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Olympics Record | 2008 Olympics Draw | Squads Announcement
Squads Announcement
Is All As It Seems In The State Of Olympia?
by Jeremy Ruane
The naming of New Zealand Football's Olympic squads on July 3 has brought to a conclusion several weeks of hard thinking for the respective coaches, John Herdman (Football Ferns) and Stu Jacobs (OlyWhites).
Both have had plenty to ponder over the past few months, with numerous players putting their hands up to be included in the eighteen-strong squads which were announced this week by the NZ Olympic Committee.
Jacobs faced the additional challenge of accommodating three over-age players in his selection, which meant disappointment for three U-23 internationals who had played a part in the OlyWhites' qualification for the Olympic Men's Football Tournament.
But in securing the services of All Whites trio Simon Elliott, Chris Killen and Ryan Nelsen - quite a coup, that one, given the timing of the Olympics in relation to the start of Blackburn Rovers' FA Barclaycard Premiership campaign - the OlyWhites have engaged quality and experience to bolster their younger squad members, to the extent that their prospects of reaching the quarter-finals in China are very realistic.
Further enhancing this belief is the outcome of this week's two-match series with Chile in inclement conditions in Wellington. In the first match, Michael Boxall was on target as the OlyWhites were downed 2-1 at Newtown Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Friday night saw the tables turned, however, Daniel Ellensohn heading home the only goal of the game at Porirua Park against opponents whose volatility in the face of adversity, a trait for which South American football is renowned, was underlined as they finished the match with nine players on the park.
Given Chile had drawn 1-1 with the OlyRoos after beating the Australian squad 4-3 in matches prior to heading home via the capital, this 1-0 victory, the first by a New Zealand team over Chile at any level, gives further credence to the OlyWhites' prospects of progressing through a group which contains Belgium, Brazil and the host nation, when the Olympic Games kick off in China in a month's time.
While it will be regarded as something of a disappointment if the OlyWhites fail to progress to the last eight, it will be a terrific achievement if the Football Ferns reach the same stage in the Olympic Women's Football Tournament, given they face top-ten-ranked opponents in Japan, Norway and the reigning Olympic Women's Football gold medallists, the USA, in their pool.
Although Herdman's squad largely picked itself, based on the line-ups in recent internationals, there were nonetheless a couple of surprises, with the inclusion of Marlies Oostdam and Rebecca Tegg most noteworthy in this regard, given both have barely begun to accumulate game-time again after recovering from ACL injuries sustained within days of each other last November.
There were also a fair few close calls, too. Emma Humphries, for instance, who, but for injury, has been in every squad Herdman has named since he first came to prominence as coach of a national team, via his efforts with New Zealand's U-20 Women's World Cup squad in 2006.
And Annalie Longo, whose tender years mean she could still achieve the milestone of becoming the first woman to play in the finals of the U-17, U-20 and senior Women's World Cups, and the Olympic Women's Football Tournament, as a 21-year-old in London in 2012.
But what of a player who, inside the last fifteen months, has been vice-captain of her country at the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals and NZ's maiden representative in a FIFA Women's World All-Stars squad?
Maia Jackman, for so long a fixture in the national squad that her absence from the combination which went to the Peace Queen Cup last month was the first time she hadn't been called upon to represent her country when available for selection since 1995, has had a very dramatic fall from favour to suddenly find herself on the outside looking in.
Such has been her form in the Northern Premier Women's League this season that it's hard to believe her absence could be due to on-field issues. Instead, a reminder of the NZ Olympic Committee Board's reasons for including the Football Ferns in New Zealand's 2008 Olympic team may prove pertinent.
“The NZOC Board believes that Beijing 2008 will be a critical stepping stone in preparation for a competitive result at London 2012 and future-proofing the development of women's football in New Zealand”.
By their own admission, Jackman and fellow thirty-somethings Simone Carmichael and Wendi Henderson, the most capped NZ women's international, won't be around for 2012, but should that be a reason for ignoring the contribution each can still make while in their footballing prime in a month's time?
As one individual intriguingly put it to me recently, “Many of us who have worked so hard for the game for so many years have had to watch as our dreams are taken away from us to satisfy agendas of those with the power in our game”.
One would like to think that the criteria for selection in any of our national squads is driven solely by on-field performances. It doubtless is in the vast majority of instances.
But as we saw with the non-selection of Michele Cox - without question the most complete midfielder I've seen in NZ football - in the national team between May 1991 and November 1997, it's not always the case.
In light of similar events just over a decade on, little wonder one must ask if all is as it seems in NZ Football's state of Olympia!
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