Football's man of the moment Ricki Herbert is sticking with both the Wellington Phoenix and the All Whites.Herbert announced his decision to continue his dual coaching roles at a press conference in Wellington this afternoon.
He will extend his contract with the Wellington Phoenix for three years.
"I'd love to go better, why can't this club go to a grand final?," Herbet said.
Talks are ongoing with New Zealand Football about his role with the All Whites, however the coach said he was keen to aim for the next Football World Cup in Brazil.
He will stay in New Zealand for at least three more years.
That's absolutely brilliant. We don't know if there have been any offers placed on the table in front of Herbert, but if there have been, he's not interested. Football in New Zealand could have made giant strides after the 1982 World Cup, but NZ Football got rid of John Adshead and Kevin Fallon, the momentum of 1981-82 was lost, and the game went backwards.
We hope that Herbert and New Zealand Soccer can come to terms as soon as possible, and that Herbert can start to get the All Whites some matches against quality opposition. The future is truly bright for the game in New Zealand, and today's announcements will only add to the good vibes.
In the meantime, it's only a month until the Nix's first home game against Gold Coast United, and we can all remember what happened last time THEY were at the Ring of Fire! Rugby is still our first love, and that will never change, but it's great to see football in such good heart.
3 comments:
Agree with almost everything in your post. It is fantastic to have Herbert back, although he there are plenty of good coaches out there, especially for the All Whites.
Cant agree that Soccer NZ got it wrong after 1982. I think they did the best that they could, with limited resources. Now is different as soccer has more of a strong footing and foundation, epsecially with younger people so we should see some development.
The trouble is our isolation. All of our good players are overseas and paid by clubs and there is still no real pathway to pro football unless you go by yourself. Therefore to get them to come and play, even in the international window will be hard.
When we were in the UK (2006) we went and watched the All Whites play Charlton, although about 15 of the top players were missing. That will be the order of the day if you ask me.
NZ soccer has some interesting decisions to make and it will be interesting which way they go. Puching for a spot in the Asian qualifying league would be good, but would make it harder getting to the World Cup. Staying were we are doesn't give us competition but gives us an easier ride to the World Cup finals.
RH is clearly waiting for Sir Alex to retire - United being the only other team worthy of his talents ;)
Call me a cynic if you like and my memory may be failing but, isn't this exactly what John Adshead wanted to do after Spain in 1982.
Was he not `shafted' from within NZ Soccer?
Herbert had better watch his back.
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