Race on to get stars aligned for tilt in 2014
By TONY SMITH in Johannesburg - Stuff
Last updated 05:00 27/06/2010
All Whites coach Ricki Herbert doubts New Zealand will ever go through a World Cup finals campaign unbeaten again.
He is right to bask in the glory as he's now our most successful football coach by the length of the home straight at Happy Valley race course in Hong Kong where the Herbert family is now holidaying.
But is this just a blip? Will the draws against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay soon be forgotten and replaced in our sporting public's psyche by the All Blacks' latest results?
The answer depends.
It is in New Zealand Football's hands and, to some extent, Herbert's.
NZ Football must act quickly to: secure more international matches for the All Whites, especially at home; reappoint Herbert or move to a fulltime national coach; and retain the clutch of senior men so vital to guiding a potential golden generation of New Zealand footballers.
The coaching appointment is critical. The New Zealand Football Association blew it in 1982 when it let John Adshead go and allowed the new coach, Allan Jones, to replace charismatic captain Steve Sumner.
If Herbert is hungry enough to go to Brazil in 2014, he should have the inside running. Otherwise, start planning for the next four years now.
It's as important also to encourage Ryan Nelsen to stay as leader. Don't expect him to play every international – just World Cup and Confederations Cup qualifying games and key friendlies in Europe.
He was vital to this success. It's as if every player in this team had a Ryan Nelsen attitude transplant.
The All Whites' World Cup success didn't start with the last-gasp 1-all draw with Slovakia in Rustenburg on June 15.
Some will say it began five years ago when Herbert took charge. But the momentum only began to build with the World Cup inter-continental playoff victory over Bahrain last spring and the 0-0 draw in the Manama first leg in particular.
Before then the All Whites weren't on the World Cup radar of even their most ardent fans. But Nelsen's return, the draw in Bahrain against Asia's fifth-ranked team and Rory Fallon's $10 million header in the second leg in Wellington imbued the All Whites with a confidence unprecedented since the great qualifying campaign in 1982.
They then felt ready to take on the world. But, again, expectations were minimal until a month ago when the top All Whites lineup took on a near-strength Socceroos and played them off the park in the first half.
Australia eked out a 2-1 win but that performance did wonders for the All Whites' self-belief.
They made the world take notice in Austria with a 1-0 win over Serbia – ranked 15th in the world and led by Manchester United star Nemanja Vidic. A 1-3 defeat to Slovenia flattered the Europeans, who were desperately unlucky not to qualify for the second stage in South Africa.
On arrival in South Africa, it was no surprise to hear All Whites confidently predicting they weren't just here to make up the numbers. More pleasing was they appeared to believe it.
That sense of self-belief soared after coming back to snatch a first-up draw with the Slovaks, who went on to eliminate defending champion Italy.
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The All Whites conceded only two goals in the first two games – one was offside and the second came from the penalty for a shameful dive. Their net was not breached by a Paraguayan lineup fielding three strikers, all proven scorers in the English, German and Portuguese premier leagues.
What does that tell us? In skipper Nelsen, New Zealand has one of the best and grittiest defenders in the World Cup, a candidate, surely, for any all-star team. He also has two hugely promising supports acts in Winston Reid, 21, and Tommy Smith, 20. Both seem destined to play in the best European leagues.
It is critical for their development that Nelsen be urged to continue to the next World Cup.
He's as good as having a coach on the field and his leadership is immense.
When Nelsen is ready to hang up his boots, the calm, composed Smith appeals as the readymade replacement. So the defensive stocks are in great heart, especially with the doughty Ben Sigmund as a back-up and Tim Brown back.
There is plenty of depth, too, in the forward division if the All Whites can afford to omit a major talent in Chris Wood. Only 18, the West Bromwich Albion prospect is already breathing hard down the neck of English championship strikers Chris Killen and Rory Fallon, both 10 years his senior.
But what about midfield?
The World Cup showed it is still the All Whites' Achilles heel. Evergreen Simon Elliott was superb as the engine driver and showed the skills that attracted Fulham to offer him an English Premier League deal some years ago.
Ivan Vicelich, a defender for a decade, was much more than a stop-gap beside Elliott in central midfield. But Elliott's 36 and Vicelich, 33. They can't go on forever.
Brown can come in and fill one spot, but there is still a place for a creative midfielder.
Every successful team here has a silken passer to create chances for his attack. Aaron Clapham, who surprisingly didn't get game-time on the road to South Africa, appeals as the most likely long-term option.
For New Zealand football to continue to progress we must have develop players who are comfortable on the ball, who can twist, turn and deliver the killer pass.
That will require a major attitude adjustment on behalf of coaches at junior level through to the NZ Football Championship. The emphasis must be on player development, not short-term win-at-all-costs.
There is talent on slow burn further down the grades.
New Zealand under-17 internationals Cameron Lindsay (Blackburn Rovers), Andrew Milne (Glasgow Rangers) and Jamie Doris (Hibernian) are already learning their trade in Europe.
The bulk of the 2010 group are young enough to still be in their prime in Brazil in 2014. But then so were the 1982 All Whites in 1986 – and remember what happened then.
To paraphrase the Finn brothers, Neil and Tim, history never repeats.
New Zealand football's future now depends on good governance and a collective will among its constituents to preserve the spirit of Ryan Nelsen and his men and put team before self.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/fifa-world-cup/all-whites/3858769/Race-on-to-get-stars-aligned-for-tilt-in-2014