All Whites great Ryan Nelsen glanced at his son Maxwell training in Christchurch on a wet, wintry night this week and reflected how far New Zealand football had come.
When the 2010 All Whites World Cup team captain was breaking through a generation ago with Christchurch United he “practised at Domain Terrace’’ on a city council ground.
But 14-year-old Maxwell – who is in a junior development programme at home in Washington, DC – was training on a state-of-the-art all-weather surface at the Christchurch United Academy in Yaldhurst while visiting family in New Zealand.
Ryan Nelsen, who captained Blackburn Rovers and Queen’s Park Rangers in the English Premier League, says “clubs like Christchurch United all around the country are developing the kids right’’, and it’s partly why he feels confident about New Zealand football’s future despite the disappointment of the All Whites failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
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The 44-year-old Nelsen was in Doha in June to watch the heartbreaking 1-0 World Cup playoff loss to Costa Rica where Chris Wood had a goal disallowed by VAR for an alleged foul by Matthew Garbett in the leadup.
Nelsen, who does some work for world governing body Fifa on advisory panels, was “gutted’’ at the outcome and believed he disallowed goal decision had exposed “one weakness of some of the VAR referees’’ who treat decisions as “pretty black and white when it’s not, it’s grey.
“You’ve got to have a smell, or a feeling for the game where I think those analytical referees don’t have that. They don’t have that playing experience where there’s a sense of smell that this happens in football and sometimes you just have to play on.’’
While the All Whites’ World Cup playoff exit was “a huge disappointment for everybody’’ Nelsen still believes “everyone watching saw the New Zealand teams of the future – teams that can play, compete, pass a ball, who are athletically good enough, technically good enough and tactically good enough” to compete on the world stage.
He watched the All Whites game with a group of other famous ex-players, including Germany’s 1990 World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus, Spain’s Fernando Hierro and ex-Socceroos superstar Tim Cahill, and all were impressed with how Danny Hay’s New Zealanders played in a game where they had 15 shots to Costa Rica’s four.
“I think that was the bright light out of that game, you saw a glimpse of what the potential could be in four years 2026, when it’s probably a wee bit easier qualification path, right, and those young guys are now at some really good clubs in Europe,,’’ Nelsen said.
“Probably New Zealand teams have been reliant in the past of being pretty stubborn, strong, resilient teams. This team is a wee bit more exciting to watch, with the ability to play a bit more football and control games with the ball, and I think that’s pretty exciting.”
Nelsen is looking forward to the return of midfielders Ryan Thomas and Sarpreet Singh – who missed the Costa Rica game with injury. “Ryan Thomas is a real big part of that group if he can just get fit and get a run of games.’’
He is excited too at the potential of younger men like Marko Stamenic and Joe Bell – both playing in Denmark – and Matthew Garbett (Torino) and Liberato Cacace (Empoli) at Italian Serie A clubs and has been heartened by positive results for the national under-17, under-20 and under-23 teams in recent years.
He says that’s a result of the development programmes around the country and has enjoyed the watching the rise of Alex Greive from Auckland’s northern league to St Mirren in the Scottish Premier League and onto the All Whites, saying it was a similar “to when Ryan Thomas went backpacking in Holland’’ then got signed by Dutch Eredivise club PEC Zwolle.
Nelsen was All Whites captain when Chris Wood made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2009 when the Hamilton teenager used to pick out the skipper at practice to test himself against an EPL defender.
He says Wood – now with EPL club Newcastle United after a successful career with Burnley – is a “fantastic role model for all kids growing up in New Zealand”.
“To have Woodsy doing what he’s been doing for the last four or five years, we might never see again.
“It’s so hard to be a striker scoring goals in the hardest league in the world. It’s very, very, very difficult and what he’s done is amazing,
“He’s shown a New Zealander can do it, it’s an incredible feat for him and hopefully we’ve got a few more coming through that could replicate it.’’
Nelsen wonders whether Wood’s feats – including scoring 10 or more goals in four consecutive EPL seasons – haven’t been appreciated enough because New Zealand sports fans had been used to having a Kiwi in the Premier League after Nelsen and Winston Reid established themselves at that level.
Current All Whites coach Danny Hay once anchored the defence with Nelsen, who is impressed with his old teammate’s handling of the national team.
“I was fortunate enough to be invited into the camp when I was in Doha and got to see him at work, and staff and the processes they go through. It’s gone leaps and bounds for when I was playing in terms of professionalism. I think they’re doing a great job, Danny’s a passionate New Zealand guy and we haven’t had many of those in the higher echelons on management, besides probably Ricki [Herbert]. I think it’s good we’re promoting our own guys who know the All White shirt.
“I think he’s doing a great job and the team’s got a good future if New Zealand football give him the right backing and staff and infrastructure around him.”
He also lauded Hay’s “bravery in picking young guys and giving them their opportunity’’.
Nelsen is looking forward to Oceania getting automatic qualification for the World Cup in 2026 and quips that he isn’t worried, unlike “nostalgic guys like yourself and historians’’ that it could take the gloss off the achievements of the 1982 and 2010 World Cup All Whites’’ if a New Zealand side gets to qualify every time.
“ It’s a world game and Oceania should be represented in some capacity. Not just us, it gives everyone in Oceania an opportunity to think they have a chance.”
“When you get to the World Cup [finals], you forget about whether you’ve played one game or 100 games to get there.
“You can’t tell me going to Mexico or Peru, home and away, is fair to New Zealand. Costa Rica haven’t lost for 40 years in one of their stadiums. Then they come to New Zealand and we put out the red carpet for them.”
Nelsen tells anyone in New Zealand thinking the All Whites will qualify automatically, “no way. I’ve seen some of the stuff being done in other Oceania regions and they’ve got some good players, and they’ll be frothing at the mouth as well.”
As for working with Fifa, Nelsen believes it’s a “completely different organisation to what it was in the past’’ and that current president Gianni Infantino is “a massive football fan’’ who “loves the game so much and is really changing the perception and reputation of Fifa’’.
Nelsen has also been “doing some commercial work’’ for United States Soccer and oversees a player management company.
He has no desire to get back into coaching after his 18-month stint as head coach of Major League Soccer club Toronto FC after ending his eight-season stay in the Premier League with QPR in 2013.
“Yes, there is because you love the game and watching [training] now, you just love it. But then you go back to the reality of what it’s like and it’s not for me. This part of it is only 10% of the actual job, the rest is dealing with aggravation and complaints all the time.
“I’ve got such admiration for a lot of these coaches who do it for such a long time.’’
Now, he gets a kick out of watching Maxwell continue the family’s long-held family football passion. Ryan’s maternal grandfather, Bob Smith, was New Zealand Football Association chairman in the 1960s and three of Bob’s brothers – Vic, Gordon, and Roger Smith – and Gordon’s son Brian played for New Zealand.
Young Max is part of the MLS Next development programme. “Like me, he started up front and then he went to the midfield and he’s been slowly progressing back,’’ Ryan said. “He’s holding on, but I think right back might be his spot, that’s what the new coaches believe.’’
Born in the UK to a Kiwi dad and American mum (Monica), Maxwell “has got three passports. I’ve said to him, if you get decent enough, what are you going to do,’’ quips Ryan, who says the main thing is he “just loves it”.
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