Radical result: Rudan’s remarkable Rufer resurrection
A phone call from coach Mark Rudan — and a snap decision to fly halfway around the world — has changed the course of Alex Rufer’s footballing destiny.
Of all the storylines around the Wellington Phoenix this season, the resurrection of Alex Arthur Rufer has been one of the most remarkable.
Rufer is one of the most improved players in the A-League, becoming a midfield mainstay in a team that has stunned the competition.
He has found his niche in the centre of the park, now one of the first names on the team sheet.
That looked an unlikely scenario at the end of last season. Rufer didn’t start a game from January onwards, and accumulated only 63 minutes of game time across the last 16 rounds. It had been even tougher in the 2016/17 season, when he didn’t start a single match, and in total only got 48 minutes off the bench.
After five seasons, and off contract, you couldn’t blame the All White for following his dream elsewhere. Rufer jetted off to Switzerland, and was six weeks into a trial period with FC Zurich, when Rudan got in contact. The Australian didn’t make any promises, but simply offered the 22-year-old an opportunity.
“It was looking quite positive [in Switzerland] but I felt it was going to be difficult for me to sign a contract and then play regularly,” said Rufer. “When I got the call from Mark inviting me to come back I didn’t hesitate. I thought, what an opportunity to really show him that I am good enough. But my mentality was not just to come back and sign; my mentality was to come back and be a starting XI player.”
Rudan was immediately impressed.
“He flew 24 hours from Switzerland to be part of it,” said Rudan. “Whereas some others couldn’t be bothered driving in, or coming in for a week. Immediately that was a good sign. He was quite hungry for it . . . wanted to make amends.”
Rudan says he then saw enough after a couple of internal intra-squad matches.
“Did I think he was going to play so many games and be so important?” said Rudan. “Probably not at the start but I knew I wanted to work with him and there were things that I wanted to improve. He is driven. Highly driven.”
That inner determination kept Rufer going through the difficult times, when other youngsters would have fallen by the wayside. One of the first Phoenix academy graduates, a bright future was tipped for the son of former All White defender Shane, and the nephew of New Zealand footballing legend Wynton. But it wasn’t an easy transition to the professional ranks, not helped by a awful leg break in December 2015.
He came back from that — ahead of schedule — for the 2016/17 campaign but the departure of coach Ernie Merrick early in the season didn’t help his cause, and Rufer couldn’t even make the bench for final 19 matches.
“You train every day to play,” said Rufer. “So when you are not playing it can be difficult to find that motivation and self belief to keep going.
[But] I kept telling myself if I kept going and putting in the work now, it will pay off. My dad would always tell me ‘treat every training as if it is your last’. It got annoying but I thought ‘I might not be playing now, but in a year, in six months, I am going to make sure I am and I am going to change it’.”
It helped that he was still being picked for national squads during that period — with Anthony Hudson seeing something that the Phoenix couldn’t — but was also evidence of a deep reservoir of mental strength.
“I’ve always had a lot of self belief,” said Rufer. “I definitely think it helps having my dad and Wynton helping me through the good and bad times. Especially my dad, he has prepared me for professional football since I was a young kid. And I left home when I was 13, to go to an academy [the Asia Pacific Football Academy in Christchurch].
“That taught me a lot [and] made me grow up quite quickly. So I think when the bumps came, the downward spiral came around, I was prepared for it. I’ve always been someone to take a challenge head on.”
Rufer is one of a group of young Kiwis who have impressed this year, putting the Phoenix on course for just their second finals appearance in seven seasons.
“Now it is important that we push for higher things,” said Rufer, who will be a key man against Sydney FC tonight. “We are in the top six but we want to be in the top four. We are not content with just a finals berth. It shows that the environment, the culture and mentality at the club has changed massively.”