Helm of New York Yacht Club’s entry
win the regatta,” he said, feeling they were in a race against time as well as major opposition and therefore needed to assemble as powerful a team as possible.
“All of our decisions leading up to the start of the American Magic team is, we have to circumvent the time component because all of the notable competitors have that advantage. Team New Zealand’s an established team. Ben Ainslie is coming back. Luna Rossa, while not an established sailing team, they’ve been operating in some capacity, and they have the advantage of helping write the rule.
“So we have to circumvent time. We can’t afford to waste time developing. You want to always have a good plan B, but at the same time you want to know that plan A can step right into it and not be concerned.”
Barker said he was excited about the opportunity. Real Madrid are within touching distance of a third consecutive Champions League football triumph after Karim Benzema scored twice to eliminate Bayern Munich and book their place in the final.
Bayern, who trailed 2-1 following last week’s opening leg in Germany, looked capable of inflicting this season’s latest European comeback when Joshua Kimmich scored early and James Rodriguez levelled shortly after the hour.
But Benzema’s double in between, the first a header, the second a simple finish following a dreadful error from Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, proved enough as Real hung on for a 2-2 draw, and a 4-3 win on aggregate.
“It was a perfect night for me and for everyone,” Benzema said.
Benzema’s two goals were another feather in the cap for coach Zinedine Zidane, who had decided to start the French striker, despite only one goal in his previous 12 games.
It was another brave call from Real’s coach, who now stands on the brink of history himself, with Carlo Ancelotti and Bob Paisley the only other managers to have ever won Europe’s premier competition three times.
Liverpool or Roma will certainly offer a stern test in Kiev later this month but, having now seen off Bayern, the German champions, Paris Saint-Germain, the French champions, and Juventus, who sit top of Serie A, the feeling is that a 13th European success is now Real’s to lose.
“It was a crazy match,” Zidane said. “We struggled in the beginning, conceding early and not being able to play our game. But it was a lot better in the second half. We pressed up front and got the second goal.”
The German club, who have been knocked out in the Champions League semifinals in four of the last five seasons, had several good chances in the final minutes but were unable to capitalise.
“We were the best team in both games but we were not able to reach the final,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said.
“We dominated. They should thank [goalkeeper Keylor] Navas for his performance, especially toward the end of the match.
“It was tough to concede that goal so early in the second half,” Heynckes said. “It was a gift.”
“It’s been quite some time since I’ve been home [Auckland]. It’s going to be great to get back there and race again. Obviously it’s an area that’s dear to my heart; it’s where I did all my sailing growing up.”
Barker was part of Team New Zealand’s defence in 2000, taking over at the helm from Russell Coutts in the last race. He was then skipper in 2003 when Coutts’ Alinghi took the Auld Mug from Team New Zealand and an unsuccessful challenge in 2007. His final campaign with Team New Zealand was in 2013 when the Kiwi team gave up an 8-1 lead to lose 9-8 against defenders Oracle Team USA.
He led the Japanese challenge in 2017.
“To sail for the New York Yacht Club is a special thing, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be involved,” Barker told Newsroom.