Soccer: Skipper is Mr Dura-ble

Andrew Durante has plenty to smile about. Photo / Getty Images

Andrew Durante figured that if Kevin Muscat could do it, he could too.

Muscat played every minute of every Melbourne Victory game last season in helping them pick up their third title. That's impressive in itself. Even more so when you take a look at his birth certificate.

"I thought, 'if Kevin Muscat, at 36, could play every minute of every game, then why can't I do the same thing at 27 years of age?"' Durante says.

"It was a goal I set at the beginning of the season. Last season, I had a few injuries and I wasn't happy with that, especially being captain. At the beginning of the season I made sure I did everything right.

"It was a goal I set and I reached it. I'm rapt. The more time I'm on the field, the better it is for the team. They need a leader to be there all the time."

It has seen Durante lead the first New Zealand side into the playoffs since the Kingz kicked a ball in the old NSL in 1999.

There are a number of reasons why they got there - their incomparable record of 17 games undefeated in Wellington, Paul Ifill's wizardry, Tim Brown's goals from midfield, Liam Reddy's goalkeeping - but Durante's form would need to be near the top of any list.

The centre back isn't a flashy player. There aren't any histrionics or outlandish statements but he reads the game well. And his partnership with Jon McKain at the heart of Wellington's defence has been outstanding.

The back four haven't conceded a goal in three games, have the second-best defensive record in the league (29 goals against) and Wellington have also lost the least number of games (seven).

These things haven't gone unnoticed and Durante and McKain were rewarded with a call-up to the Socceroos to play Indonesia in an Asian Cup qualifier on March 3.

Durante was selected for an Australian squad in 2008 but is yet to make his debut, while McKain last played for them in 2007. It's their chance to push for a World Cup place.

That game and the All Whites' match with Mexico in Los Angeles on the same day will interfere with Wellington's build-up to the second round of the playoffs, should they beat Perth. But many doubted the Phoenix would get to the playoffs in the first place.

Durante took exception to the Phoenix being written off before the season had even started. There's a bit of Ricki Herbert in him like that, with the coach known for feeling affronted when doubts are expressed about his sides.

"With so many 'experts' writing us off early, it's crazy," Durante said in August. "Inside the squad, we know we've got a very good team and we're going to take pleasure in proving a lot of people wrong."

So did he? "Definitely. But it's a case of job not done yet. I will be a lot happier when we take the title out."

It's not totally outlandish to suggest Wellington are a chance. They are the form team of the competition and fear no one, and will be a step closer if they can negotiate Perth today.

Perth have never beaten Wellington at the Cake Tin (three defeats, two draws) and, like Wellington, it's also their first time in the playoffs. But they arrived in Wellington, having crossed four time zones and 5257km to get here, in good form, having won four of their past five games, including a 2-0 win over Wellington in Perth.

There has been a fair amount of verbal jousting in the build-up but it's not something Durante get caught up in. The Wellington captain is just one of two Phoenix players to have won an A-League title - he was man-of-the-match when Newcastle beat Central Coast for the title in 2007-08 - and knows things change once the finals start.

"We are going to be very confident at home," he says. "We are undefeated in 17 at Westpac [Stadium]. We will be confident but it's a semifinal so we're not going to be cocky and think we just have to walk on the park to get a result. We are going to have to work hard.

"It's completely different to the regular season. There's so much more to play for. It's a one-off game and you have to throw every little bit of energy into it. Generally in big games, it's one little mistake or piece of brilliance that is the difference."

Durante planned to talk to his team-mates about this before the match. Despite this being their first trip to the playoffs, they are relatively experienced in high-stakes football.

Ifill played in the 2004 FA Cup final for Millwall against Manchester United, Reddy has played finals football and the New Zealand contingent would struggle to play a bigger game than the World Cup playoff against Bahrain.

It was because of these types of games that Durante signed with Wellington. He probably wouldn't have left Newcastle had they not won the title in 2007-08 but he wanted a new challenge. There were few bigger than playing in Wellington.

"I definitely saw it as a big challenge coming from a team that came first to the team that came last [in 2008]," he says. "It was a huge step for me but I had a lot of faith in the club's recruitment and that I could help and change New Zealand football.

"I had been at Newcastle for three years and probably got into a bit of a rut. Maybe if I didn't win the championship, I might have stayed to push for it again. But I won so wanted to move to push myself again. In football, you constantly need to keep challenging yourself or you fall into a bit of a hole and your career ends up going nowhere.

"I felt if I came to a team that had been struggling and made them successful, then not only does it look good for me but also everyone else in the squad."

Durante doesn't want it to end today, though. He might have played 2427 minutes of football this season but wants to add more and achieve what Muscat did by winning the title.

There's still one thing Muscat has over Durante, an A-League goal. Durante is still to open his account after 83 games.

"My job is to stop them, not score them," he says. "If I do get one, I might just fall to the ground in shock."

The next couple of weeks would be the perfect time.