KEY POINTS:
For Olympic-bound coach Stu Jacobs, yesterday was one of those "good news, bad news" days international sport is so often about.
The good news came in a conversation with new Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince who agreed to release star central defender, and club captain, Ryan Nelsen for
New Zealand's first two games at next month's Olympic Games.
The bad news was then having to call in three, rather than two, players from his extended squad - who had helped get the team through Oceania qualifying and on to the big stage - and tell them they would not be making that trip.
Nelsen's availability for the pool games against hosts China and Brazil comes with a risk - but one worth taking.
Should New Zealand, who then play Belgium in the last of their pool matches, qualify for the quarter-finals, Nelsen will not be available. Jacobs, at that stage, will not be able to replace him, leaving Chris Killen and Simon Elliott as his only over-age players in the under-23 squad.
Jacobs has no qualms. Understandably, he welcomes the opportunity to work with a player of Nelsen's experience. He admits, "two out of three [games] is better than nothing" adding "this highlights how Paul Ince sees New Zealand's involvement [in the Olympics] and his support of how we see them".
A far cry, many will say, from the attitude of the Wellington Phoenix who, even before the make-up of Jacobs' final squad was revealed had pulled Tony Lochhead and Shane Smeltz from contention saying they could have had up to five players on Olympic call-up and were not prepared to allow that.
Nelsen can't wait to again play for his country. His last game, leading the All Whites on June 6, 2004 against Fiji in the ill-fated Oceania Nations Cup in Adelaide, was far from a happy memory. He now has the chance to turn that around before, in September, joining Ricki Herbert's All Whites for their home and away World Cup qualifiers against New Caledonia.
Nelsen's presence in the Oly-Whites is all-encompassing.
He gets the chance to again play for his country and pass on his considerable experience to the next generation of New Zealand's footballers. Both, surely, will benefit.
With Wynton Rufer, Nelsen is the kind of inspirational player our football needs but, sadly, only rarely produces. The game must, gratefully, accept it and make the most of it.
