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Interview: New Zealand's Herbert Happy With Low Confed Cup Expectations
New Zealand are looking to surprise a few people over the next few weeks.
Jun 9, 2009 10:07:11 PM
New Zealand are better known for rugby than football, but the All Whites will get their chance to show the world what they can do when it comes to the beautiful game over the next two weeks.
Oceania's champions will face hosts South Africa, Asian title-holders Iraq and Europe's top dogs Spain in the Confederations Cup.
Coach Ricki Herbert found time to talk to Goal.com before jetting to Africa.
Does it annoy you that you are always seen as outsiders or does it take the pressure off?
I think it’s the latter. We are certainly going to go to South Africa with no expectations from people around the world but that positions us nicely. We have a strong internal expectation from us to be very credible and we will be looking to achieve that at this tournament.
So there’s a danger that other teams could underestimate you?
I think so. I think that will be the general feeling although round the world there are close encounters between a lot of countries at the highest level.
The injury to captain Ryan Nelsen must be a blow for you?
It’s a massive blow. He’s a fantastic player and he plays at that level of competition week in, week out and that experience is invaluable. We’re going to miss that. His leadership presence around the team is also going to be sorely missed. But we have to move on and now there are opportunities for other players, perhaps a little earlier than expected but that’s what we have to do.
Nelsen’s Blackburn team-mate, Benni McCarthy, will not be in the South African team. Are you happy about that?
I wouldn’t say that I was happy about it. From a quality point of view then Benni is obviously right up there. We played a sort of ‘B’ international against Blackburn a couple of years ago and he was excellent. From a personal point of view, I think he is an excellent player. It is not my issue as to why he is not playing. But from a team point of view it is probably better that a player of that stature is not in the team.
South Africans are used to battling against the All Blacks in rugby, but how will the All Whites fare against Bafana?
I am pleased you’ve touched on that because I think this is going to be a great opportunity. Not only in rugby, but right across all sporting codes, there is a huge respect from both countries and I will suggest that it is going to be no different on a football side of things too. I am really looking forward to the game.
Obviously, they are the host nation and there will be a big crowd and we are looking to do ourselves proud as well.
It works both ways; the pressure could be on them.
I think it will be fairly and squarely on them. They will be hosting the World Cup 12 months later and there will be some massive expectations from the home country to do extremely well. So I am sure they will want to see those signs at the Confederations Cup so the pressure will be on them and not us.
How much do you know about Iraq?
We’ve studied the Asian group extremely closely given our route in World Cup qualification. We know that Iraq are an evolving team and are perhaps in a transition period. They’ll be right up there challenging. Again, for them it is an opportunity to show what they can do on the world stage and they won’t be taking that lightly. It’ll give us, a strong indication of where we sit before the qualifiers in October.
Who is Iraq’s dangerman?
I wouldn’t single any individual player out. I think they are undergoing some current changes. I think their players will be wanting to play extremely well. They are regrouping and rebuilding and they can hit you on the rebound. We are in a similar position too as we look towards October and the Confederations Cup can show us what we need to do.
And then of course, Spain. What does it mean to play the team that is probably the best in the world?
This is going to be a pinnacle for players, coaching staff etc and I think it is just fantastic for the game in New Zealand. The majority of the players play in the best competitions in the world and for the people in New Zealand, they watch them on television. To see their own national team play against them will make the whole thing seem real, that it is possible for us to play the best team in the world and we are going to play them in a few weeks’ time.
Can you get a good result against them? What would be a good result?
That’s the million dollar question. We can talk about credibility and respectability. One thing that we need to be clear about is that we have got to keep our pride in our hearts to the end of the tournament, moving forward to October and our bid to qualify for the World Cup.
To what extent is the Confederations Cup a warm-up for the play-offs in October?
It’s massive stepping stone and a good platform for us. The quality of opposition is there for all to see, including warm-up games with Italy, Botswana and Tanzania that we have. It is so difficult for us to get the team together.
This is a three-week period of time that we will really cherish, maximize and use every little second to hopefully get into a position to where we are right because we may not get together until October. We are not close to other countries and we don’t play 30-odd games a year.
This is twofold for us. We want to go there and do well. We have never won a game there before. We have objectives but we can’t lose sight of October as well.
Is it better for New Zealand to play an Asian team in the play-off as opposed to a South American team as in the past?
I wouldn’t suggest either route is any easier but I think it is a reflection that it took Australia three or four attempts to get through the South American route. They are looking a lot more comfortable in the Asian region. There’s a small indicator there. I think both pathways are difficult but I think we can say that all teams are very good.
As a football man, would you consider following Australia into the AFC?
It’s a multi-million dollar question. Long-term I think it would serve our players extremely well – the competition, the intensity, the quantity and quality of games. Long-term it would be very beneficial and I think we have seen that with some of the younger Australian teams that haven’t managed to qualify.
Short-term, if we can make it through Oceania then our national team can make it but just as importantly our youth teams will be able to make the youth world cup.
From a personal point of view and as the game grows and develops and we need to be stronger then there is some debate on this.
John Duerden, Asia Editor, john.duerden@goal.com
Oceania's champions will face hosts South Africa, Asian title-holders Iraq and Europe's top dogs Spain in the Confederations Cup.
Coach Ricki Herbert found time to talk to Goal.com before jetting to Africa.
Does it annoy you that you are always seen as outsiders or does it take the pressure off?
I think it’s the latter. We are certainly going to go to South Africa with no expectations from people around the world but that positions us nicely. We have a strong internal expectation from us to be very credible and we will be looking to achieve that at this tournament.
So there’s a danger that other teams could underestimate you?
I think so. I think that will be the general feeling although round the world there are close encounters between a lot of countries at the highest level.
The injury to captain Ryan Nelsen must be a blow for you?
It’s a massive blow. He’s a fantastic player and he plays at that level of competition week in, week out and that experience is invaluable. We’re going to miss that. His leadership presence around the team is also going to be sorely missed. But we have to move on and now there are opportunities for other players, perhaps a little earlier than expected but that’s what we have to do.
Nelsen’s Blackburn team-mate, Benni McCarthy, will not be in the South African team. Are you happy about that?
I wouldn’t say that I was happy about it. From a quality point of view then Benni is obviously right up there. We played a sort of ‘B’ international against Blackburn a couple of years ago and he was excellent. From a personal point of view, I think he is an excellent player. It is not my issue as to why he is not playing. But from a team point of view it is probably better that a player of that stature is not in the team.
South Africans are used to battling against the All Blacks in rugby, but how will the All Whites fare against Bafana?
I am pleased you’ve touched on that because I think this is going to be a great opportunity. Not only in rugby, but right across all sporting codes, there is a huge respect from both countries and I will suggest that it is going to be no different on a football side of things too. I am really looking forward to the game.
Obviously, they are the host nation and there will be a big crowd and we are looking to do ourselves proud as well.
It works both ways; the pressure could be on them.
I think it will be fairly and squarely on them. They will be hosting the World Cup 12 months later and there will be some massive expectations from the home country to do extremely well. So I am sure they will want to see those signs at the Confederations Cup so the pressure will be on them and not us.
How much do you know about Iraq?
We’ve studied the Asian group extremely closely given our route in World Cup qualification. We know that Iraq are an evolving team and are perhaps in a transition period. They’ll be right up there challenging. Again, for them it is an opportunity to show what they can do on the world stage and they won’t be taking that lightly. It’ll give us, a strong indication of where we sit before the qualifiers in October.
Who is Iraq’s dangerman?
I wouldn’t single any individual player out. I think they are undergoing some current changes. I think their players will be wanting to play extremely well. They are regrouping and rebuilding and they can hit you on the rebound. We are in a similar position too as we look towards October and the Confederations Cup can show us what we need to do.
And then of course, Spain. What does it mean to play the team that is probably the best in the world?
This is going to be a pinnacle for players, coaching staff etc and I think it is just fantastic for the game in New Zealand. The majority of the players play in the best competitions in the world and for the people in New Zealand, they watch them on television. To see their own national team play against them will make the whole thing seem real, that it is possible for us to play the best team in the world and we are going to play them in a few weeks’ time.
Can you get a good result against them? What would be a good result?
That’s the million dollar question. We can talk about credibility and respectability. One thing that we need to be clear about is that we have got to keep our pride in our hearts to the end of the tournament, moving forward to October and our bid to qualify for the World Cup.
To what extent is the Confederations Cup a warm-up for the play-offs in October?
It’s massive stepping stone and a good platform for us. The quality of opposition is there for all to see, including warm-up games with Italy, Botswana and Tanzania that we have. It is so difficult for us to get the team together.
This is a three-week period of time that we will really cherish, maximize and use every little second to hopefully get into a position to where we are right because we may not get together until October. We are not close to other countries and we don’t play 30-odd games a year.
This is twofold for us. We want to go there and do well. We have never won a game there before. We have objectives but we can’t lose sight of October as well.
Is it better for New Zealand to play an Asian team in the play-off as opposed to a South American team as in the past?
I wouldn’t suggest either route is any easier but I think it is a reflection that it took Australia three or four attempts to get through the South American route. They are looking a lot more comfortable in the Asian region. There’s a small indicator there. I think both pathways are difficult but I think we can say that all teams are very good.
As a football man, would you consider following Australia into the AFC?
It’s a multi-million dollar question. Long-term I think it would serve our players extremely well – the competition, the intensity, the quantity and quality of games. Long-term it would be very beneficial and I think we have seen that with some of the younger Australian teams that haven’t managed to qualify.
Short-term, if we can make it through Oceania then our national team can make it but just as importantly our youth teams will be able to make the youth world cup.
From a personal point of view and as the game grows and develops and we need to be stronger then there is some debate on this.
John Duerden, Asia Editor, john.duerden@goal.com
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