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New Zealand has a strange relationship with football. Our
undying love affair with the oval ball means that it rarely does better
than a solid third in the winter code rankings, and for long stretches
our national team performs its duties away from the limelight in front
of the true believers. But in the depths of this winter the round ball
is undeniably in the ascendant, and in large part that's down to the
belief and smarts of one man.
Ricky Herbert was just 21 when New Zealand last made the
FIFA World Cup Finals in 1982, but his tender years didn't prevent him
being part of the dream run to Spain. Now, nearly thirty years on, he
finds himself in the unique position of being a core part of the
national team's second appearance at the world's biggest sporting event.
Barkers is the Official Formal Wear Supplier to the 2010
All Whites, and we managed to sit down with the All Whites coach for
twenty minutes prior to the team's departure last weekend, a few hours
before they headed out on a whirlwind tour which has seen the perform
creditably against in a last minute loss to Australia (a game which even
Australian commentators said we were unlucky to lose) and snatch an
incredible 1-0 victory over Serbia, a side ranked 15th in the world.
While Herbert drank herbal tea sweetened with honey we
plied him with questions about his coaching philosophies, the road to
the Finals, the rise of the Phoenix and his time with the great Mt
Wellington football teams of the '70s and '80s.
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Posted:
1 Jun 10, 12:00 a.m.
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After appearing on the New Zealand cricket
scene as a gangly, precocious spin bowler in the late ‘90s, Daniel Vettori has
slowly but surely risen through the ranks to become by far our most valuable
player. The thoughtful, multi-talented cricketer sat down with his casual wear
sponsor Barkers for an exclusive interview late last year.
By Duncan Greive
There’s a palpable change in the atmosphere
when Daniel Luca Vettori strides into the lobby of the Wellington hotel where
he and the rest of the New Zealand cricket are holed up ahead of the second
test with Pakistan in early December 2009. For the past twenty minutes I’ve sat
and watched players like Grant Elliott and Shane Bond wander past without
drawing much attention. They’re stars in their own right, but when Vettori
enters the room everyone stops for a moment, their eyes drawn to the player who
has become the very core of a nation’s cricketing fortunes.
Even allowing for the talismanic strength
of All Black captain Richie McCaw and the infinite finesse of first five Daniel
Carter, there is no one in New Zealand sport who dominates their code quite
like Daniel Vettori. At that stage the 30-year-old was the team’s key bowler,
its best batsman, the captain, a selector and the team’s temporary coach, a
role that eventually went to Mark Greatbatch without the captain ceding much
authority.
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Posted:
6 Apr 10, 12:00 a.m.
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