Soccer: Hard lessons for All Whites

Ricki Herbert is kicking himself.

Not normally one to get involved in chasing memorabilia and mementos, he now realises just how big New Zealand's Confederations Cup clash with Spain was in the overall context of New Zealand football.

"I should have gone out of my way to get the match team sheet," said Herbert. "How often will New Zealand sides get to play against a team like that?

"I would now, looking back on that game, dearly love to have the team sheet which shows I coached a team who played against the likes of Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso and others who are right up there among the biggest names in our game. You should frame things like that."

Kris Bright, whose father Dave was in the All Whites squad at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, has had about as many minutes in the All Whites shirt as Simon Elliott has had games, yet the players from the opposite ends of that spectrum agree this has been a second-to-none experience.

"It is great to be here. A big step up from playing against teams like the Solomon Islands," said Bright. "It is great for young players like myself to have the chance to play against big name players like Torres and Fabregas. You always want to aspire to play games like this."

Elliott, the second-most capped player here, agrees.

"It is fantastic to be back on the world stage. It is how you learn. We don't get the exposure we need, so to play games like this is huge," said Elliott. "In a World Cup qualifying year it is vitally important we get big games even if we get comprehensively beaten as we did against Spain.

"That's how you get to the next level."

While Herbert, as All Whites coach, can now only marvel at the chance he and his players have had to pit themselves against World Champions Italy and Spain, Fifa's number one-ranked nation, it is no different from what he experienced almost 30 years ago as a player.

"Then we got to play a Brazilian team at the World Cup. They had already qualified for the second round as arguably one of the greatest teams ever, but they still paid us the compliment of putting out an almost full strength team against us. I will never forget that.

"Just as the pride I felt the other night when Spain put out their very best against us in a game they knew they were always going to win no matter who played.

"I was only 21 when I played at the World Cup," said Herbert. "But, absolutely, I can still remember it as the highlight of my career. I got to play against players like [Oleh] Blokhin, the [Soviet] striker, who at that time was world class.

"It was a unique occasion, but they come and go so quickly you have to capture the moment and make the most of it. But unless you are in an environment like this you will never get to play teams like Italy and Spain.

"The Confederations Cup is now pitched at the highest possible level. Under the new format you will always be rubbing shoulders with the current World Cup holders and the European and South American champions. What more could you as a footballer aspire to?"

Herbert says the Confederations Cup must remain a target for New Zealand.

"Playing here gives us the chance to test ourselves at a level many other countries can only dream about," said Herbert. "Just by us playing at the Confederations Cup, kids at home can turn on the television and watch the best players in the world. Fantastic.

"The feeling in the dressing room before the game against Spain was interesting. Here we were about to face the best team in the world but at the same time had to quantify the difference between playing a team like Vanuatu and, say, Wales and Spain.

"We were up against a team who has won everything in the last few years. The players could hear the noise. They knew it was something special. That's how it should be."

Herbert, deservedly, still glows in the aftermath of the game against Italy.

While he, like his players, admits there is a certain degree of disappointment in losing, there is also plenty of pride in just having the opportunity. In three times leading an Italian side which also fielded a full-strength squad, Herbert and the All Whites could hold their heads high.

"When the Confederations Cup draw was being made, I hoped we would get Spain," said Herbert.

"Spain have often been touted as the best but have just often fallen short, but it was still a chance to play one of the really big names. We lost, but, like the players, I have learned a great deal from the experience.

"After the game against Italy there was a fair degree of confidence heading into the game against Spain. For whatever reason, it did not go as we had hoped and planned initially but in the end it was not too bad, especially when you consider they beat Azerbaijan 6-0 and they are ranked higher than us.

"We were a little unlucky to catch Spain when we did," said Herbert. "They are on the verge of setting a world record for the longest unbeaten record in football at this level, so there was no room for error. I'm sure that is why they put out their best team."

Herbert is grateful for the opportunities he has been given.

"If I had thought when I first kicked a ball as a four-year-old at Murdoch Park that one day I was going to play against Brazil and then coach my country to play the world champions and the current No1 side in the world, I would have had to be dreaming."