Soccer: Mexican standoff over player release

Andrew Durante and the other Phoenix All Whites look likely to miss the Perth match. Photo / Getty Images

Just 11 days out from the All Whites' most important game in four years, New Zealand Football and the Phoenix are embroiled in a Mexican standoff which could disrupt preparations for the match at the Azteca Stadium.

NZF has insisted all selected players are released on November 9, the same day the Wellington club play Perth in Christchurch.

The Phoenix had sought a compromise which would see their All Whites Glen Moss, Leo Bertos, Andrew Durante, Jeremy Brockie and Ben Sigmund play and then fly to Auckland just in time to catch the late night flight to Los Angeles. NZF has refused the request.

"We are trying to take a consistent approach across all players and all clubs, given the importance of the game," says NZF high performance manager Fred De Jong. "Players have certain obligations to fulfil during the release period (November 9-22) and we don't want to impact our preparation before such a massive game."

Both parties have valid cases. The Phoenix released their internationals for the recent tour to Los Angeles and Trinidad and Tobago, despite the first two matches being against clubs. On the other hand, NZF need to do everything possible to ensure the best preparation and having players fly 12 hours across the Pacific a few hours after a match (with no recovery) may not be ideal.

A share of the blame for this situation also sits with the A-League and Football Federation Australia. Not only do they refuse to recognise Fifa windows, but they seem unwilling to postpone fixtures in such situations. How difficult would it be to postpone the Phoenix-Glory match?

The Wellington club may be willing to look at a compromise, where two or three of the relevant players are used. Either way, the dash from Christchurch would need to be of Usain Bolt proportions.

The match in Christchurch kicks off at 5.30pm, so would finish close to 7.30pm. The players would then have to get across town to Christchurch airport, fly out at 8.20pm, arrive in Auckland at 9.40pm, transfer to the international terminal and then clear customs and security in time for the flight to Los Angeles departing at 10.45pm.

The key for NZF is that all players are able to assemble in Los Angeles on November 9 (US time). Kosta Barbarouses (Melbourne Victory) would struggle to meet that deadline if he played, as their match against Sydney is at 7.45pm (Australian time). Chris Wood, Tommy Smith and Winston Reid would also be racing to meet that deadline, as that trio have Saturday games for their clubs.

However, a pragmatic solution may yet be reached. NZF remain in discussions with all the relevant clubs and a final stance is likely to be agreed in the next few days.