Far, far away from the glitz and glamour of the World Cup lies the smallest and most modest outpost of the global game. It can only be Oceania, a far-flung, mostly island-based continent whose footballing prowess is virtually unknown outside its waters. Yet a closer look reveals a vibrant soccer scene that, if lacking in success, does not want for pluck.
Still, the rest of the world can be forgiven for knowing so little about it. Only three times has a team from this confederation qualified for the World Cup proper, and twice it was Australia that did the honours, first in the 1974 finals and then in 2006, when they reached the second round.
Australia, of course, have since left to join up with the more competitive AFC in Asia. That leaves New Zealand as the top dog in OFC, and the only other World Cup entrant. The All Whites qualified in 1982 under the on-pitch leadership of Wynton Rufer, New Zealand's most prominent player of all time.
A forward of Swiss and Maori extraction, Rufer was just 19 years of age when he journeyed to Spain with NZ, having played one top-level season back home before winning the chance to play with Norwich City, later moving to FC Zurich and, in his biggest test, Werder Bremen.
The days of Rufer and the 1982 World Cup were the high water mark not just for New Zealand soccer but also OFC, at least now that Australia have left the scene. No Kiwi player has yet matched the now-46-year-old's achievements, and with the All Whites still facing the age-old problem of the OFC play-off to reach the World Cup, the future looks none too bright, especially given the supremacy of the game of rugby in the country.
Yet within the continent itself, there is hope. There are several full-time professionals in the current NZ squad, with the likes of Chris Killen and Ryan Nelsen being joined by up-and-comers such as Kris Bright, Chris James, and Costa Barbarouses. The fact that, amidst several abortive attempts, there now seems to be a stable, fully pro club operating in the Australian league is a further source of encouragement; progress in the local scene, which remains largely semi-pro, is also coming steadily.
Elsewhere in the confederation there are signs of improvement. New Caledonia and Fiji both put up a fight at the 2008 OFC Nations Cup, which also served as the qualification path for Oceanian nations. Indeed, the sole game that New Zealand lost at this tournament was against the Fijians, a brace from Roy Krishna doing the honours to delight the country. Krishna, incidentally, is making his name in New Zealand with local outfit and Club World Cup competitors Waitakere United.
New Caledonia, meanwhile, are unfortunate in that their greatest ever played - Christian Karembeu - opted to represent France rather than the tiny island nation. Virtually all of the players in this squad, though, represent local sides, which will help the national authorities select competitive squads, but also see top-level experience hard to come by. Goalkeeper Benjamin Longue, formerly of CA Bastia, in fact, is one of just a handful of New Caledonians to try their luck abroad. Still, football is the main sport of the islands and thus there is room for further improvement that will surely follow.
Still, progress must wait until summer, when New Zealand will try their luck once again at the Confederations Cup. Then comes the long wait for the AFC-OFC play-off in November, during which the All Whites will face the 5th-placed team from AFC. Whichever Asian side it is - right now it's one of Bahrain and Iran - will be hot favourites. But New Zealand, flying the flag for this tiny confederation of just 11 million souls (excluding Australia, of course), will go forward in hope, if not expectation.
Don't Forget Oceania
Far, far away from the glitz and glamour of the World Cup lies the smallest and most modest outpost of the global game. It can only be Oceania, a far-flung, mostly island-based continent whose footballing prowess is virtually unknown outside its waters. Yet a closer look reveals a vibrant soccer scene that, if lacking in success, does not want for pluck.
Still, the rest of the world can be forgiven for knowing so little about it. Only three times has a team from this confederation qualified for the World Cup proper, and twice it was Australia that did the honours, first in the 1974 finals and then in 2006, when they reached the second round.
Australia, of course, have since left to join up with the more competitive AFC in Asia. That leaves New Zealand as the top dog in OFC, and the only other World Cup entrant. The All Whites qualified in 1982 under the on-pitch leadership of Wynton Rufer, New Zealand's most prominent player of all time.
A forward of Swiss and Maori extraction, Rufer was just 19 years of age when he journeyed to Spain with NZ, having played one top-level season back home before winning the chance to play with Norwich City, later moving to FC Zurich and, in his biggest test, Werder Bremen.
The days of Rufer and the 1982 World Cup were the high water mark not just for New Zealand soccer but also OFC, at least now that Australia have left the scene. No Kiwi player has yet matched the now-46-year-old's achievements, and with the All Whites still facing the age-old problem of the OFC play-off to reach the World Cup, the future looks none too bright, especially given the supremacy of the game of rugby in the country.
Yet within the continent itself, there is hope. There are several full-time professionals in the current NZ squad, with the likes of Chris Killen and Ryan Nelsen being joined by up-and-comers such as Kris Bright, Chris James, and Costa Barbarouses. The fact that, amidst several abortive attempts, there now seems to be a stable, fully pro club operating in the Australian league is a further source of encouragement; progress in the local scene, which remains largely semi-pro, is also coming steadily.
Elsewhere in the confederation there are signs of improvement. New Caledonia and Fiji both put up a fight at the 2008 OFC Nations Cup, which also served as the qualification path for Oceanian nations. Indeed, the sole game that New Zealand lost at this tournament was against the Fijians, a brace from Roy Krishna doing the honours to delight the country. Krishna, incidentally, is making his name in New Zealand with local outfit and Club World Cup competitors Waitakere United.
New Caledonia, meanwhile, are unfortunate in that their greatest ever played - Christian Karembeu - opted to represent France rather than the tiny island nation. Virtually all of the players in this squad, though, represent local sides, which will help the national authorities select competitive squads, but also see top-level experience hard to come by. Goalkeeper Benjamin Longue, formerly of CA Bastia, in fact, is one of just a handful of New Caledonians to try their luck abroad. Still, football is the main sport of the islands and thus there is room for further improvement that will surely follow.
Still, progress must wait until summer, when New Zealand will try their luck once again at the Confederations Cup. Then comes the long wait for the AFC-OFC play-off in November, during which the All Whites will face the 5th-placed team from AFC. Whichever Asian side it is - right now it's one of Bahrain and Iran - will be hot favourites. But New Zealand, flying the flag for this tiny confederation of just 11 million souls (excluding Australia, of course), will go forward in hope, if not expectation.
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