England, although he grew up in Wellington). On the sideline, the team will be steered by Ricki Herbert (born in Auckland) and all the drama will be watched nervously by New Zealand Football’s New Plymouth-born chairman, Frank van Hattum.
I was in awe of the ’82 All Whites. But if the '09 generation of All Whites can quality for a World Cup I will take even greater pride in their achievement – because these guys, more than their ’82 counterparts, represent me. They were brought up playing junior soccer on the same local parks as me, they played for the same clubs and schools as me.
To me, this matters. For me, this makes an important statement about the progress of our sport into the mainstream of New Zealand culture. It says football is a Kiwi sport too. It illustrates that kids growing up in Tawa or Fendalton or Murrays Bay (the kind of kids that just made the second round of the U17 World Cup) can genuinely dream of playing for their country and even, one day, playing on the world’s greatest sporting stage.
Others won’t care and some may even feel I am slighting expats or suggesting they are not, in some way, sufficiently "Kiwi". I don’t mean to. Expats and expat communities were for many years the lifeblood and driving force of football in New Zealand. And I don’t just mean British expats, but Greek, Italian, Hungarian, Croatian – to name just some. They established local clubs, they ran local clubs, they coached, they funded, they played and, in the case of the ’82 All White expat contingent, they inspired. They have contributed a huge amount to the game in this country. They still do.
But for the game to truly flourish in New Zealand, it needed to break free of the limitations of its expat history. The ’82 All Whites contributed to that "breaking free" more than any others. They placed the game squarely in the public eye and inspired thousands of young 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation Kiwi kids - like me - to play the game. A win in Saturday night’s showdown would mark an important milestone in the transition of our sport from a foreign game, played in smallish numbers at the public periphery, to a New Zealand sport played by hundreds of thousands increasingly central to our sporting culture (albeit with some way yet to go).
I’ve read over this blog and edited it a couple of times, and I’m still not sure I’ve articulated my point as well as I might. Feel free to unleash if you disagree, feel I’ve grossly over-generalised or just don’t get it.
I’ll try not to take any criticism as personally as I am taking Saturday night.
PS - I am becoming increasingly overwhelmed by emotional anticipation and adrenalin, and this frenzied state could begin to play havoc with my blogs. Indeed, I might be very well advised not to blog beyond Wednesday, but even tomorrow could be dicey.
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Agree with the point about the current side being more "indigenous" than the 82 one.
Have to pull you up on calling soccer "a foreign game, played in smallish numbers at the public periphery" is to overlook the tens of thousands of junior players.
It is a bit more complex than just numbers of course, the tens of thousands dwindle as players progress through their teens, and you are right about the game not being at the forefront of coverage or exposed to the public enough.
The part of the blog I most identify with though is your PS - I cannot wait to get down to Wellington for the match. It is great to be able to cheer the national side in a game that really matters.
What consitute's a Kiwi footballer? Michael McGlinchey was born here, not sure he'd be my definition of a Kiwi footballer. Tim Brown wasn't, but he would be my definition of a Kiwi footballer. And this distinction I have drawn has nothing to do with their respective performances in Manama!!
It is fair to say that our best players, with the possible exception of Leo Bertos (whose dip in form in not very timely) and Shane Smeltz (although it's a stretch to call him one of our best players) have all honed their skills overseas. Our undisputed best player and skipper learnt the ropes in the US before becoming one of the best central defenders in the Premier League. Is Chris Wood the same kid that left New Zealand, and would he be in the squad if he hadn't gone overseas??
Even with the advent of the A-League and the Phoenix's improvement, it is necessary for our players to go further afield if we are going to continue to improve as a country. Australia's players nearly all play outside the A-League. This doesn't mean that they can't come through the ranks in New Zealand (preferrably Murrays Bay as you quote!!), but for us to get progressively better, they need to go overseas, a la Chris Wood.
Yes, anticipation is growing for Saturday. Let's hope we can sing the Kiwi kids to South Africa. If the nerves are tingling now, anyone fancy penalties??!!!
Just been on One shot for Glory website. 5 Days 6 Hours and 2 Minutes to kick off. Can hardly wait. Can somebody tell me if we are playing in the white strip? If so we must ensure that the stadium is a 'white out'
One day our players will not have to travel the world to gain sufficient levels of experience, but for the moment it's like New Zealander rugby players signing up for other countries and Brazilians playing for overseas footie clubs. Either way, feel the buzz.
Well done Kiwis...I will be suupporting you...
First of all, to get "soccer" to become a Kiwi sport...let's stop call it soccer...it is FOOTBALL!
We are not Americans after all!
Football in NZ has indded come a long way from '82 but one thing I still see far too much of as a junior coach is kids still being taught by ex pat Poms to play the English way and until that mindset changes NZ football will still struggle to forge it's own 'identity'.
If the All Whites win on Saturday then the exposure and oppurtunities that will bring our players and future generations will go a long way to changing that.
Football is coming home, as they say (or sing).
Pitch invasion if we win anyone?
not sure you could call NZ football's home Noshow!! Good try though! Also, are we well enough cultured as far as football is concerned for there to be a Kiwi style?
Yes, "white-out" it is for Saturday. Think it may make the Bahrain players feel at home though with the penchant for white robes over there!!!
Daniel. Who cares what people call it as long as they are talking about the beautiful game ?
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Well said Sam. Think you should blog later in the week as it will reflect well the feelings so many of us are experiencing this week!