HAMISH BIDWELL
It was the kind of moment that really deserved a guard of honour.
As Martin Akers made his tearful exit from Park Island on Saturday, not only his Hawke's Bay United teammates but Waikato FC should have lined the tunnel to clap the champion off.
Because whether they know it or not, every player in the New Zealand Football Championship owes Akers a huge debt of gratitude.
In an era where money and individual glory are becoming king, the former All White has shown us all that football at this level isn't about what's in it for you - it's about loving the game and giving everything for your club.
And over 20 years Akers has certainly done that. Through the good times, and this season's bad, he's earned his place as a Park Island legend.
That's easy to do in good teams that are always winning trophies - and Akers has done his fair share of that - but to come out of retirement at 37 to play for a team struggling to win a game, let alone a title, takes a special bloke.
So if he really was taking his final bow at home after Saturday's 4-2 loss, then he should've done so with a huge amount of pride. With Akers at the heart of everything, Hawke's Bay played their best match of the season and deserved much more than their 17th loss of the season.
Referee Stephen Fletcher did them no favours with a diabolical display and his blunders led directly to three of Waikato's goals. But it was Akers' day and the focus deserves to be on him.
"I didn't want to play this year but when the team wasn't doing that well, I thought I might be able to inspire them a bit at training," Akers said.
"When I got asked to play, I was like 'oh my' "It has been hard at times but Jonny (Gould) and Perry (Cotton) before him have done a good job but, if you look at the players we've got, we just haven't got that class. We haven't scored enough goals either and I'm just not quick enough to do it any more.
"I can run all day and kick people but I'm not sharp enough and everyone knows that and it's too easy to mark me. But it was a good decision by Jonny to move me to the back and I've been able to provide a lot more talk from there.
"I hate losing and I'm gutted when we do and I'm not sure if that was why I was in tears coming off. I don't know whether that was my emotion towards the club - or because we'd lost - but it was me through and through.
"I love this place and I love football and while I haven't been able to make a living out of it, I've been able to make a lifestyle and that's what suits me. I can can anywhere in the country and meet up with someone and have a coffee or a beer and that's pretty good."
A man who prefers to teach through deed, rather than word, Akers will again playing in Napier City Rovers' youth team this winter, where he and Karl Bauerfeind have had great success at bringing young players through.
SOCCER: Marty Akers says farewell
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