New Zealand FA Announces Opening In Management

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New Zealand have decided to make a permanent appointment for the managerial role, which has been currently occupied by Neil Emblen on an interim basis. The court was appointed as the manager of the team following the exit of Ricki Herbert, who managed to lead the team to immense success over the last five years. Their most crowning achievement certainly has to be the 2010 FIFA World Cup. New Zealand not only qualified for this tournament against all expectations, but they also did exceedingly well even against the world champions Spain.

Since then, New Zealand has been unable to hit the heights in terms of international football. This has led to the exit of Herbert and then the arrival of Neil Emblen. However, it is understood that in New Zealand football Association are not too happy with the work done by Emblen. They recently advertised an opening for the comment managerial job. New Zealand FA chairman Andy Martin has revealed that the response for this advertisement has been overwhelming, as he has already received 50 proposals from managers around the world.

Until the permanent appointment is made, Emblen will be leading the team for the upcoming matches and this includes the friendly against South Africa. New Zealand have failed to win any of the last five matches, but they did go on a three match winning run prior to this.

“The key decision is how we put the team together. In an ideal world we’re looking at a coach that’s fulltime, that can deliver on the high stakes. If that proves to be difficult or we’re not able to do that, then we have to look at how we blend the team together,” said Martin. The South Africa friendly is the final friendly match for the team before they prepare for the next World Cup qualifying.

FRUSTRATION IN SA

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There is a lot of frustration amongst the South African fans after their team recently lost 5-0 at the hands of Brazil. Even though they were taking on the five-time world champions, South Africa were not expected to receive such a hiding in front of the home supporters. They have a chance to redeem themselves when they take on New Zealand in a friendly that was only recently announced by New Zealand national team coach Neil Emblen. Emblen, who has been appointed as the interim manager until a permanent solution is found, will once again be leading the players for this match.

Emblen has been in charge of national team after he succeeded Ricki Herbert, who was the star of the World Cup 2010, following the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup 2014. The friendly match will be taking place just a few days before the start of the World Cup. This will be a great preparation for New Zealand, as they target to make an appearance in the World Cup for the 2018 season. The qualification round begins on September and Emblen has already laid down his target.

Emblen has been trying to revolutionise the national team during his unexpected short spell in charge of the team. He has been naming very youthful looking squads for the recent friendly matches.

“Given the nature of our situation with players now based all over the globe, it’s imperative we take every opportunity to bring the group together. A game in Auckland against strong opposition in South Africa – a country with which we enjoy a strong and competitive sporting relationship – ticks a number of important boxes for us on and off the field,” said the coach of New Zealand, whose team are without a win in the last six matches.

NZ TAKE ON JAPAN

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New Zealand will be taking on Japan in a friendly match at Tokyo tonight. Ahead of the match, there is uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Neil Emblen, as he has been appointed only for this match. He has been the assistant manager of former coach Ricki Herbert for the last three years during which time the national team achieved immense success. Hence, there is pressure on Emblen to at least preserve this status when New Zealand take on one of the World Cup qualified teams – Japan – in a friendly match.

Emblen has named a youthful looking squad for this encounter with a number of players around the ages of 19 and 20. Ryan Thomas and Tyler Boyd are one of the high-profile inclusions under the decision by the manager to introduce new players to the national team squad. However, Emblen is aware that he will be able to retain his job only with a good performance against Japan. The team has been on a poor run of form in the last five matches. Since they have failed to qualify for the World Cup 2014, it is imperative that the nation are in the best of shape prior to the start of qualification for the next World Cup, which is expected to take place in Russia.

“We’ll be certainly looking to show a brave possession-based brand of football. It’s not like we’re bringing in players that don’t deserve to be involved, but yes some of the older guys have now been overlooked for this game, a couple of players unavailable,” said Emblen regarding the upcoming match against Japan. Senior players like Marco Rojas, Tommy Smith, and Winston Reid are unavailable for this match due to several reasons. Smith, for example, has chosen to remain with Ipswich Town for this international break.

MOSS HAPPY

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New Zealand goalkeeper Glen Moss has stated that he will be extremely happy to captain the team when they take on Japan next month. This will be the first match for new New Zealand manager Neil Emblen, who was appointed on an interim basis recently. He takes over from Ricki Herbert and it will be a huge task to overcome the achievements of the former coach. Herbert managed to lead New Zealand to their first appearance in a World Cup in the 2010 edition. The team did exceedingly well during this tournament, but have suffered since then.

Herbert left the role as the New Zealand manager after the team failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. Emblen has stated that the path to qualify for the next edition, which will take place in Russia, begins with this match. However, he will be without important players like Tommy Smith and Winston Reid. In their absence, Moss is expected to captain the team. The goalkeeper, who is regarded as the Peter Shilton of this region, says that it will be an honour to lead the team. Japan are currently 48th in the latest FIFA rankings, while New Zealand are 91st.

Despite this gap, the goalkeeper is confident that New Zealand will be able to make an impact in this match.

“It was a pretty surreal moment when Embers told me I’d be captain for the match. I was already excited about the game and looking forward to getting into camp and now I’ve been made captain, it’s raised that feeling up a notch. It’s a pretty proud moment for me. Embers and I have known each other for a while now and I’ve also been in the set-up for a while now too going back to 2005,” said the goalkeeper about the possibility of captaining the team.