Reid eyes World Cup and beyond
All Whites star has not put time frame on playing career for national team
Winston Reid has his sights set on the next World Cup — and isn’t ruling out playing for New Zealand beyond that campaign. It’s news that will gladden the hearts of All Whites fans around the country, given the importance of the West Ham player.
Even after a decade in the national team, the desire still burns deep, at a time when he could be forgiven for focusing exclusively on his club.
But Reid desperately wants to qualify for another World Cup, so that the new generation of Kiwi players can have the same life-changing experiences that he enjoyed in 2010.
“I’ve had conversations with [coach] Danny [ Hay], about what he wants from me,” Reid told the Herald, after a training session at the team’s Dublin base. “He asked me what it means for me, and I told him I really and genuinely want to do it, not only for myself but for the younger kids, for the guys coming through.
“I was fortunate enough to play at a World Cup and it did a lot for me. To be able to give them a chance to be there and compete, it’s second to none, so we have to try our best to get there.”
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar would take Reid to the cusp of his 34th birthday, but that may not be the end.
“I haven’t set a time frame on it,” said Reid. “This campaign is going to be another two years and I will take stock after that. But as long as the body is fine and I am in the right frame of mind and able to give 100 per cent every single time then I will want to play.”
Of course it depends on a successful comeback, after being out for 18 months with a lingering knee injury. His presence in Dublin has raised eyebrows among some West Ham fans, but Reid was always confident he would make the trip.
Reid has battled niggling injuries over the past few years, but still averaged 28 games a season between 2012 and 2017.
“It’s been tough and sometimes you get to a point where enough is enough,” said Reid about this latest episode and slow return to action.
“But that is what you sign up for
when you become a player. It’s part of the game and I have been fortunate enough. It was a freak injury.”
Reid’s value to the All Whites’ cause has been illustrated once again over the last two days. His presence
alone is a boost, setting the standards at training and giving the young players a source of inspiration.
“I’ve been watching him on television for so long,” said new All White Joe Bell.
“Now today, there he was playing behind me at training, and I was asking for the ball from him.
“It’s not all the time you get to play with someone who was your idol,” said Bell.
“He’s massive for us,” agrees longtime teammate Michael McGlinchey. “He lifts everyone’s standards and guys like him and Chris Wood even push the coaches.”
It’s hard to escape the image of Reid scoring that goal against Slovakia in 2010, leaping majestically for an unforgettable moment in New Zealand football history.
But Reid has now been in the team for a decade.
He has a different style to previous leaders such as Ryan Nelsen or Hay, but has been every bit as influential, epitomised by his brilliant displays in the Peru series two years ago.
“Ten years . . . how time flies,” Reid said with a laugh.
“Things go really quick, a lot of the people I played with their careers are finished now, that’s definitely strange,” he said.
‘‘People come and go but the culture will always be the same, the spirit in this team.”