Soccer: Boxall will travel world for Whites

Michael Boxall for NZ against Mexico. Photo / Dustin Bradford, Icon SMI

Michael Boxall knows only too well how hard the travel factor will be for the All Whites in today's friendly with Australia in Adelaide.

The 22-year-old is in his first season in the MLS and quickly found out how demanding it is to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who play in the top American competition.

One Wednesday night, he played in Vancouver only to play another match in Houston, a mere 3185km away, four days later. Another weekend, he found himself in Philadelphia, 3875km from home.

The journey the All Whites have taken from Denver to Adelaide, however, is on a different scale. It traverses 14,511km and eight time zones, and three flights. If that wasn't bad enough, today's game against Australia comes just three days after Mexico.

"In the MLS, and being from Vancouver, the first couple of months of the season were brutal," Boxall says.

"It kind of prepares you, but this is definitely something else. Halfway across the world to play a game three days later - it will definitely be a test but one we will be up for."

They will need to be. New Zealand Football can't be particularly choosy about fixtures. The All Whites might have impressed the footballing world at last year's World Cup but they are still ranked 60 in the world. They had nothing on the calendar until next June a little more than a month ago.

Boxall will hope he recovers quickly from Thursday's game, when he struggled in the unfamiliar right wing-back role and was dragged at halftime. He's expected to return to his more natural position of centre back against Australia today, especially with the absence of Ivan Vicelich and Winston Reid.

Boxall's is a name that should become more familiar on the New Zealand football landscape. He was earmarked for international duty from a young age, when he captained Kevin Fallon's Mt Albert Grammar side.

He then played at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup and started all three of New Zealand's games at the 2008 Olympics (an under-23 tournament) even though he was just 19. He made two appearances for New Zealand A at the 2006 Agribank Cup tournament in Vietnam.

His age also makes him an ideal candidate to help New Zealand's bid to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

He was called up for March's 1-1 draw with China and played well when he came on for the second half.

An international call-up might not have happened if he hadn't secured an MLS contract. He was surprisingly overlooked by MLS clubs during the league's initial draft but was the No 1 pick in January's supplemental draft.

"I was expecting to go in the [initial] draft so it had been a pretty rough couple of days after not hearing my name," says Boxall, who has developed a thick American accent after four years at Santa Barbara University. "When I didn't hear my name that day, I expected to go relatively high in the supplemental draft. It was nice to hear it so early.

"It doesn't really matter where you get picked up in the draft, whether it's the first round or supplemental draft, you still have to prove your spot.

"More than half the players who were drafted in the initial draft weren't signed so I'm very happy with my situation now."

He was even more pleased when he played the first six games of Vancouver's season.

He felt he was playing well but was benched and then dropped altogether as others returned from injury.

His chances might have improved, however, after the club this week sacked manager Teitur Thordarson after failing to win a game since the opening day of the season.

"It might [hurt me being away] because the players who are there now have an advantage and can show what they can do right away," he says. "But our new coach was working as technical director so he saw me play in the first few games. He has an idea of what I can do and hopefully it's not out of sight, out of mind."

Boxall hopes his long-term future isn't in the MLS, anyway.

He is on a one-year contract with three one-year options which provides little certainty.

"It's kind of shitty how they treat players," he says, "but I see this as a step in the right direction of where I want to go."

That means Europe. He has the physique - local Vancouver media have described him as "hulking" - but he's also good on the ball and it was a major reason why Herbert entrusted him with playing the crucial right wing-back position against Mexico.

It's at right back, however, where his immediate international future might lie. Herbert has adopted a 3-4-3 formation for the past 18 months, largely because he can't find a right back good enough to play a back four, but Boxall looms as an option.

Boxall's not opposed to the idea - at his age and stage, he will play anywhere. Much like NZF's approach to playing good-level opposition, he can't be particularly choosy just yet.