Having the financial backing of a billionaire has played a major part in Auckland’s success – and not just because of what it has allowed them to spend on their squad. Though exactly how much Auckland have spent on their squad remains a mystery...............
..............Beyond what they spend on player salaries, they have been able to afford the luxury of travelling to Australia two days in advance of matches – something the Phoenix have only done sparingly during their 18 years in A-League Men.
Having financial heft – and an owner willing to lose $5 million in year one – has also helped Auckland on the marketing side of things, where their efforts have been rewarded with an average attendance of 18,101 – the best by any A-League Men team since Melbourne Victory’s mark of 20,298 six years ago................
..................The other way Auckland have zigged while their rivals have zagged is with regard to the ages of their players – as was to be expected from a new club that is still only just getting a youth programme up and running.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, A-League Men has become more and more youthful and the cut to the central distribution has only encouraged teams to give more minutes to young players – both because they're cheaper to sign and because they can be sold for valuable transfer fees.
The youngest player to receive regular playing time for Auckland this season is Australian winger Marlee François – the scorer of their Olimpico winner against Perth on Sunday – who was born on December 29, 2002 and is 22 years old.
Auckland have fielded three players younger than him this season – scholarship players Jonty Bidois, Adama Coulibaly and Finn McKenlay – who have combined to make seven appearances including one start, for a total of 69 minutes – just .28% of the total available minutes through 25 matches.
The situation is drastically different at the other four clubs to have booked playoff spots – Melbourne City, Western United, Wanderers and Melbourne Victory – and the two still fighting for sixth place – Adelaide United and Sydney.
Players born after François (ie those born 2003 or later) have played between 20% and 39% of the available minutes at each of those six clubs, making between 87 and 174 appearances and between 52 and 104 starts.
Age isn't everything, but Auckland have avoided the inconsistency that comes from relying on young, developing players.
Formidable fitness
Auckland have also had consistency of selection, with just one regular starter suffering a major injury this season – centre back Dan Hall, who missed 13 matches with a broken ankle from December to March.
Cam Howieson – who has mostly been used a substitute – was absent for five matches in December and January, but otherwise, Auckland have only suffered minor injuries that have sidelined players for a week or two at most.
Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen, left back Francis de Vries and forward Guillermo May have all started every match, with centre back Nando Pijnaker only missing one, when he was suspended for receiving five yellow cards.
Midfielders Jake Brimmer and Felipe Gallegos have also only missed one match each.
Forward Logan Rogerson has featured in every match, while Tommy Smith has been available for every match, but has sat on the bench unused twice.
Right back Hiroki Sakai and midfielder Louis Verstraete have only missed three matches each.
Auckland have put a lot of stock in their pre-season fitness programme, which helped them get to a level on par with their Premier League sister club, AFC Bournemouth.
That is also viewed as a factor in the next item on the list.
Last-minute winners
Four stoppage-time goals have gained Auckland a total of six points this season, turning two looming draws into wins and two looming defeats into draws.............
......Auckland have also scored three go-ahead goals in the 80th minute or later on their way to picking up three wins and nine points.....................
Louis Verstraete gave Auckland a 2-1 win over Macarthur FC in round 17 with one. At that stage five of Auckland's 10 wins and two of their five draws – 17 of their 35 points – had been the result of late shows, but they haven't had one for 10 matches and almost three months.
Dominant defence
On the eve of the season, there were a couple of big unknowns about Auckland FC.
Specifically, it was unclear how good their visa players – aside from captain Sakai – would be, and it was unclear to what extent some of their Kiwi players would be able to deliver at A-League Men level.
While the answers turned out to be 'very good' and 'plenty' respectively, their greatest strength has been an area where there was no doubt – their defence.
On paper, the combination of Paulsen – the best goalkeeper in A-League Men in 2023-24, when he was with the Phoenix – in goal and Sakai, Hall, Pijnaker and de Vries as a back four already looked formidable.
And so it has proved on the park.
As a team, Auckland went 532 minutes before conceding their first goal, while winning their first six matches...........
.................since Hall rejoined Pijnaker at the end of March, they have been back at the top of their game.
In the 11 matches where Hall and Pijnaker have both started, Auckland have conceded just four goals, while in the 14 where one of them was absent (Hall 13 times, Pijnaker once) they have conceded 19.
Overall, Auckland have conceded just 23 goals in 25 matches, with Paulsen keeping 12 clean sheets
As long as they don't concede three against Western United on Saturday, they will finish as one of 18 or 19 teams in the 20-year history of A-League Men to have let in fewer than one goal per game..............
.............The teams in that group already have 11 Premierships (including Auckland’s) and seven Championships between them.
If Auckland do go on to add an eighth Championship at the end of May, their dominant defence will be a big reason why.
