Former All Whites coach Danny Hay is joining Auckland FC as an assistant coach. Photo / Photosport
Former All Whites coach Danny Hay is joining Auckland FC as an assistant coach. Photo / Photosport
Former All Whites coach Danny Hay is stepping back into football in this country.
Hay has agreed terms with new A-League club Auckland FC and will be an assistant under head coach Steve Corica.
It’s a fresh chapter for the 48-year-old, following his unsavoury exit from the national team in October 2022 after a controversial review process. The review, conducted by sports lawyer Don Mackinnon, was believed to be mostly positive, after a period where the team had made significant progress before narrowly missing qualification for the 2022 Fifa World Cup after the single-leg loss to Costa Rica.
But New Zealand Football determined that Hay would have to reapply for his job, citing concerns raised by some players about the environment, along with a lack of alignment between the All Whites and the national body.
Hay – perhaps sensing a stacked deck – decided to walk away. He has since been based in Western Australia, partly to allow his wife to spend time with her Perth-based family and also for a break from the New Zealand scene.
Since last May he has been head coach at Perth Soccer Club, who compete in the National Premier League, the top tier of Australian state football.
But the Herald understands Hay has been in discussions with the fledgling Auckland club for some time.
He has a long association with Corica, going back to the early 2000s, when they both played at Walsall FC. Hay made 51 appearances for the Saddlers in the English second tier between 2002 and 2005, while Corica had 81 games at the East Midlands club in the same period.
They came close to working together in 2019, when Corica was still at Sydney FC. There was a vacant assistant position and Hay was believed to be in the mix, before he eventually took the All Whites position.
This move appears to make sense for both parties.
For Hay, it’s a chance to get a foothold as a coach in the professional game. He has a lot of international experience – from the All Whites to national age-group sides – but his club work has only been at domestic level with Eastern Suburbs, after a long stint running the football programme at Sacred Heart College.
It’s a chance to learn and grow - and who knows what opportunities could arise within billionaire owner Bill Foley’s portfolio of clubs across Europe.
For his part, Hay will bring extensive knowledge of the Kiwi talent pool, both here and overseas. His presence will help with the recruitment of some players, while his ideas about style of play broadly fit with Corica.
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica. Photo / Photosport
The Australian still has one more assistant to confirm, along with a goalkeeping coach. Former All Whites and Phoenix goalkeeping assistant Jonathan Gould is believed to be the frontrunner for the latter role.
At last week’s launch of the name and kit, Corica told the Herald the team have nine confirmed players, with seven from this country and two from Australia. The locals are believed to include Michael Woud, Cameron Howieson and Francis De Vries – who have all represented the All Whites – along with age-group internationals Luis Toomey and Jesse Randall.
Though Corica wouldn’t disclose any names, Marco Rojas remains a prime target, with the winger back in Australasia after a spell in Chile with Colo Colo.
United States-based defenders Michael Boxall and Bill Tuiloma are also seen as possible recruits, though they may be difficult to land for the inaugural season, given the timeframes and contract situation.
”We are happy with where things are at,” said Corica. “We are making good progress.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
