Terry Maddaford: Long wait between drinks was worth it

Being one of barely a handful of New Zealanders fortunate to witness first hand the All Whites qualifying twice for a World Cup is special.

Very special. A highlight in almost 40 years of being lucky enough to see some truly great sporting moments.

The sea of white-bedecked fans who hung about the superbly-presented Westpac Stadium late on Saturday night to cheer the team as they soaked up the atmosphere in a meandering lap of honour was amazing - a far cry from that sticky night in Singapore almost 28 years ago. Within minutes of that epic 2-1 win over the Chinese and as the New Zealand players struggled to come to grips with what they had achieved but had no energy to really celebrate (apart from briefly acknowledging the small contingent of New Zealand Defence personnel who had roared them to victory), the huge National Stadium was empty.

The 70,000 or so Singaporeans who had come to cheer China had bolted. The tiny New Zealand contingent were shepherded to the safety of the dressing room as irate fans swarmed around the team bus.

Saturday night was different. Within minutes, the Bahrain players, coaching staff, vociferous media group and their band of supporters were nowhere to be seen.

Losing a game they were certain they would win was a bitter pill. They did not even present players or coaches for the traditional post-match conference.

That many of the 1982 All Whites were on hand to see this new band of heroes - many who were not born when they won through to Spain in January that year - emerge was fitting. They are happy to hand the legacy on. Leave the new breed to bask in the richly-deserved glory.

As one of the 1982 players said, "we lived a dream, we have had that with us for nearly 30 years, now it is their turn."

The script could not have been better written. For years I had lived in hope that one day this might happen ... It sure was worth the wait.