Football: Auckland's oh so close loss has a real upside

Sport Editor - Digital·NZ Herald·

18 Dec, 2014 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Ryan De Vries (centre) celebrates his assist for Angel Berlanga's goal against San Lorenzo, on the way to Auckland City's narrow extra-time loss. Photo / AP

Superb show against A-class team will send sport’s stocks up, and club’s bank account

It may be hard for Auckland City to ever accept just how close they came to making the Fifa Club World Cup final.

The achievement of a team made up of amateurs and semi-professionals in just reaching the semifinal was extraordinary, almost unimaginable, but one day, after all the congratulatory dust has settled, they may find themselves wondering about what might have been.

Four things we learned from Auckland City's run

Auckland came within one mis-hit shot of creating one of the greatest underdog stories in New Zealand sporting history.

With 15 minutes to go, and after clawing their way back from 1-0 down against South America's best club side, Auckland striker Emiliano Tade found himself with a golden opportunity to win the game and set up a final with the world's greatest team, Real Madrid.

It sounds like a scene from Roy of the Rovers, but as the Argentine found himself one-on-one with the San Lorenzo goalkeeper, he fluffed his lines.

He scuffed his shot from inside the box and the ball bobbled agonisingly wide. San Lorenzo went on to score the winner in extra time, and the dream was over.

But this fairy-tale run still has something of a happy ending. Auckland earned universal praise for their performances at the tournament and their professional displays will benefit players, management, New Zealand Football and the club's bank account.

Auckland's run also captured the interest of the nation, and the ASB Premiership side's seven days of fame have exposed the country to the talent our domestic league possesses.

Coach Ramon Tribulietx put on another tactical masterclass. His stock has skyrocketed throughout the tournament and his ability to map out winning strategies against world-class opposition is a commodity which will not have gone unnoticed.

"We're the moral victors," Tribulietx said. "We had the chance to win the game in normal time.

"My players are obviously devastated because we came so close to winning. We're very proud of the way we played today and we'll remember it for a long time.

"We were brave, had a lot of possession against the South American champions and showed we can compete at this high level and play good football.

"I'm very proud of my players. They deserved to win today. It's fantastic to be at this tournament and show the world what we're capable of," Tribulietx said.

As the second half of regulation time wore on, Auckland looked the more likely side to pinch the win. They held 57 per cent of possession, had the better chances and played like a team with the least to lose.

Auckland's international back four once again put in an impressive shift, and Tade, Ryan De Vries and Tim Payne also performed way above their pay grade on the world stage.

Auckland still have a lot to play for.

They will now prepare for a third and fourth playoff on Sunday morning against Mexican side Cruz Azul with another big purse at stake.

Fourth place at the tournament takes home $2.57 million, third pockets $3.21 million, making it a $640,000 game.