The All Whites are still without a permanent head coach. Photo / Photosport
The All Whites are still hunting for a permanent head coach, but some of their previous top candidates may be back in the mix. Michael Burgess reports.
The All Whites won’t have a permanent head coach in place for the June international window, as the search to find Danny Hay’s successor goes on.
New Zealand Football (NZF) has confirmed that Darren Bazeley will again be in charge on an interim basis for that trip, which includes games against Sweden in Stockholm and Qatar in Vienna.
The match with the 2022 World Cup hosts was announced on Friday after the Sweden clash was locked in two months ago.
Bazeley, who is in Argentina in charge of the Junior All Whites ahead of the under-20 World Cup, was given the temporary senior role for the games against China in March.
He was without the services of Bill Tuiloma and Ben Waine, after agreeing to let them pursue club commitments, then lost all-time leading goalscorer Chris Wood to injury ahead of the first game.
But the team performed well, especially in Wellington, and Bazeley used most of the squad. There was positive feedback from players and staff but it’s uncertain if he is still being considered for the permanent position.
The long-time NZF staffer was on the initial short list of five, which also included Canada coach John Herdman, former Wellington Phoenix boss Ufuk Talay and ex-national U20 and U23 coach Des Buckingham.
Former Everton and Nottingham Forest midfielder Scot Gemmill, who spent one season at the New Zealand Knights in 2006-2007 and is the Scotland U21 coach, was also interviewed by the panel.
The coach appointment was originally set to be finalised by Christmas, then mid-January.
As the Herald reported in early February, Herdman was NZF’s preferred candidate.
That seemed to fall through soon afterward, with Herdman recommitting his future to Canada, less than a day after NZF said negotiations with their leading candidate had been put on hold due to a family emergency.
At that stage, Talay was out of the picture, having been informed by NZF he wasn’t their first choice, and the Australian has said publicly he is no longer interested in the role, even when the process was subsequently restarted.
In early March NZF chief executive Andrew Pragnell told the Herald NZF would be going back to the original shortlist, while they had also received some “interesting CVs” in the intervening period.
“We need to check post the March window exactly who is in front of us and weigh up our best options going forward,” said Pragnell at the time, adding that making the right decision was more important than sticking to a timeframe.
Gemmill is no longer in contention and he has been touted as a possible managerial option for Queen’s Park, who play in the Scottish Championship.
Buckingham pulled out of the race in early January, signing an extension with Indian Super League club Mumbai City, but the Herald understands he is still in the mix. He is intensely ambitious and driven and while he will be aware of opportunities within the City football group, the carrot of potentially coaching a team at the World Cup in three years (given the All Whites’ clearer pathway via direct entry for Oceania) would be hard to resist.
Herdman also shouldn’t be ruled out.
On the surface, it seems fanciful that he would walk away from his lucrative and high-profile gig with Canada, after achieving a historic World Cup qualification last year and ahead of the 2026 tournament, which Canada will co-host.
But Canada Soccer has had an eventful 2023, with a long-running labour dispute with their women’s team, which was also supported by the men. Both their president and general secretary have resigned. The organisation also faces financial issues from a previous deal that signed away most of its revenue, which has meant budget cuts, and the Government is considering an audit of the organisation’s finances.
Lifestyle factors could appeal to Herdman and his family and his previous stint here offers an awareness of the landscape and resource constraints.
Pragnell wouldn’t comment on who is still in the mix, apart from indicating that Bazeley remains under consideration.
“Darren did a really good job in March and we have full confidence in him going into the June window,” said Pragnell.
Asked if this was another audition, Pragnell said “potentially” - though it seems his chances have diminished, given the search is ongoing.
Pragnell also said that they hoped to finish the process by June.
For now, Bazeley will be focused on his U20 duties in Argentina. The team - an inexperienced squad compared with previous iterations - face Guatemala on Sunday (6am) before matches against Uzbekistan (6am Wednesday) and the host nation (6am next Saturday).
Beyond that comes the trip to Europe.
Sweden are ranked 22nd in the world and their squad includes Premier League stars Alexander Isak (Newcastle United), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United) and Dejan Kulesevski (Spurs).
Qatar will also be challenging. Despite their struggles at the World Cup, they are reigning Asian champions and have enjoyed a packed schedule over the last few years.
All Whites’ June window
v Sweden at Stockholm, Saturday, June 17, 5am
v Qatar at Vienna, Tuesday, June 20, 4am