Soccer: Auckland has it all to play for

New Auckland City boss Roger Wilkinson can testify to the fact that you don't have to coach a massive soccer club to face enormous pressure.

The 61-year-old Englishman is braced for six months of unprecedented scrutiny as Auckland City's amateur part-timers embark on a demanding schedule of domestic, continental and world play this weekend.

Wilkinson and his team of school teachers, truck drivers and bank clerks will face further global examination when they open the defence of their New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC) title against visiting Otago United on Saturday.

Crews from Fifa Futbol Mundial, Japanese station Nippon and New Zealand's Sky Television will be sideline at Kiwitea St in Sandringham to capture Auckland's first preparatory steps towards their Fifa Club World Cup debut in Japan this December.

Wilkinson inherited the job from Alan Jones, now coach of the New Zealand senior women's team, following Auckland's Oceania Club Championship triumph at North Harbour Stadium in May.

But the former Luton Town professional is surprisingly comfortable with being entrusted with what is essentially club soccer's equivalent to a winning lotto ticket.

Following December's Club World Cup, where a meeting with Barcelona and the European champion's Brazilian megastar Ronaldinho is a possibility, Auckland will criss-cross the South Pacific as New Zealand's representatives in the new 2007 Oceania Champions League.

Success over New Caledonia's AS Montdore and Vanuatu's Port Vila Sharks in the New Year will earn Auckland a place in Oceania's home and away final in April and a shot at a return trip to Fifa's world club showcase in December 2007.

But Wilkinson knows the glamorous globe-trotting will quickly become a fading memory if he cannot guide Auckland to a third successive NZFC title come March and a place in the 2008 Oceania Champions League.

The third edition of New Zealand's domestic showpiece shapes as the most competitive yet, with Auckland's seven rivals all strengthening their squads in an effort to cash-in on the opportunities Wilkinson's men will enjoy this summer.

Cross-town rivals Waitakere United, Canterbury United and Team Wellington have been the most aggressive clubs in the transfer market in an effort to reach the benchmark set by Auckland.

After losing the inaugural NZFC final 3-2 to Auckland, Waitakere finished a forgettable sixth last summer.

Coach Steve Cain's response has been a major player cleanout with All Whites skipper Danny Hay and former internationals Michael Utting, Allan Pearce and Rupesh Puna among the new contingent in a squad with a United Nations look.

Solomon Islands international Commins Menapi, who scored 17 goals for Manawatu to finish second in the golden boot race last season, is joined by Chilean goalscorer Pedro Garcias and Brazilian midfielders Christiano Soares and Pedro Santos, seemingly giving Waitakere all the ingredients for a serious title challenge.

The big question mark at English Park is how Canterbury will fare without All Whites Andy Barron and James Bannatyne -- now at Team Wellington -- and Ben Sigmund after the highly rated defender was lured to Auckland City during the winter.

But in former Otago talisman Blair Scoullar, seasoned Solomon Islanders Bartam Suri and Henry Fa'arodo and (Washington) DC United striker Nick Van Sicklen , Canterbury have recruited plenty of new firepower to go with an already sound defence.

Bannatyne and Barron stiffen a Wellington franchise that has leaked 93 goals in the first two seasons of the NZFC, a record better than only Hawke's Bay, who have conceded 111.

But coach Mick Waitt will start the season without skilful All Whites workhorse Raf De Gregorio, who will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his right fibula, and must find a remedy to Wellington's shaky home record.

Of the four remaining teams, Manawatu arguably have the most to prove, with their future in the NZFC beyond this season uncertain after they failed to have their competition licence renewed recently.

Manawatu, who face the double blow of losing goal-scoring machine Menapi to Waitakere, have been forced to re-apply but six other consortiums are trying to win the vacant 2007-08 to 2009-10 licence which will be announced on November 30.

Hawke's Bay United have strengthened on and off the pitch as they look to consign last season's dismal record -- when they conceded a record 63 goals and finished bottom by a mammoth 17 points -- to history.

In comes former St Mirren, Aberdeen and Partick Thistle midfielder Ricky Gillies as well a swag of New Zealand under-20 representatives and returning Hawke's Bay stalwarts Chris McIvor and Leon Birnie.

In the dugout, coach and former Glasgow Celtic goalkeeper Jonathan Gould is joined by his famous father Bobby, the former Wales coach and a FA Cup winner as both a player (West Ham United) and a coach (Wimbledon).

Waikato FC, the only team to beat Auckland three times but second from bottom last season, will rely heavily on local talent under new English coach Dave Edmondson.

However, the addition of former Derby County, Blackpool and Burton Albion goalkeeper Dan Robinson and Solomon Islander Stanley Waita could enhance Waikato's reputation as the NZFC's unfashionable fighters.

Otago United will undoubtedly miss goal-scoring midfielder Scoullar and must find more post-Christmas consistency if they are to challenge for the playoffs after twice letting positive starts to the season slip.

Coach Terry Phela at least travels to Auckland on Saturday with Otago's impressive record at Kiwitea St for comfort.

Otago were the first team to beat Auckland in the NZFC, 1-0 in round five in 2004-05, and also the last to beat them, again 1-0, in round 17 last summer.

Auckland have injury worries, with captain Neil Sykes (ankle) and Team Wellington recruit Bryan Little (abdominal strain) sidelined while a suspension picked up by former Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Coventry City defender Dean Gordon while playing for Albany United during the winter is carried over for two weeks.

But in proven South African marksman Grant Young and Keryn Jordan -- the latter in pursuit of his third successive golden boot title -- Auckland look to have more than enough firepower to ensure a winning start for Wilkinson.

- NZPA