Chris Rattue: Captain Ryan and the Nelsenites, I salute you

All Whites captain Ryan Nelsen. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The All Whites have hit the sharp end of their World Cup campaign.

Here's a potted history of the glorious journey so far, with a few thoughts and suggestions for the future thrown in, and conveniently squished into a First XI format.

1) Ryan Nelsen is fit

Basically, we don't really have a World Cup team without Captain Ryan. Harsh on the others, you might say, but true. None of the other 31 sides have such a singularly important player, although England's much higher aspirations would be smashed if Wayne Rooney couldn't play and Germany seem to be running up the white flag following Michael Ballack's withdrawal through an injury caused by a shameful tackle.

Nelsen plays at a level way beyond his international comrades. He captains an English Premier League team, while our few other British-based players battle away, even for game time, at lower levels.

When Nelsen crocked his knee in an EPL match, the nation held its breath (okay, an exaggeration, but it should have held its breath). I got the horrible news via a text message at four in the morning. Even the phone looked shaken. A few days later, though, the world was all right again - the injury wasn't too bad.

Nelsen carries the load superbly, as captain, the centre of media attention, and most importantly as the best defender and master organiser on the field. His presence in the camp is crucial.

I can almost certainly speak for the rest of the media in saying he is superb to deal with. The number one tactic for our campaign is this: RYAN NELSEN HAS TO BE THERE. End of story.

2) TV3 secure Winston Reid for the All Whites

Bizarre but true. What more can be said? As they say in our industry, "a good get".

3) Wynton Rufer scores an own goal

As soon as our greatest player started bleating on about youngsters most of us have hardly ever heard of missing out on the All Whites, I thought this: I bet said players graduated from the Wynton Rufer Academy of Fine Soccer Arts. And apparently, some of them did. Solid soccer citizens have long told me that his academy products loom large in Rufer's thinking.

Causing a song and dance around fringe selections was a really bad look for Oceania's finest. If Rufer wanted to raise their prospects and inspire meaningful debate, he should have flung these names about long BEFORE the team was selected. Then we could all have taken a legitimate part in discussions.

In his position, sending the lads off to battle with a few streamers might have been a better idea. "All the best troops - put your bodies on the line for our great and glorious nation", would have served a better purpose, for himself and the All Whites.

The players would have been lifted by that. Instead he once again reminded us that New Zealand soccer has been overly hampered by a load of little self-serving fiefdoms.

Rivalry and self-interest is fantastic for sport, but our footy isn't big enough to stand too much of it at high levels. And this still goes on, rest assured.

4) Tim Brown

You have to really like this bloke. The problem is, he is also in the heart of the midfield, an area identified as our problem position. But putting that aside briefly, Brown comes across as a modest and totally dedicated soccer character who shone as the Phoenix rose in the A-league.

He has stumped up in other ways, organising the PR which resulted in a crescendo when the All Whites beat Bahrain in Wellington, as well as setting up a private off-season All Whites training camp in Melbourne and a charity-based send-off in the capital.

Ben Sigmund is also of this admirable everyman ilk.

If there is one bloke who gets to prove the doubters wrong in South Africa - and hand up, I'm one of those doubters - I hope it is Brown. But he faces a mammoth task. The jump between running an A-league midfield and coming up against top-class professionals is huge. While he can get forward for the Phoenix, Brown appears trapped near his defenders for the All Whites.

I asked Ricki Herbert once if his duties were the same for club and country, and he replied sharply that they were. But many of us don't see that.

5) Aaron Clapham

Came from absolutely nowhere, a truly remarkable story by world soccer terms. A heartwarmer. A fairytale. See Brown above, and subtract for his prospects, though.

How does anyone jump straight from the NZFC to the world stage against Italy?

Herbert has repeatedly said he wants foundations for the future, but the World Cup is not really the place to do this. Clapham's identification should have been left in the too-late basket - the buildup had to identify true World Cup prospects, and test them out, well before the 11th hour.

Clapham is not expected to see World Cup time, but who knows - our midfield resources are exceptionally thin, apparently.

6) Getting thrown out of Kiwitea St

A personal recollection. It can go to your head, this job - what with all the travel, the complimentary sausage rolls, the free pens.

Thankfully, New Zealand Football bumped us back to earth with a crash. Getting turfed out of Auckland City's ground so the Almost All Whites could play the Auks in private was the sort of comedown every hack needs.

This led to a long and lonely walk back to Sandringham Rd - as the public trickled in to watch this secret game - although top-level negotiations got the media ban overturned. A tough job, but someone has to do it.

7) Glen Moss hangs in there

An excellent if difficult decision from Herbert to pick Moss, despite the keeper still having to serve two matches of a ridiculously long four-match ban that will stop him playing against Slovakia and Italy in South Africa.

He is our best keeper, and a New Zealand Football balls-up did him in, when it failed to lodge an appeal that would very likely have succeeded enough for South Africa.

Having two keepers for the first two games is a fairly safe bet, and taking a fourth goalkeeper would hinder the inter-squad training sessions. Fingers crossed we don't end up with Andy Boyens dealing with the crosses, though. This is not an ideal situation, but probably the best one in the circumstances.

8) Maradona

Okay, he's got nothing to do with New Zealand. But you can't mention the World Cup without mentioning him. You know, without a shadow of a doubt, that something crazy will happen involving the Argentinian coach and soccer-playing genius. It might even involve a gun. Maradona could be dropped into the middle of a nuclear war and still grab all the headlines.

9) England

Once again the All Whites link is obscure to the point of non-existent, except that a lot of us will be following them as a second team, or even a first for some.

English World Cup campaigns are a law unto themselves, a mass of fact and fiction, pain and lost glory. If you want to scare an England supporter, shout "penalty shoot out".

But maybe this will be the time when the old order gets turned over good and proper. The time and location is ripe and right for an African team to excel. And they can play wonderful soccer. Go the Ivory Coast.

10) The Rory Fallon Controversy

The Plymouth Argyle striker played hard-to-get against Mexico and caused a minor controversy. Every World Cup journey needs a bit of angst to get the blood boiling. Fallon may have scored the vital goal against Bahrain but he polarises opinion - he's probably right in claiming that the ol' Fallon stigma still sticks.

11) Wall chart

Has to be mentioned. Finding a good one is pivotal to any World Cup journey. Get your Herald one on June 2. A tip: fill them out on a daily basis. Playing catch-up gets messy. A final tip: the last name left standing on your chart will be the magnificent Spanish squad.