Soccer: From Accra to Auckland to revitalise the Knights

At the age of 14, a timid Malik Buari turned up for a trial with Fulham with little idea of how the experience would shape his career.

He was taken on as an apprentice and eventually went on to play five league and cup games for the Premiership outfit.

He even made a handful of appearances for England under-15s and under-16s alongside the likes of Darren Bent (Charlton and England), Glen Johnson (Chelsea, Portsmouth and England) and David Bentley (Arsenal and Blackburn).

But it was something else that happened on that first day that was perhaps just as significant. There, with the training ground whistle in his hand, was an ambitious young coach by the name of Paul Nevin.

Fast forward eight years and Nevin is still holding the whistle and Buari is still trying to impress.

It just happens to be 13,752km from where it all started.

The one constant in Buari's footballing career has been Nevin and it was little surprise he followed the new Knights manager to Auckland where the pair are hoping to bring credibility to a club that was dreadfully inept in the inaugural A-League.

"I remember that day when he was taking that first session at Fulham," Buari says after an intense training session which saw him on the end of a Nevin serve, proving he gets no preferential treatment.

"He's a big factor in my career. He knows me inside out, he knows when I'm down and he knows how to get the best out of me. He can even tell if I've got a little injury before I even know sometimes."

Nevin's memory of that first session is a little hazy - after all, he saw a lot of players come and go during his time at Fulham but he certainly remembers Buari's trial game.

"I remember him breezing past a defender and then putting in a brilliant cross and I thought, 'that will do for me'," Nevin recalls.

"He is a great athlete and his delivery from wide areas is fantastic but he's had to overcome some very difficult injuries in his time."

Injuries are something the 22-year-old has had to live with for most of his short footballing career.

Since the age of 15, he's struggled with a troublesome pelvic injury that limited his chances at Fulham and the Knights represent something of a fresh start on a voyage that he hopes will see him return to the Premiership.

In only a short time, Buari has made a significant impression and has been, arguably, the Knights' best performer in their pre-season campaign. He's very much in the mould of his good friend and West Ham captain Nigel Reo-Coker - quick, immensely competitive, works harder than a Japanese banker and, crucially, has a fair amount of ability.

Off the pitch he's quietly spoken and doesn't refer to socme little-known facts about him.

His father, for instance, is Sidiku Buari - famous musician, actor, film-maker and now the chairman of the African federation of musicians. Buari snr journeyed to the US in the late 1970s to pursue a career in baseball before discovering he had more talent at music. And then there's Buari's step-sister Shaida, who was crowned Miss Ghana in 2002.

Malik Buari was born in Accra, the capital of Ghana, before moving to London to be with his mother after he finished primary school.

"It was quite weird," Buari picks up in his south London accent, "because when I was in Ghana, I wasn't really interested in football. I was an athlete, a sprinter. When I was at Southfields School [in London], people said I should try football because I had a lot of pace.

"Southfields had a link with Fulham and that's how I got the trial. At that time I was just using my pace when I was playing but Fulham taught me how to play."

Buari eventually made his Premiership debut as a 19-year-old soon after signing a professional contract, coming on in a 3-1 defeat at Everton. He also played against Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers before starting in the 3-2 defeat at home to Newcastle.

"Newcastle was one of the most difficult games I've played in," he explains. "I didn't perform and it affected me mentally, physically. I started to have doubts about my own ability."

A flare-up of his pelvic injury didn't help and he played only once more for the Fulham first team, a League Cup game against League Two outfit Boston United. At the end of the 2004-05 English season, Buari and Fulham went their separate ways - both parties needed to move on - and he had only a brief flirtation with Conference side Woking before Nevin called.

The Knights manager had been in touch with the midfielder for some time about a move to New Zealand but had initially targeted All Whites in his recruitment programme. When most of those didn't materialise, he knew Buari's versatility in a 20-man squad would be invaluable.

"The only position he hasn't played is goalkeeper," Nevin says.

"He needs to get some more games under him and this is a great platform because of the quality and profile of the league and then the world is his oyster again."

Like the majority of the present squad, Buari doesn't carry the baggage of what happened last season. He doesn't really know what occurred and doesn't want to know, which is probably how fans would like to remember the season.

"I didn't really have any expectations before I came out," he explains. "But I didn't think the football was going to be this good. I thought it was going to be really physical and long balls but the passing, the movement . . .

"I'm glad I made the decision to come here. It's a big adventure, a new life so we'll see what happens."

It's a common sentiment when it comes to the Knights, for both players and fans. Today is the beginning of that journey.