Day 1 at Phoenix HQ - 2007 Interview with Ricki Herbert

As we are shown out of the lift and admire the expansive views from Terry Serepisos’ new waterfront offices it all feels somewhat surreal.  Two months ago professional football in New Zealand was dead and buried.  Now, out of the offices of this Wellington property developer, a new football team is being created from scratch.  At the centre of it all sits Ricki Herbert.  Charged with restoring footballing credibility to a New Zealand franchise backed by long suffering but demanding fans, he’s already well on the way to signing half of the 23 man squad he will prepare to take on the Aussies. 

As we are ushered through busy open plan workspaces to the converted meeting room which serves as home base for the Phoenix management, the magnitude of the task at hand begins to become apparent.  Every detail associated with a football club needs to be put in place, from a kit man to a CEO, and at the moment multitasking is very much the order of the day.  Luckily, Herbert is always keen to share his insight into football in New Zealand and gave us his views on the pressing issues in our game.

One thing is clear with Herbert, he understands that this team needs success both on and off the field in order to continue. He describes the process of putting together a squad in these circumstances as “unique” but there is a clear direction to the recruitment process.

“With Liverpool, Manchester United or Chelsea people relate very quickly to what that team looks like from a product point of view - as opposed to Watford or Sheffield United”.

“We want to play football that makes the supporters proud.  We don’t want a one dimensional, long ball, run and chase type of game.  We need to be better than that, a fluid, passing side and be an exciting team to watch”.

This rhetoric has been reflected in signings to date, most notably with the addition of Brazilian fullback Daniel.  His pedigree suggests he could be one of the finest imports seen in this country since Paul Mariner and it is clear that South American talent will play a key part in the Phoenix squad.

“Key people have done a lot of research into South America generally for us, as we have done in other parts of the world, and we've made some interesting contacts and had some very good discussions.”

With Herbert nominating Melbourne Victory’s Fred as the player he would most like to have signed from V2, it is no surprise that rumours abound that at least two more South Americans will sign, possibly filling the striking berths. Herbert’s response to speculation on the squad ”watch this space!”.

Understandably, formation of the squad has been the key focus in recent weeks so further details surrounding the day to day running of the club remain scant.  The hunt is on for a training venue with Terry in negotiations with the council, and other coaching staff are still to be appointed.  With Herbert due back in Wellington this week, expect those details to be finalised soon. 

Because of the unique nature of the dual roles that Herbert possesses, both with the Phoenix and the All Whites, there is a possibility his assistant may manage the Phoenix in his absence for All White duty.  Both the club and Ricki have been quick to place assurances that there is no conflict in holding the joint roles.  That has also controlled the make-up of the team somewhat.

“From a national point of view there has been a really good interest from a number of players.  However, as the sums will tell you, if we have 14 kiwis here, you won’t be able to put a team on the park [during the mid season international qualifiers]”.

At the same time Herbert is confident in the crop of young players coming through in New Zealand, while mindful of the challenges faced to correctly manage their development.

“We have a talented group, and in New Zealand generally we have some very, very good young players.  We need to be able to find them competition and environments to lead them into, say, an A-League team based in Wellington.  We need to find a solution, where do these guys play when they come back from Canada [the under 20 World Cup] or Korea [under 17]?  If they aren't in the NZFC they’ll be at schools or in a Northern or Central League and that’s not good enough to prepare them to be competitive.  Or else they head to college in the United States and we lose sight of them for three years.”

Add to the mix New Zealand born players representing other nations at junior level, Winston Reid in Denmark and Michael McGlinchey at Celtic spring to mind, and the possibility of an entirely New Zealand born team in the A-League doesn't seem so far fetched.  Especially now that a more prominent national team may act as a carrot to attract these guys home, as happened with Chris James.

“That would be a pretty cool outcome.  I'm not sure that it will happen in my time though!”

Aside from All White success in Europe in 2006, Herbert’s stocks rose rapidly after orchestrating a major turnaround at the Knights.  Herbert is quick to acknowledge the role played by others in the coaching staff who helped him.  But the formation of a plan to change a losing culture, and the execution of that plan, lay with the man himself.  Herbert drew on his own playing experiences in order to stop the rot.

“I fully understand the disappointment of a team that is losing every week.  We wanted to erode everything that had occurred through a completely different way of playing.  We didn't want to be sitting back absorbing the damage, we wanted to attack and be competitive to show that we deserved a professional side.  And we wanted to give that responsibility to the players.”

Undoubtedly the Knights played a more attractive brand of football after Herbert's appointment and the team spirit demonstrated during that period surpassed anything seen before by a New Zealand team in the A-League.  It is worth considering that had those results been different the FFA could well have headed to Townsville immediately rather than give New Zealand its second chance.

As we depart I feel like we've only scratched the surface of the intricacies of the footballing landscape in New Zealand.  With a dedication to the game and a desire to do things the right way, New Zealand football seems to be marking a new path towards professionalism and credibility.  New influences, new people and a new club, 2007 is a big one for the game in this country.