Heraf’s hubris deserves a red card

Any hope Andreas Heraf had of keeping his New Zealand Football job has surely vanished after his latest case of cultural cringe. The NZF director of football has given a damning interview to an Austrian newspaper while on ‘‘special leave’’ during a probe into bullying allegations levelled by the Football Ferns.

Heraf’s outbursts in Der Standard reek of hubris. He’s accused the Football Ferns of ‘‘a conspiracy’’ and of being more interested in making fun videos and social media sorties than his sophisticated European coaching standards.

The ex-Austrian international claimed the players’ allegations were ‘‘unfounded’’, but he hasn’t attempted to answer if the bullying claims have any credence, or address one of the Ferns’ main beefs – his turgid, park-the-bus-behind-the-ball tactics.

Heraf is at risk of being seen as a conspiracy theorist with a glaring inability to adapt.

New Zealand football fans have long grown weary of overseas ‘‘experts’’ coming here to tell us the Kiwi football culture is all wrong and only they have the gravitas to lift the antipodean pagans from the dark ages.

Remember Joe McGrath, who brought a dose of blarney to the All Whites in the 1990s? Or Anthony Hudson, now struggling with the Colorado Rapids in the MLS?

There is more to coaching than having a smart tracksuit and a Uefa Pro licence.

The best coaches get the importance of good player management. They pride themselves on understanding what makes their players tick.

The All Whites qualified for the World Cup finals in 1982 under English coach John Adshead, who assimilated himself into the Kiwi culture and skilfully blended a mix of New Zealand-born youngsters and naturalised British expatriates.

Ricki Herbert, an Aucklandborn defender in the 1982 group. coached the All Whites to the 2010 World Cup finals with Canterbury’s Ryan Nelsen as captain.

Plenty of coaching imports have successfully adapted to the New Zealand football environment – including Yorkshireman Kevin Fallon, Auckland City’s Spanish coach Ramon Tribulietx and Ernie Merrick, as did Heraf’s Football Ferns predecessors Tony Readings and John Herdman.

It could have been so different for Heraf had he looked at how coaches around the world crossed cultural divides.

Belgium – the best team to watch at the absorbing World Cup tournament in Russia – are coached by a Spaniard (Roberto Martinez) with a Frenchman (Thierry Henry) as attack coach.

They seem to have a happy camp with a side that reflects the demographics of modern Belgium.

The Belgians seem as united as England under Gareth Southgate, the waistcoat-wearing former England defender who has led his home nation to its first World Cup semifinal in 28 years.

Heraf would have done well to learn what made his players tick, on and off the pitch, before imposing his own version of a scorched earth.

It’s insulting for him to come out now and effectively accuse the Football Ferns of a lack of professionalism.

Most of the Ferns are fulltime pros at clubs in Europe and the United States. They train every day under coaches as credentialed as Heraf.

The likes of Abby Erceg – Heraf’s most vocal critic – and Ali Riley have been respected internationals for over a decade.

Heraf’s outburst in the Austrian media provides NZF with a perfect excuse to give him a red card then turn its attention to recruiting someone who can successfully straddle the cultural abyss.