Barbarouses gets a chance to prove his striking value in All Whites' camp
World Cup dreams and prospects come in many forms, and in the All Whites' case, some of them are fairly bizarre.
On one hand, the national squad is being led by an English Premier League star in Ryan Nelsen - a seasoned professional with a long list of action-packed seasons to his name.
On the other, you have a player such as defender David Mulligan, a regular in Ricki Herbert's All Whites squad system, yet completely unused by Herbert at the Phoenix last season, who is in line to go to South Africa.
If Herbert sticks by his word and remains loyal to the squad which faced Bahrain, Mulligan might break new World Cup ground, going to the tournament on a full season of absolutely no club action.
And then there is young frontman Costa Barbarouses, a rising star of New Zealand football who - while not totally overlooked by Herbert at the Phoenix - has had a season of very limited game time.
Even though he battled for significant Phoenix action, Barbarouses' potential and skill are well recognised in the A-League and some Australian pundits have earmarked him as the bolter for Herbert's World Cup squad.
Like Mulligan, Barbarouses parted ways with the Phoenix after the 2009/10 season. Barbarouses turned down a contract extension and has joined the Brisbane Roar.
In three seasons since becoming the youngest Phoenix signing, he has played just 20-odd games. In the just completed season, which took the Phoenix into the finals, he had only three starts, and 10 appearances off the bench.
The 20-year-old striker has played second fiddle to the likes of Shane Smeltz and Paul Ifill in his short A-League career. Now, with one international against Fiji in 2008 under his belt, he is part of the 18-man domestic squad fighting for the few remaining places among the 23 for the World Cup.
Having struggled to win an overwhelming endorsement from Herbert all season, he is doing it all again, with the stakes far higher.
Herbert gave the Wellington-born and bred Barbarouses the tip a week before publicly naming the squad for the camp, which culminates with a match against the NZFC All Stars at Albany next Sunday.
Barbarouses had already decided to keep up his training regime, and the nod from the national coach told him he was on the right track.
"I certainly didn't want to come here out of shape," said Barbarouses at North Harbour Stadium. "I guess the only way for me to keep in condition this season has been to make the absolute most of every training session. We had a couple of friendlies during the A-League, but everyone knows that is not the same as playing every week.
"You need match fitness and sharpness and even if you keep your standards high at training, it's not the same as playing," he said.
"You want full games and consecutive games. But I feel I'm still in pretty good condition and everything comes down to the next 12 days.
"I'm more excited than nervous because I know what I can do. I know it is down to me to take one of those remaining spots."
Barbarouses said he would concentrate on his own abilities, rather than being drawn into any individual battles for cup spots.
And with the camp being heavy with goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders, his only outright rival within the squad is Shane Smeltz, a World Cup certainty.
Barbarouses said: "I just have to do my best and it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing.
"If everyone works like that it will be a really good training camp that will make the decisions tough for Ricki and I'm sure that's what he wants."
Barbarouses said it had been a difficult decision to leave the Phoenix, although he is clearly relishing the prospect of a new start and a chance to show what he is fully capable of.
"The Phoenix are the club I started my professional career with, and I'm also leaving my family behind," he said. "But Brisbane are my team now. I'm not only ready to impress my new teammates, but the whole league."
