Football: Another champ in the making

The Wellington Phoenix's Alex Rufer (centre) could be on show in Northland in January when the team's reserve side play New Zealand Football Wanderers at Toll Stadium.

In New Zealand football there are no richer bloodlines than those of the Rufer clan.

Wynton Rufer was a gifted forward who - in part due to his ground-breaking stint in the German Bundesliga - was named Oceania's Player of the Century.

His older brother, Shane, also represented New Zealand and played in Switzerland for a decade in an era when few Kiwis plied their trade in Europe.

Now Shane's son, Alex, is the family flagbearer and hoping to be a central figure in the next milestone event on New Zealand soil - the 2015 Fifa Under-20 World Cup. The 24-nation competition will be the biggest football tournament to take place in New Zealand, and follows in the wake of Under-17 World Cups for men and women held in 1999 and 2008 respectively.

Football New Zealand has been boosted in recent years via the national team's historic qualification for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, and the success of A-League club Wellington Phoenix, where midfielder Alex plies his trade.

But how much impact could next year's tournament have on New Zealand football?

"It could help ... massively," Alex said. "It could have a big impact on football around the country, make the game more popular and generally lift the game in New Zealand.

"I'm thinking about it a lot. It will be a great opportunity to play against some great names, and hopefully we do well on home soil. I'm looking to get as much game time as I can under my belt ... in the meantime, and to be the best I can be every day."

Alex is optimistic that next year's Under-20 World Cup will be a very different onfield experience compared with the United Arab Emirates tournament in 2013, when New Zealand lost all three of their matches.

"Being on home soil it could really lift the boys a little bit extra and we can do better than we did in the Under-17s," he said.

Alex has played football since he was 4 years old.

"It is what I always wanted to do," he said. "Of course your father is already someone you look up to, but having him to look up to through football is perfect. I have learnt off him since the day I started, and obviously Wynton as well. They have been mentoring me and I guess it has paid off."