Hughes came into the All Whites set-up ahead of the Oceania Nations Cup in Vanuatu two years ago and has thrived in an environment where Bazeley has built a shared leadership model, encouraging everyone to have their say. As well as supporting the coaching staff, he has found a playing group who, for the most part, have come through in an age where reviewing video is part and parcel of their job.
“We've got a very, very critical thinking group within the All Whites, which is awesome to see, and it makes my job really fun,” Hughes said. “They challenge me at halftime, challenge me during games, but that's why I'm there. I don't want to be an analyst in the background who just does all the computer work – I want to be involved in the decision making and helping them – through the coaches, of course.”
Hughes works closely with assistant coach Tony Readings, who joins him and fellow analyst Sam Casey-Popovich – another Phoenix alumnus – in the stands for the first halves of matches for a bird's eye view, before heading to the bench alongside Bazeley and Simon Elliott after the break.
“Sam will film the games,” Hughes said of their approach. “I'll be live coding. I'll have the video feed coming into my laptop, sending clips down to the bench, getting clips ready for halftime. Tony does that as well. He's got the radio, so we're talking to the bench, passing communications on, whether that's about open play or helping [goalkeeper coach Paul Gothard] on set pieces.”
Hughes' gameday role starts long before kickoff. Setting up the dressing room and ensuring all the intel players and coaches need is present is one part of it. The biggest part is digesting the opposition team list when it lands, somewhere between an hour and 90 minutes before kickoff.
When the All Whites played Chile in March, his intuition as to what one particular selection meant for Chile's tactical approach led to the All Whites' changing their pressing shape at short notice, after Bazeley backed his analysis of the situation.
“I'm going back up the elevator five minutes before kickoff and I'm very nervous, because the last thing you want to do is give the boys mixed messages or mess with their heads before the game,“ Hughes said.
“Chile played the way we predicted and our pressing shape was quite effective before the red card [that left Chile with 10 men for the final hour of a match the All Whites won 4-1] so it was a great outcome for me personally.
“Well done to Baze for being the one who pushed the button on it and taking the risk and trusting in me and well done to the players on executing that pressing plan.
“It was a really cool moment – a moment where previously, because I was young and inexperienced, I might have held my tongue, but it was a good growing moment for me to trust my gut and trust my football knowledge.”
As Bazeley put it: “It gave the players enough information to go out and not have to solve the problem on the pitch straight away, which was good“.
Whether a similar scenario will arise at the World Cup remains to be seen, but there's no doubting that thanks to Hughes, the All Whites will know everything there is to know about Iran, Egypt and Belgium as they head into the three biggest matches they've had since their last World Cup appearance in 2010.
He remembers staying up late as a young boy to watch those matches. Now he's in the United States, living “a dream come true“.
“This is just so exciting for me. But I need people around me to remind me sometimes. It's motivating to get up in the morning and say you're going to a World Cup, but you forget when you're in the thick of it – you're working hard every day, looking for all the one per centers.
“Then I might call a family member or a friend, and they go, 'You know, you're going to the World Cup. Remember to smile', and I go, 'Yeah, you're right. I need to enjoy it'.
“So my goal for this tournament is to enjoy the process, and hopefully, whatever the outcome, grow as an analyst and help the team perform the best they can on the pitch.”
