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When Ryan Nelsen made his Premiership debut against Portsmouth in January 2005, he would have been content even if it had turned out to be his last game.
After all, he had achieved his ambition of playing in one of the world's top football leagues.
"I remember coming
on for my first game and thinking that I could tell my kids one day that I played one game and I was happy with that," Nelsen says from Blackburn's training ground.
"Then I aimed for 10 games and 20 games and after a while, you just go along for the ride and hope it keeps going."
It's fair to say Nelsen's ride of more than 80 matches has been an agreeable one that doesn't look like stopping anytime soon.
He's highly valued by Blackburn fans, some of whom call him God or The Admiral, and his club. Manager Mark Hughes made him captain and he was rewarded with a lucrative new five-year deal a fortnight ago.
When he first signed with the Lancashire side on a free transfer from American MLS champions DC United, it was estimated he was collecting £8000 a week.
This figure quickly rose to £16,000 and then £35,000 after improved deals and recent reports suggest he could be banking as much as £60,000 a week after his latest contract.
That would make his yearly income in the vicinity of NZ$8 million.
"I saw those reports and I'm nowhere near that [amount]," Nelsen says.
"People get pretty excited and just make a number up, although I guess I am better paid than most New Zealand sportsmen."
Nelsen does agree that his worth on the transfer market would be in the region of £5 million.
It doesn't come close to the £31 million Manchester United splashed on England defender Rio Ferdinand in 2002 but the 29-year-old Cantabrian is still one of the most respected defenders in the league.
He's forged a reputation as a no-nonsense centre-half and good organiser and has been a principal reason for Blackburn's stingy reputation in the past two seasons.
He's also helped open doors for other players from New Zealand and other traditional non-footballing countries to make it in the top leagues. Clubs are now prepared to take risks with players they might not have in the past.
Nelsen is too much of a professional to admit it but there must be a part of him that wonders if he has what it takes to make it with one of the glamour top-four teams. He's not likely to find out now he has committed to Blackburn.
His latest deal supposedly was penned to ward off renewed interest from Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth and he has been linked with Everton and even Arsenal in the past.
"It can be strange [being linked with moves to other clubs]," Nelsen admits. "It can be a distraction and can play with your mind a bit. I actually told my agent not to tell me about anything unless something was on the table.
"It was a surprise to be offered a new deal because I was happy with my previous deal but it's great to know my long-term future is here at Blackburn. They were the ones that gave me an opportunity in the first place and who have looked after me since."
Blackburn have been good to Nelsen but he has been good to them.
Rovers have enjoyed two good FA Cup runs to the semifinals (losing to eventual winners Arsenal in 2005 and Chelsea this year), an impressive sixth-place finish in 2006-07 and a Uefa Cup run finally ended by German side Bayer Leverkusen.
If they safely negotiated a second-leg Intertoto Cup match against Lithuanian outfit FK Vetra overnight - and they led 2-0 after the first leg in Lithuania - they would be back in the Uefa Cup this season.
Blackburn haven't been as busy as some Premiership clubs in the off-season but have added young goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen and exciting Dutch striker Maceo Rigters.
Rigters finished the recent European under-21 championships, won by the Netherlands, as the tournament's top scorer and was reportedly being chased by a host of clubs before settling on Blackburn Rovers.
"We've got a great squad now," Nelsen enthuses, "and a great manager. It's hard to say how we're going to go [in the Premiership] because there is a fine line between winning and losing but Europe is a priority for us.
"Now that I know my long-term future is with Blackburn, I would like to win something with them and help bring success to the club."
Nelsen would like to do the same for the All Whites. He hasn't played international football since New Zealand's World Cup qualifying exit in 2004, saying "the stars haven't aligned or I've been injured".
He's drawn criticism for not playing any of New Zealand's 15 games since but makes no apology for that.
"At the start, I was trying to establish a career here," he says. "Having a New Zealander in the Premiership probably amounts to more [for football in New Zealand] than me turning out for a few friendly games."
He says he's available for the All Whites' World Cup qualifying campaign starting on October 13 "if selected".
There's no doubt that, if fit, he would be the first name on New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert's team sheet.
Maybe if the All Whites get on a decent World Cup run again, Ryan Nelsen could retire even more contented than he is already.
