Niche Cache thinks the hard bumpy pitch made it hard for a fast dribbler like Old to shine. He's probably correct.
He found an interesting tale below on the challenges the local grounds staff face, to create quality pitches. It's a shame about the pitches, as hard to produce better technical players without true surfaces.
And funny thing about that school ground surrounded by dense bush where the AWs trained. When they posted photos training there, I speculated they may have to watch out for snakes. Turns out it was the huge spiders that gave the squad a fright in the undergrowth. Kiwis not used to those sort of large creepy crawlies.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2024/7/1/recapping-the-all-whites-at-the-2024-oceania-nations-cup
Speaking of the pitches, here’s a fantastic anecdote here courtesy of Coen Lammers for Friends of Football:
He found an interesting tale below on the challenges the local grounds staff face, to create quality pitches. It's a shame about the pitches, as hard to produce better technical players without true surfaces.
And funny thing about that school ground surrounded by dense bush where the AWs trained. When they posted photos training there, I speculated they may have to watch out for snakes. Turns out it was the huge spiders that gave the squad a fright in the undergrowth. Kiwis not used to those sort of large creepy crawlies.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2024/7/1/recapping-the-all-whites-at-the-2024-oceania-nations-cup
Speaking of the pitches, here’s a fantastic anecdote here courtesy of Coen Lammers for Friends of Football:
“Aside from the FIFA-funded Freshwater Stadium, other venues are run by the [Vanuatu] government and the pitches are not always their top priority, while the broadleaved island grass makes it difficult to create a smooth surface. The ground staff at Freshwater tried to grow a pitch with thinner grass like players are used to in New Zealand, only to see the local grass take over in a matter of weeks.
The best training pitch on the main island of Efate turned out to be at the Montmarte School, far in the hills above Port Vila, surrounded by dense tropical bush which can only be reached after some serious off-roading. The All Whites used Montmarte as their training base, where the support staff got a bit of a fright in their first session, retrieving wayward balls from the bushes and being confronted by huge spiders, allegedly the size of small dogs. As a result, some of the balls were left behind in the bush for the local school kids to retrieve, and the shooting drills were moved to the other goal.”
The best training pitch on the main island of Efate turned out to be at the Montmarte School, far in the hills above Port Vila, surrounded by dense tropical bush which can only be reached after some serious off-roading. The All Whites used Montmarte as their training base, where the support staff got a bit of a fright in their first session, retrieving wayward balls from the bushes and being confronted by huge spiders, allegedly the size of small dogs. As a result, some of the balls were left behind in the bush for the local school kids to retrieve, and the shooting drills were moved to the other goal.”
See, this is why these Oceania tournaments are great. There’s an amateurishness that most professional players would never have to experience (imagine the stories that Cacace can tell his Serie A mates now) but that also comes with an endearing jolt of genuine humanity. Just look at the crowds for those Vanuatu knockout games. This is what the world’s game looks like. To have this tournament going on at the same time as the Euros and Copa America is sporting joy in perspective... and to think the All Whites almost didn’t go.