'Supreme underdog' - Why Auckland City supporters are enthusiastically spending big traversing the U.S. to watch their 5,074th-ranked team lose at the Club World Cup

The narrative around Auckland City seems easy to construct. They are, by some distance, the smallest club at the CWC. The team was founded in 2004 and their home stadium, Kiwitea Street, has a capacity of just 3,500 - it was a public park until the early 1980s. Opta’s power rankings the team as the 5,074th-best team in the world.

Their route to qualifying, too, has been criticized in some quarters. They qualified due to their recent success in the Oceania Champions League, in which they have beaten teams from Fiji, Tahiti, and Papa New Guinea.

“We kind of relish that,” Shaw said. “We know what we are. We are that supreme underdog. And we've been trying to explain it to a lot of Americans that we've met along the way.”

But they aren't exactly strangers to this stage. Auckland City have played in the CWC 12 times over the years - and even won a handful of games. They have beaten two African teams, two Asian teams, and pushed Mexican giants Cruz Azul all the way to penalties in 2014.

“I went to the seven-team format for the first time to watch Auckland City, and they were completely out of their depth,” Dennis Katsanos, unofficial club photographer, said. “By 2014, they finished third. This format is just another step up.”

Shaw and others have routinely traveled to the tournament, following the team as far as Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

“Usually the Club World Cup for us is “Go up for a week. If you win the first game, you get to stay, otherwise you go home,’ ” Shaw said. “It's quite hard to organize a large group. Plenty of individual people have done it through the club, but this is the first time we've actually had a proper organized tour where people paid their money.”

This summer, of course, is different. The CWC has been expanded from seven teams to 32. The United States is an arduously long journey away from their native New Zealand - and also involves significant travel even after arriving in the U.S.

But perhaps more importantly, the matchups are far trickier. Auckland City picked up effectively the most difficult draw possible, with Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Boca Juniors all in their group. Some would be intimidated. Auckland were delighted.

“When we got drawn against Bayern, Benfica, and Boca, it was unreal,” left back Nathan Lobo said. “Everyone was so happy. Of course, we knew that it was going to be a big challenge, but to even be sharing the field with these types of players is crazy for us. It’s a dream come true.”

That may be hard to comprehend, especially given losses - big losses - were all but inevitable. But Lobo stressed that they are a semi-pro team. And for some of them, they were playing with their heroes. Goalkeeper Conor Tracey - full-time job, pharmaceutical warehouse worker - is one such example. He had grown up idolizing Bayern’s Manuel Neuer.

After the game, he got to meet the legendary German goalkeeper and had a lengthy chat with Bayern’s goalkeeping coach. It didn't matter that he allowed 10 goals, he wanted to soak in every minute, learn from the world's best. And, it’s those micro experiences that the team will hold onto.

And what a strange team this is. They have generated plenty of social media buzz for the fact that most of them have full-time jobs. One of the players is a regional manager for a tool company. Another is a sales representative.

They have a number of university students in their squad. Jeremy Foo is on a pre-med track and had to miss multiple training sessions in order to take virtual exams. Lobo just graduated with a degree in food and science nutrition. He is supposed to be preparing for a master's degree and ultimately training to become a dietitian.

But when he told the university that he had to spend time away to play in the Oceania Champions League, first, and then the Club World Cup, they determined that he simply couldn’t squeeze in the number of in-person hours required for his training.

“We decided that I wasn't really going to meet the placement hours needed, because we have to do some ridiculous amount of hours in the hospital for placement. So yeah, we decided that I would have to give it up this year,” Lobo explained.

In the meantime, he’s got a “work-around” plan. He’s not unique in that respect. While most of the club are - yes, we know - employed full-time in professions other than soccer, plenty of them take time to volunteer.

Some coach soccer at a local school, Mount Roskill Intermediate. It's not in a poor area, but the kids there are hardly well off. Students have the option to use one of their class periods to kick a ball around with the local team. Players take time out of their own day to do it for free.

“It kind of keeps them out of trouble at school,” Lobo said. “They get to come out of their class and play football and engage with each other, and play sports. And I think through sports that they're able to kind of get rid of any negative emotions and just kind of play freely.”

Few of them are natural footballers, Lobo said. Yes, there is soccer involved, but oftentimes, they play modified versions of kickball or other games.

“It's my definition of the good of the game, how this club wanted to raise the standard but also give back to the community, so other clubs and other, you know, other entities could be as good,” Katsanos said.

Shaw admittedly didn’t enjoy the first 20 minutes of the Bayern loss. The lineups came out, and the Bavarians went full strength, starting much of the same side that won the Bundesliga last season. And they played like it, too. They needed six minutes to break the deadlock. By the 20th, they were up 4-0.

But for Shaw, the spectacle was enough.

“Watching those Bayern players up close and how good, how strong, how fast they are… it was just such a great day,” he said. “Even though the score was painful, we’re going to have these memories of what our boys did.”

Bayern, for their part, made sure that they weren’t giving up. Vincent Kompany screamed at his side for 90 minutes. Harry Kane went scoreless (something the team remain immensely proud of). He was hooked, and replaced by Jamal Musiala - who swiftly scored a hat-trick in 17 minutes. After the game, Michael Olise was asked if he felt sorry for Auckland. His response: “No.”

To Auckland, that was a compliment.

“'It’s a professional tournament, and professional standards need to be upheld,” Lobo said. “And I feel like that's just a sign of respect. Of course, it doesn't sound nice, and maybe the way and tone he said it in. But yeah, it's just a sign of respect.”

The fans, more broadly, simply appreciated the effort. Shaw lauded the fact that “the boys never stopped running” and remarked on their professionalism throughout. These are, admittedly, small victories, but it’s all a matter of perspective. These are moments that will last.

Two days after the Bayern loss, the supporters met for breakfast. The mood was one of elation. It was among the best days of the club’s history, they say, a touchpoint in their journey. Auckland City have played big teams before in the CWC, nearly shocking professional outfits on a number of occasions. They know what it’s like to come up against some of the best Asian or Middle Eastern sides, but this was a European giant.

Since then, they have dispersed, enjoying something of an American holiday. Despite the immense money spent on trips, it’s all still a bit ragtag. Supporters are splitting Airbnbs and spending weeks on end on the road. One fan called GOAL using his friend’s car WiFi.

Bigger picture, there remains an issue of prize money. The Athletic reported that Auckland City will earn $3.6 million for participating, regardless of result. That would be an immense windfall for a club that relies on fans to pull pints in the clubhouse on the weekend.

What, exactly, happens remains to be seen. The New Zealand FA has jurisdiction. Some have speculated that the money could go straight to charity. You would imagine that a couple of the players wouldn’t mind pocketing a few extra dollars here and there. Lobo, for his part, said he didn’t know any of the specifics.

Still, that’s not really the point. Fans are taking paid leave from work and dipping into their savings to follow their beloved team. The travel agent that helped book lodgings and flights for Auckland suddenly became invested in the story and opted to take time off to join the trip.

Benfica in Orlando and Boca Juniors in Nashville are next on the schedule for Auckland in the group stage. Those will both be immense fixtures, as well, but again, likely to be losing efforts. Many have suggested that lopsided scorelines hurt the integrity of the tournament.

Frankly, Auckland City don’t care.

By the end of the Bayern game, even the German fans were rooting for them. The New Zealand side had a break here and there, created the odd chance, and showed split seconds of attacking intent. And even though the Bavarians never let up, it’s the kind of fixture, the kind of journey, that the fans who paid big will remember for years.

Their only complaint?

“It would have been nice if it had been nine.”