Soccer: Pinnacle of his sporting life

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Paul Smith will be carrying the flag, literally, for New Zealand at this year's biggest sporting event.

The 44-year-old Aucklander leaves for Japan on Wednesday as one of the linesmen, or as Fifa now prefers, referee's assistants, at the World Cup.

It is a dream come true for Smith, a former bank officer who swapped his playing boots for a whistle 20 years ago.

"I had had enough of getting knocked around. I'm only a skinny bloke," Smith said. "I started watching my sister play and as they never had referees for their games, I soon became involved.

"Someone from the referees' association asked me if I had considered doing it full-time. It just went on from there.

"I started doing junior games and continued doing them for a while. I was also secretary of the Lynndale Club and [the referees] were not too keen on people who held club positions refereeing senior games."

By 1987 Smith was controlling senior matches. He went on to the national league panel as a fourth official three years later and in 1991 had his first on-field action as a linesman.

While others have aimed for the top - a place on the Fifa referees' list - Smith has continued to run the line, although he is often seen as the man in the middle at northern premier level.

"To retain my place on the Fifa [referee's assistant] panel, 70 per cent of the games I do must be on the line," said Smith, who went on to the Fifa list in 1997.

He was an official at the Australia-Tahiti World Cup qualifier the same year and also ran the line for the Confederations Cup semifinal between Brazil and the Czech Republic in Saudi Arabia.

Since then Smith has been on the international merry-go-round, with matches at various levels, including the 1999 world under-17 final between Brazil and Australia at North Harbour Stadium.

But a year out from his compulsory stand-down from the Fifa list (at 45), Smith is now contemplating the biggest challenge of his footballing life.

"Everyone is guaranteed at least one or two games in the group phase," Smith said. "They will then make the cut, with some selected to stay on for the second round."

Smith will be based in Japan and will have to wait until May 27/28 to learn just which match will mark his World Cup debut.

"Obviously, it is the biggest thrill of my career." Appointments at such tournaments are, beyond the first phase, performance-based. Smith is determined to give that his best shot. He is looking for far more from the cup than just a flash uniform.

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