All Whites advised to make Hay
The best player the country has ever produced, Wynton Rufer, has tipped Danny Hay to be the next All Whites coach.
Rufer encouraged New Zealand Football to employ a New Zealander to replace Anthony Hudson, who is off contract now that the World Cup campaign ended in a 2-0 defeat to Peru.
The former Werder Bremen striker has read the reports in the United States that link Hudson to the vacant position at the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. He expected this to be the end of his tenure with the All Whites.
If he does depart, Rufer said Hay, who coaches Eastern Suburbs, the New Zealand under-17 team and Sacred Heart College, would be his preferred candidate to succeed Hudson.
‘‘At the end of the day it’s about winning. You can say what you want but you’ve got to win. I think now would be a good opportunity if he’s going, according to the press reports, to the MLS, to give Danny Hay a go,’’ he said.
‘‘We always have foreigners and we have enough Kiwis who are experienced enough to do the job.
‘‘Danny Hay would easily be good enough to do it. You’ve got someone there who can do it, so give it to him.’’
The former All Whites captain has coached New Zealand at the past two under-17 world cups. They finished third in Group B earlier this year, having drawn with Turkey but lost to Paraguay and Mali. Two years prior, New Zealand came agonisingly close to a historic quarterfinal berth only to lose 1-0 to Brazil in the 94th minute.
Eastern Suburbs currently sit third behind heavyweights Auckland City and Team Wellington in the ISPS Handa Premiership.
‘‘He’s done well with the under-17s and it happens a lot in international football where the guy does his service in the youth and progresses to the senior. He’s a former All White and he’s done the business. He’s not just coaching at the under-17 because he obviously wants more.’’
When asked how Hudson will be remembered, Rufer said he won’t be.
‘‘To be honest, it’s just the brutal reality of sport. Unless you win, you will be forgotten pretty quick. People only remember winners. It’s just life,’’ he said.
‘‘It doesn’t matter if he won one game or 60 games, you’ve got qualify for the World Cup. That’s the job and unfortunately he didn’t make it. He did everything he could and what he believes was the right thing to do and unfortunately it didn’t work.’’
Rufer said the players will be ‘‘gutted’’ to have missed out on the World Cup, particularly as he believed the squad was the strongest in New Zealand’s history with Chris Wood, Winston Reid, Ryan Thomas and Stefan Marinovic forming a ‘‘really solid backbone’’.
‘‘We’ve never had so many players playing at top clubs overseas.’’
Rufer understood Hudson’s decision to start Wood from the bench in both legs, his playing time restricted due to an injured hamstring. And he actually praised New Zealand’s key striker for sacrificing his place in the Burnley squad just to help his country.
‘‘He wasn’t even in the squad on the weekend. He sacrificed everything to try and qualify New Zealand for the World Cup. He sacrificed his place at Burnley, so you can’t say nothing against what Chris Wood has sacrificed. It was brilliant actually.’’