Kiwi youngsters ready for Manchester!

Joshua Fsadni is one of 16 teenagers heading to Manchester. Photo / Richard Robinson

By Chris Rattue, NZ Herald 17 May 2008

Central United's junior stars will take on the world's best again in August. It's a remarkable feat in itself but the squad make-up is just as startling as their repeat journey on to the international stage.

Central topped Australia's star under-15 clubs to win a place in the Manchester United Premier Cup, a de facto world cup which more than 9000 teams attempt to qualify for.

The August finals in Manchester include legendary clubs - last year's winners were Barcelona.

A combined squad from Central and Wynton Rufer's academy performed creditably last year finishing 17th.

Central - one of this country's leading clubs - is Croatian-based yet just one player of that heritage is in the 16-player squad for the three-day MUPC, where the games are played over 40 minutes.

In an indication of a shift towards soccer and a hint of things to come, half of these elite players - many are Auckland and New Zealand representatives - have Polynesian or Maori heritage.

There is also a liberal sprinkling of players with outstanding athletic backgrounds, which suggests that soccer is attracting top raw talent that traditionally ended up in union and league. Among the parents watching the side train at Kiwitea St this week was Chris Kolose, whose son Matthew, a striker, is one of five Auckland Grammar players.

Chris Kolose was a top South Auckland league player in the 1990s and also played for Carlisle in England. He is a New Zealand-born Samoan while Matthew's mother Anna is Samoan and English.

Chris Kolose says: "For my kid it's all about soccer and he doesn't even watch the All Blacks or Kiwis, although he might watch a few Warriors games. There's a big change in the culture and a lot of kids are not only playing soccer when they are young, but sticking with it.

"There are five Maori and three Polynesian players - all half-castes - in this team. Previously those kids wouldn't be seen in soccer teams.

"It's not a mass of Maori and Polynesians yet, but the ones that are playing really stand out.

"When I was a kid, if you played soccer you were called a girl. But I don't think that happens now.

"It's partly to do with the power of television. My son has grown up idolising [former Arsenal star] Thierry Henry. These boys have a good following from other kids, including those who play rugby and league."

Coach Paul Posa said Central was enormously proud of a team making the MUPC again and believes they represent the changing face of football in New Zealand.

"It is a huge opportunity for these kids and another chance to get a couple into the professional ranks overseas," he said.

"While we don't have the numbers of other countries, people tell us that our kids are as good as any in the world.

We're getting kids into the game now at the expense of rugby, including some of the real athletes. The highest levels of the game around the world are just full of top athletes."

They include the only South Island player, Tane Brind-Gent, who has shifted to Auckland and King's College for football opportunities.

Brind-Gent, whose father Dave was a founding member of The Exponents rock group, was an athletics champion at St Andrews in Christchurch and last year's South Island high jump champion.

It is this sort of raw ability which flourishes these days in soccer's top levels, and the Central under-15 captain Thomas Spragg keenly emphasises that.

Spragg - whose father and team manager Brian played a handful of matches for the Northern Districts cricket side in the late 1980s - and King's schoolmate Keith Henry are the survivors from the 2007 MUPC side.

Spragg recalls vividly his marker in the Swiss side FC Basel last year.

"He was massive, strong, and all I could do was receive the ball and play it backwards. He just didn't let me into the game," says Spragg.

ON THE FIELD
Central MUPC squad: Thomas Spragg (c), Keith Henry (King's College), Dean Lausev (Lynfield College), Alex Carr (Hamilton BHS), Joshua Fsadni (Sacred Heart College), Tane Brind-Gent (St Andrew's College, Christchurch), Joshua Morrison, Bryce Felton, Reeda Maged, Matthew Kolose, James Routledge (Auckland Grammar), Matthew Rowland, Joseph Dan-Tyrell (Mt Albert Grammar), Fabrizio Tavano (Macleans College), Carlos Timo (Alfriston College), Ryan Martin (Sancta Maria College).

Good luck lads, a massive opportunity for you all, make the most of it and enjoy the experience.