NZ Soccer and Wynton Rufer begin reconciliation

Just days after the sport was plunged into international oblivion, the shock thawing in relations between the national body and New Zealand's greatest player has offered a glimmer of hope for the future.

As Oceania's player of the century and a member of Fifa's hugely influential players committee, Rufer has the key to doors NZ Soccer could previously only dream of unlocking.

NZ Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan confirmed he had met with the well-connected and highly-decorated former Werder Bremen star in Auckland yesterday to "talk through a whole lot of issues".

"I've always said I'd rather have Wynton inside the game than outside of it and we're working towards that," MacGowan said.

"We really talked about what Wynton wants to do? Does he want to be on the board, does he want to coach, does he want to be an ambassador?

"He's got some ideas and I've got some ideas and we're going to develop those over the next couple of days."

While details of Rufer's involvement will not be confirmed till after NZ Soccer's next board meeting on June 23, it is understood he has no interest in coaching the All Whites in the wake of their embarrassing World Cup elimination last week.

Rufer said he preferred not to comment till something was official but agreed it was "good news" for the game after New Zealand's Oceania Nations Cup "nightmare" in Adelaide.

Yesterday's peace talks come less than a month after Rufer wrote to NZ Soccer and Fifa to voice his dismay at what he described as the "petty" and "small-minded" treatment of his independent Wyners youth academy by the national body.

Adored in Germany but never fully appreciated in New Zealand for his achievements in the football hotbed that is Europe, Rufer has not always endeared himself to Kiwi soccer officialdom with his outspoken views.

But exposure to his technical nous, unyielding passion and influence among the game's most powerful men is a timely coup for an administration in the firing line after the All Whites' humiliating loss to Vanuatu last week.

Rufer returned this week from Fifa's recent centenary celebrations in Paris. They coincided with the world governing body's annual congress at which MacGowan was present.

Crowdie

 

One of the issues we have is that funding for sport in New Zealand comes through a body called Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC). SPARC classifies soccer as a "participation sport" so it gets no elite performance funding. What this means is that NZ Soccer is forced to run on extremely low funding and this was seen when Turkey came down under and Australia was able to easily out bid New Zealand for the rights to play Turkey. NZ Soccer CEO Bill MacGowan has said that NZ Soccer would have been financially ruined if they had out bid Australia.

Crowdie

 

Wynton Rufer ponders English premier league offer

Wynton Rufer has not ruled out chasing the All Whites coaching job in the future but may first take an unexpected detour into the cut-throat world of English premier league management.

Oceania's player of the century has revealed he is considering an offer to assist Greek national coach Otto Rehhagel at an unnamed English premiership club for the next northern hemisphere season.

The deal hinges on Rehhagel deciding to take the reins at the club once Greece, who upset hosts Portugal 2-1 in last Sunday's European Championship opener, are eliminated from the tournament.

Rehhagel was Rufer's coach at German Bundesliga giants Werder Bremen for 5-1/2 years and again for six months at FC Kaiserslautern.

It is not the first time the 62-year-old has sought Rufer's assistance, reputedly offering the former All Whites striker and Football Kingz coach a five-year deal worth almost $60,000 a month to be his right-hand man at Kaiserslautern in 1997.

Rufer said the timing then was not right but insists he would seriously consider Rehhagel's offer if the German legend was England-bound.

"I'm really passionate about what I'm doing with the youth here but you'd have to consider an offer like that," Rufer said.

"I actually honestly haven't asked Otto which club it is because I've got such a good relationship with him and I trust him.

"At the end of the day the premier league is so attractive . . . any of the clubs would be good there."

Rufer has not dismissed chasing the All Whites job in the long-term, even though his experience at the Kingz had taught him coaching at the top flight of New Zealand football was hardly worth the "hassle", especially as "you don't get a king's ransom like you do overseas".

But Rufer insists his immediate focus will be youth development now that his long-running and frosty relationship with New Zealand Soccer has thawed.

A member of Fifa's powerful players committee, Rufer believes New Zealand must focus on skill development of 5-12 year old's if it ever hopes to close the gap on Australia and avoid a repeat of this month's embarrassing Oceania Nations Cup loss to Vanuatu.

"It's only about skills, nothing else," he said.

"At under-17 level were only rated fourth in Oceania, we don't even compare with Australia and even teams like the Solomons, we don't have a football culture like they do.

"That's why it's the very young players we need to work with, the 5-12 year old's, because after that NZ Soccer has got a pretty good structure in place."

Rufer revealed former All White and now NZ Soccer board member Sam Malcolmson had brokered the meeting with NZ Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan last week that had led to him rejoining the establishment.

"I guess the Vanuatu game was the thing that broke the camel's back," Rufer said.

"Sam rang me and said, `How about a meeting with Bill MacGowan?' and I said, `yeah, no problem'.

"It was very simple actually."

Crowdie