Photo Credit: Lars Baron – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
WORDS| Coen Lammers
The amateur footballers of Auckland City shocked the footballing world a decade ago when they beat the champions of Africa and North America, getting agonisingly close to a place in the final of the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup™ against Real Madrid.
Ivan Vicelich gets a smile on his face every time he glances at the photo on his wall, standing next to footballing legends Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo to receive the Bronze Ball as their third-best player ten years ago in Morocco.
The Auckland City captain only has special memories of the greatest moment in OFC club football history when his team beat Cruz Azul in the Playoff for 3rd place.
“Looking at that photo is a bit surreal and brings back great memories of an incredible time that will live with all of us forever,” says the current assistant coach at the Auckland club.
“That time in Morocco was just magic. We all had a great tournament as a team, the players and the staff, and made me so proud to be part of that team. To get the tap on the shoulder to say you need to line up for a personal award was just another cherry on top of the cake.
“It was a special moment for the club, for me, my family and my kids who look at that photo and find it hard to believe how some kid from West Auckland ended up on the podium with two legends of the game.”
Auckland City are the record champions of the OFC Men’s Champions League and regular participants at the FIFA Club World Cup™ and will again be part of the revamped new 32-team tournament in the United States in a group alongside FC Bayern Munich, SL Benfica and CA Boca Juniors. Expectations for the team in June against these footballing giants are modest, just as they were back in 2014.
The OFC champions often have to play a qualifying match against a host club to advance to the main draw of the tournament, and on December 10 2014, lined up for their opening match against Moroccan champions Moghreb Tétouan.
The 35,000 local fans in the packed Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat expected a walkover but were getting restless as the staunch New Zealanders resisted Moroccan attacks.
“I remember it was a tough game under very difficult conditions. We were under a lot of pressure, but didn’t give away many chances and grew into the game.
“We had played a couple of really good build-up matches in the preparation and came into the first match with a bit of momentum. The longer the match went on, they were getting desperate that they couldn’t break down a little team from New Zealand.”
The Auckland defence hung onto their clean sheet to earn a penalty shoot-out in which goalkeeper Tamati Williams saved the first penalty from Ahmed Jahouh before Mehti Khallati hit the post to gift the Kiwis an improbable victory.
“It was a huge result for us,” says the 88-time New Zealand international.
Vicelich says it was a challenge for the team to get back to earth from such a high and focus on their second match against ES Sétif only three days later.
The African champions would have been warned, but still were caught out from a corner on the stroke of half-time when former English youth international John Irving smashed home from the edge of the box.
“I don’t remember all the stats, but I do remember we had a few chances and didn’t give too much away. The Moroccans in the stands actually started supporting us as they could see a surprise on the cards, which was nice because near the end of the game, as expected, the African champions were throwing everything at us.”
If the first victory was a one-off glitch of the form-book, the victory over ES Sétif put Auckland City firmly in the spotlight.
“All of a sudden this little team from New Zealand was in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup. It was incredible and suddenly people started taking notice. They started asking about our jobs because many of the team had nine-to-five jobs, among others there were sales reps, teachers and a lawyer in our squad.”
Vicelich says Auckland City had put the world on notice at the 2009 tournament after beating Emirati club Al-Ahli and CAF champions TP Mazembe in the Play off for fifth place, but the 2014 campaign truly announced the New Zealanders on a global stage.
“We were the first team from New Zealand in a semi-final of a FIFA event, so it definitely sent some ripples through the footballing world and I am really proud of that moment.
“Although it was a surprise to everyone, we knew we had quality in the squad and had been playing together for a long time with underlining belief that we could compete, but now we were up now against San Lorenzo who are a powerhouse in the history of football which again was a bit surreal.”
The semi-final in Marrakech followed a predictable script when Pablo Barrientos put the Argentinians ahead just before half-time, but once again the Kiwis refused to lie down and Spanish import Angel Berlanga finishes off a sweeping move level the score with 20 minutes play.
“I remember the incredible goal from Angel vividly, it sent us into celebrations and got us back in the game and that Emiliano Tade nearly put us 2-1 in the final moments of the game.”
Vicelich recalls how San Lozenzo brought on more of their big guns and got their breakthrough early in extra-time when Mauro Matos scored the eventual winner.
“We tried to fight back and we even hit the post, but we didn’t quite have it in the legs in that final part of extra-time in the third game.”
Despite the disappointment of coming within a whisper of reaching a final against Real Madrid, Vicelich says the team used their performances as motivation for the Playoff for 3rd place against CONCACAF champions Cruz Azul.
“We were on a ride and I think the momentum carried on. We realised we were mixing it with the top teams in the world and for many moments in the game we were matching it with them and creating New Zealand sporting history.”
The Playoff for 3rd place on December 20 was played as the curtain raiser for the final and Vicelich remembers the huge crowd of nearly 40,000 at the Stade de Marrakech getting behind the underdogs from Oceania.
Vicelich says his team were playing with boundless confidence and they took the lead on the stroke of half-time, when Ryan de Vries finished off a pinpoint pass from Emiliano Tade.
“It’s an amazing feeling when you’re on that ride through a tournament and you see the quality the players can adapt to and everyone just starts demanding the high standards. Then you start saying to yourselves as players, ‘we’ve done so well, so why can’t we get a result here?’”
After the break, the Mexicans laid siege to the Auckland goal and Joao Rojas equalised near the hour-mark, but again the exhausted, courageous amateurs managed to hang on for another penalty shoot-out.
Stand-in goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley wrote himself into history with a terrific save to deny Ismael Valadez before Sanni Issa slotted a winning penalty for the second time in the tournament.
“What I remember from that shootout was James Pritchett rocketing his penalty in the top corner. He had been such a great servant for the club for so many years but had not played much that tournament, so it was nice to see him step up and score that incredible penalty.”
The success with Auckland City came only four years after Vicelich had been part of the undefeated All Whites side at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa and says both tournaments were special, but for different reasons.
“You can’t compare them. I’m just very proud to have been involved with both those moments. The tournament in 2010 was with an incredible bunch of guys who had played together in various youth national teams and club teams over such a long time, and it was amazing to come together and create history with some great results in the playoff vs Bahrain and World Cup in South Africa.
“The 2014 tournament was slightly different because my family have such a strong personal connection with the club. The road to qualify for the Club World Cup is long and difficult and every year Champions League football in Oceania is improving. We had lot of close games and went through tough conditions to qualify. So you really need to praise the club, the squad and the staff, how they put those campaigns together”
When asked about the strength of the 2014 Auckland City squad, Vicelich says the team was built on resilience, hard work and the belief in high standards.
“We had a mix of many unique players from different pockets of the world who were dreaming of playing football at a high level with a never-say-die attitude.”
He singles out coach Ramon Tribulietx as instrumental in preparing the game plans to combat their illustrious opponents.
“Ramon had been with us for four, five years and helped redesign our style of play to be able to compete at the higher levels outside of New Zealand. His attention to detail and demand for high standards from himself and others created an environment which helped take the club to where it is today.”
These days, Vicelich is in the dug-out himself as assistant to Head Coach Albert Riera and hopes the spirit and stories of 2014 will inspire the new generation to overcome the odds against Bayern Munich, Boca Juniors and Benfica at the FIFA Club World Cup™ next year.
“We are proud to fly the flag for Auckland City and for Oceania on the world stage and there’s a few of us around the squad from 2014 that will bring their experience to the event as well.”
He says that next year will be a chance to match it with the best in the world and for some players, to possibly earn a professional contract overseas.
“It’s a possible stepping stone for some of our players to greater heights in football and without a doubt it will be a dream come true for them to compete at this tournament. The pathway there is very difficult, but we have shown them anything’s possible.”