Phoenix rise propels Ben to Olympics
Ben Waine is off to Tokyo, but only because the 20-year-old was given playing time and the chance to score goals. Andrew Voerman reports.
There was a time during the last Wellington Phoenix season when Ben Waine’s hopes of making the cut for the Tokyo Olympics looked very bleak indeed.
Six weeks had passed since the start of their campaign and he’d played for less than half-an-hour in total across their first six matches.
Then the Phoenix lost three forwards almost at the same time – two to injury, and one to a twomatch suspension – and Waine was given his chance.
From that point onwards, he made 14 starts out of a possible 20, including nine in the team’s last 11 games, scoring seven goals, including four in four consecutive matches.
Jeremy Brockie, with 16 during the 2013-13 season, Shane Smeltz, with nine during the 2007-08 season and 12 during the 2008-09 season, and Tim Brown, with eight during the 2009-10 season, are the only Kiwis to have scored more in a campaign for the Nix.
But having all been in their mid-to-late 20s, those three All Whites were far closer to the peak of their powers at the time than Waine, who only turned 20 on June 11.
Having scored those goals after being given the chance to do so by Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay,
Waine’s case for inclusion in the OlyWhites was impossible for coach Danny Hay to ignore, even though he’s young enough to go again to what is usually a predominantly under-23 event, in Paris in 2024.
The squad for Tokyo was announced on Friday and once it was confirmed he’d made the cut as one of five forwards, beating out a trio of players who have already earned All Whites caps – Myer Bevan, Max Mata, and Logan Rogerson – Waine was over the moon.
‘‘If you’d said to me at the start of the season, you’ll be going to the Olympics. I’d probably have been umming and ahing about it, but I guess the hard work paid off in the end,’’ he said.
‘‘I got my chance and I took it in the A-League, and I’m glad that Danny and the coaching staff have shown faith in me.’’
Waine has signed on for three more years with the Phoenix, turning down an offer from English Championship side Coventry City, and while he was pleased with how his second campaign as a professional turned out in the end, he said he was already looking forward to his third.
‘‘Obviously there’s always room for improvement, and I’m already thinking about taking it to another level next season, but looking back on it now and taking a step back from it, the development that went on, I’m very happy with, and I’m just glad that I was given a chance and I took it.’’
The Phoenix have already made one signing up front for the coming season, which might not start until November, bringing back English veteran Gary Hooper.
It appears they are also sill trying to re-sign Israeli international Tomer Hemed, who was not on the list of seven players not returning that was put on Friday, while they might also be trying to lure back Roy Krishna, with his wife listing New Zealand among the Fijian international’s potential destinations.
The addition of another highprofile forward might be a cause for concern for Waine, who said ‘‘I really am,’’ when asked if he was looking to step into a starting role next season.
‘‘I want to really kick on from what happened at the end of last season.
‘‘Obviously last season’s last season and you kind of forget about it now, and it doesn’t really matter, but I’m hoping I can carry that form in and take it to another level.’’
The New Zealand-based players and staff are off next weekend, with the OlyWhites first match on July 22 against South Korea, and others against Honduras and Romania to follow in Group B at the 16-team tournament.
Waine scored twice against Honduras at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in 2019, in what was arguably his breakout performance as a footballer, and while he’s looking forward to potentially going up against the Central American nation again, he’s also looking forward to being a sponge and soaking up all he can.
‘‘I’m just looking forward to
playing a high standard of football and actually being in an environment where you’ve got players like Chris Wood, Winston Reid possibly, Michael Boxall – All Whites and really big players and leaders.
‘‘I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can off them.’’
Waine has been on a wild ride since the U20 World Cup two years ago, where his goals gave the country a first glimpse at the celebratory grin seen plenty in the A-League season.
The border controls imposed as a result of the pandemic meant he was forced, along with the rest of the club’s players and staff, to move to Wollongong in New South Wales for the season, which meant leaving his family and hometown for the first time.
‘‘Setting goals like the Olympics, making the All Whites – stuff like that is really important because you need to be driven and maintain that.’’