LeBron, Zlatan and the All Whites defender
Going toe-to-toe with superstars on a weekly basis and sitting courtside watching LeBron James, Michael Boxall didn’t think twice about committing his long-term future to Minnesota United.
Coming off his best-ever season as a professional football player, helping the Major League Soccer expansion side reach the playoffs for the first time, Boxall said it was a no-brainer to re-sign with Minnesota on a new two-year contract.
Despite freezing winter months, occasionally playing matches in -15 degree temperatures, Boxall, wife Libby and three-year-old daughter Maxwell have made a home for themselves in the United States.
The All Whites defender sees a bright future for the Loons, who are now playing in a brand new state-ofthe-art football specific stadium with a heated pitch.
‘‘I’ve been there two-and-a-half years now and I’m very settled,’’ he said. ‘‘I went there in the middle of the season not fully fit so it took a few games to get fit.
‘‘In our second season I don’t think we had the right pieces to be truly competitive and the results showed that, but once the new stadium was built the owners and the front office chased a few big players and that made us a lot more competitive in the season just gone.’’
Boxall joined Minnesota midway through the 2017 season after a spell with South African club Super Sport United. It was his second stint in MLS, having made his professional debut with Vancouver Whitecaps in 2011.
The 31-year-old centreback said MLS has come a long way since then, adding six more clubs, with more on their way. Having previously signed superstars in the twilight of their career, such as David Beckham, Thierry Henry and more recently Zlatan Ibrahimovic, clubs are shifting their recruitment to exciting prospects out of South America.
But playing against the likes of Ibrahimovic has provided Boxall with memories he will never forget.
He squared off against Ibrahimovic on three occasions and had decent success, scoring the same amount of goals as the Swede – one.
‘‘He’s a truly generational player,’’ he said.
‘‘Some of the games that I watched him he scored some of the best goals you could ever see, like the overheard versus England, and then you’re up against him. He’s a fair bit older now but we were able to stop him scoring in most of the games we were up against him and I don’t think too many defenders around the world can say that.
‘‘Even though he’s old he’s still got a lot of talent and he’s still a very difficult player to mark so I’m not too disappointed he’s moved on.’’
Boxall said Ibrahimovic is the ultimate confidence player who loves to get under the skin of his opponents.
‘‘If you get into him and get him off his game – because he likes to try and bully other players – so if you stop him from doing that then he’s got no foot to stand on when it comes to talking s... and I enjoy that kind of challenge, I love getting into those types of players and if you keep his mouth shut then the battle is half won with him.’’
But while he was happy with his performances against Ibrahimovic, it was LA Galaxy who had the last laugh this season, knocking the higher seeded Minnesota out in the first round of the MLS playoffs by winning 2-1.
A massive NBA fan growing up, Boxall has enjoyed the chance to attend regular Minnesota Timberwolves matches, his club’s owner dishing out courtside tickets to the players whenever he doesn’t attend himself.
‘‘I got to sit courtside versus LeBron when they played last year. That was pretty cool,’’ he said.
But he said the bitterly cold winter does provide its challenges, playing a game in 2018 in -15 degree temperatures, which is why he has escaped back to New Zealand for Christmas to train alongside his brother Nikko Boxall, who plays professional football for Danish second-tier club Viborg.
‘‘The MLS off-season is very long so it gives us a good five or six weeks back in New Zealand to catch up with family and get away from
-10 or -15 weather. We played Atlanta at home two seasons ago in
-15 and it’s not pleasant at all. ‘‘But it’s just one of those things you have to push through and I’d prefer to play in something like -5 than 35-plus in Honiara.’’
‘‘If you keep his mouth shut then the battle is half won with him.’’ Michael Boxall on facing Zlatan Ibrahimovic