Auckland City FC midfielder Michael den Heijer won’t be asking for selfies as he lines up in the tunnel ahead of the Fifa Club World Cup opening match on Wednesday – though no one would blame him if he did.
As the Sandringham-based team prepares to face the mightof Saudi Arabia champions Al-Ittihad – one of the richest clubs in the world football – on Wednesday morning (7am NZT) – den Heijer will come face to face with his sporting hero.
The former New Zealand age group representative will oppose Fabinho, the long-time Liverpool midfielder and Brazilian international, one of several big names who have been lured by the astronomical salaries on offer in the Gulf nation.
Fabinho, who was prised away from Anfield in the off-season for a transfer fee of $82 million, is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, who den Heijer estimates he has watched more than 150 times.
“It’s a dream really,” den Heijer told the Herald. “I’m a massive Liverpool supporter so playing against someone like that, who plays in my position as well … it’s a surreal experience.”
The acquisition of Fabinho is an example of Al-Ittihad’s ambition since they were taken over by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund in June. He is on reported wages of at least $800,000 a week. Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema and former Chelsea favourite and 2018 Fifa World Cup winner N’Golo Kante are among other superstars in their ranks.
“They are daunting players, obviously, with all the titles they have won,” said den Heijer. “You watch a few of their highlights on YouTube and you are literally sitting there with your mouth open. It’s a surreal task ahead but we have to enjoy the moment and not be afraid of them either. They are human at the end of the day, if we play our best and everyone gives a 10/10 performance then maybe we can make a miracle happen.”
Former Liverpool star Fabinho, who now plays in Saudi Arabia.
On any given Wednesday morning, den Heijer would be about to commence work at one of a range of Auckland schools, where he facilitates programmes for an Australian-based charity, Life Changers Foundation, based on pre-emptive wellbeing.
“We deliver workshops and teach things like life skills, self-awareness, resilience … not traditional schooling topics”, said den Heijer.
This Wednesday will be very different, as den Heijer and his teammates face a capacity 62,000 crowd in Jeddah against the Saudi champions. It seems an impossible task – given the disparity in talent and resources – but they have nothing to lose.
“The other day we had a meeting and we were watching a few of Benzema’s clips, and you are sitting there thinking, am I really going to be playing up against this player?,” said den Heijer. “A lot of them are a bit like that. But everybody has their weaknesses.”
The Oceania champions hope to get through the first 20 minutes unscathed and then build into the match from there.
Coach Albert Riera doesn’t think his players will be overawed, even if they have the right to be, against a club that has an annual wage bill exceeding $350 million.
“Whether you are nervous or not after five or 10 minutes you always get into the game,” Riera told the Herald. “When the ball is rolling you don’t have much time to look at the names on the shirts that you are playing against. I want them to be themselves and that is the main challenge because sometimes if you get too intimidated you don’t play the way you should play.”
Al-Ittihad are overwhelming favourites, with Auckland City listed at $23 on the TAB, which are huge odds, especially for a football match. Riera is realistic about their chances but wants the squad to make the most of the experience.
“My main message is that they have to enjoy every minute because the time goes very quick,” said Riera. “The worst feeling – because I have had it myself – is that at the end of 90 minutes if you haven’t really been yourself because you have been intimidated or afraid then you are going to regret it for the rest of your life.”
“It’s a big football game, we are very lucky to be part of it. It’s going to be an exceptional atmosphere, a fantastic night, 60,000 people going against us. We have to enjoy that, embrace it – it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will try to do our best, without any pressure and in football we have seen many different things … the underdogs can surprise.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics’, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
