In the frame: Striker’s rise to vital All White
2022 will be a huge year for the All Whites, with a potential Fifa World Cup appearance, and no player is more important in that quest than Chris Wood. The Burnley striker joins Michael Burgess to reflect on his long international career.
Inside Chris Wood’s Manchester home, one shirt takes pride of place among the collection adorning his walls. There are tops from the clubs he has represented — notably Burnley and Leeds — across a long career. There are also shirts from notable opponents, including Sergio Ramos, Didier Drogba and Romelu Lukaku.
But the standouts on display are those embossed with the silver fern, particularly one worn against China in November 2014. That was the day Wood became the youngest All Whites captain in history, leading his country aged 22 years 318 days.
“That was a very proud moment for him,” mother Julie Wood tells the Weekend Herald. “He’s got that shirt framed in his house, with his captain’s armband underneath.”
Eight years on, Wood has become one of the greatest footballers in New Zealand history, with his remarkable scoring exploits in English professional football, but has never shirked his international duties.
“He’s a very proud Kiwi and sees it as an honour to play for his country,” says Julie Wood. “If he’s asked, he would never think not to, even if it can come at a cost for his career.”
This year is massive for New Zealand football, and Wood will be at the heart of it, with the All Whites having their best chance of reaching the Fifa World Cup since 2009.
If they can qualify from the Oceania tournament in March, Danny Hay’s team will face a single-leg playoff against North America’s fourth-ranked side. One shot for glory, over 90 minutes, in Qatar.
It’s a tantalising scenario, but so much hinges on Wood. He has superseded Winston Reid as the squad’s most valuable member and is impossible to replace.
Put simply, Wood scores goals. There’s a lot more to it than that — he leads the line exceptionally well — but Wood has mastered the art of finding the back of the net at the highest level.
He is only two shy of Vaughan Coveny’s national record of 29 but it’s his deeds in England that have been staggering.
After prolific stints at Millwall, Birmingham, Brighton and Leicester, Wood’s exploits for Leeds (44 goals and nine assists in 88 games) in the Championship led to his Burnley move in September 2017.
He has thrived in the world’s toughest football competition and is one of only eight players to have notched at least 10 goals each of the past four Premier League seasons.
He’s competing at a rarefied level and others in the past such as Wynton Rufer, Ryan Nelsen and Reid have struggled to balance those demands with international commitments.
That was understandable, with the constant pressure and focus and a queue of players lining up to take advantage of any stumble.
But despite that, the 30-year-old has barely missed an All Whites opportunity, despite the logistical and physical demands.
“To play for the All Whites was a huge dream when I was growing up as a kid,” Wood tells the Weekend Herald. “I didn’t think I would make it as a professional, let alone have a chance to play for my national team.
“I just love playing for New Zealand. I love being able to join up with the lads. It’s something different, a different environment, getting on with Kiwis.
“You don’t just meet three or four, like in a club team, that you get on extremely well with; you get on well with everybody, because you have the same upbringing, the same personalities.”
Wood first represented New Zealand at the 2007 Under-17 World Cup but his path to national honours wasn’t straightforward.
In December 2005, New Zealand Football named 34 players in a development squad building towards that tournament, with training camps and international tours — Wood wasn’t on the list.
“He didn’t make any of the national identification groups or games, for whatever circumstances,” says father Grant Wood.
“But we always said, control what you can control, keep doing what you are doing and things will happen . . . and certainly things did happen.”
Wood excelled for Waikato-Bay of Plenty in the national age group tournament of 2006, then turned out for Cambridge at the national under19 club event in Napier the same year, despite being only 14.
But he missed selection for the Oceania qualification tournament in Tahiti in April 2007 and looked an unlikely prospect for the World Cup.
“They didn’t think he was good enough, because he was 19 or 20 months younger than the other strikers,” says Grant Wood. “Until they qualified, and then it was, ‘maybe we should pick him’.”
New Zealand lost all three games, including heavy defeats to Brazil and England. But Wood was on his way, starting all three matches, and he continued to stand out on his return.
He was the leading scorer for Hamilton Wanderers, turned out for Waikato in the national league and still found time to star for the St Paul’s Collegiate 1st XI, coached by former All White Michael Groom.
“He used to always score goals,” says Groom. “That is what he did — that was his DNA. Essentially, he just scored goals that no one else could score and you know why? Because no one else would actually attempt those things.”
Less than two years later, Wood made his senior international debut, on June 3, 2009, against
Tanzania, still six months shy of his 18th birthday.
“It was a pretty whirlwind few months for me after making my [Premier League] debut for West Brom and then getting called up by Ricki [Herbert],” says Wood. “Starting against Tanzania for my first cap was quality.”
Wood played at the 2009 Confederations Cup, then came off the bench against Bahrain in Manama and Wellington as New Zealand sealed World Cup qualification.
He was a substitute in all three games in South Africa, and came close to a late winning goal against Italy after turning Azzurri captain Fabio Cannavaro inside out.
“Look, yeah, it would have been fantastic if it nestled in the far corner and everybody would have been extremely happy with it, especially me,” says Wood.
“It wasn’t meant to be but it was just nice to be a part of it and our team gave ourselves the opportunity to get out of the group. We did extremely well across the three games.”
In just over 12 months, Wood had played in the Confederations Cup, the World Cup, the intercontinental playoffs and high-profile matches against Mexico, Australia and Serbia.
“It was a great time to be a part of New Zealand football,” says Wood. “At the time, I was thinking, ‘Oh, this is what international football will be like every four years, going to a World Cup, going to a Confederations Cup every time, oh, this is nice and easy’.
“I knew it was a big thing how we got to it and it was a long time since the first one [28 years]. But I thought with the team we’ve got, we’ll be there every time. Little did I know it was going to take a bit more work than that. But it was nice to be a part of those first two big ones.”
The next milestone was a personal one, as Wood notched his first All Whites goal in a 1-1 draw against Honduras at North Harbour Stadium in October 2010. It was his 13th international appearance, though only his fourth start.
“It was a [ Jeremy] Brockie cross and a header at the back post. It always sticks fondly in my mind. I can remember it, clear as day.
“It was an extremely happy moment, as it took me 13 games to get that first one. Even though most of my time was off the bench, it was good to get off the mark.”
Wood was the first-choice centre forward within a couple of years. His seniority was reflected in November 2014, endorsed as captain for the second match of Anthony Hudson’s reign.
“It was that transition period where some of the older players had stepped away or were injured,” says Wood. “So it was an opportunity for us younger lads to step up.
“I was fortunate enough to take the captain’s arm band, which was something that made me immensely proud. I was able to score that day as well, so it was extra special.
“I’m extremely honoured to have pulled that armband on the number of times I have in my career so far.”
Wood’s commitment to the cause has been remarkable. Between June 2009 and March 2013, the All Whites played 35 matches, and Wood was available for all but one.
It wasn’t easy, as during that time period, Wood appeared for seven different clubs (West Bromwich, Barnsley, Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol City, Millwall and Leicester) as he worked to establish himself in England.
“He’s been fortunate that it hasn’t really jeopardised his career too much but it does come at a cost,” says Julie Wood.
“You get back [to England] late on the Thursday and the other striker starts on the Saturday; you need to fight to get your position back.”
Wood is a vital factor for New Zealand, especially against bigger teams. The All Whites have found the net 20 times against non-Oceania opposition since 2014, with Wood scoring nine of those goals (the ratio becomes nine of 15 if the four games he didn’t play are excluded).
But, like Reid, his importance can be measured in other ways.
“Having Woodsy in camp is huge for us,” says goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic. “He comes to every window that is physically possible for him to be here, he’s 100 per cent committed. Having a player like that, a big player in the Premier League, is fantastic for us.
“A lot of the young players look at that, they see what they have to do week in and week out, the way [he approaches] training, it definitely rubs off on everyone, me included.”
Wood will begin his 14th year with the All Whites this month and remains as committed as ever.
“I always love coming away,” says Wood. “It’s a short career, so I’m making the most of every opportunity I can to pull on the white jersey, because I know when I look back, it means so much to me and it meant so much at the time.”