Coen Lammers: Kiwi flavour in Porto Alegre

A New Zealand themed car in Porto Alegre. Photo / Coen Lammers

Opinion

Porto Alegre is the southern most World Cup venue in Brazil, and a long way from home, but still has a distinct Kiwi flavour.

According to Google, the Estadio Beira Rio where the Netherlands played Australia this morning is 11,167km from Auckland, but strangely enough it offers a remarkable slice of Kiwiana.

It already starts at breakfast where the Wellington Phoenix shirt looks out of place between the Dutch and Australian strips.

The owner turns out to be Paul Guthrie from Wellington, but who now lives in Melbourne and follows the Socceroos with his young son.

"I just can't get myself to wear an Australian shirt," the expat Kiwi grins. "The yellow in the Phoenix strip is as close as I will get."

Getting out of the car of at the stadium, I am bit dumbfounded to see a picture of a silver fern and a New Zealand flag staring at me, sitting alongside a license plate for the local municipality.

The mind boggles how a Kiwi ended up in this southern port city, but my thoughts are drawn towards the familiar big grin of Gordon Glen Watson.

Gordon, a lad from Palmerston North, works for Oceania Football Federation in Auckland and works at the World Cup as a floating Fifa media officer.

As we are waiting for the Australian press conference to commence, another very recognizable face waves from across the room.

Four years after earning the plaudits of being the only undefeated coach at the 2010 World Cup, Ricki Herbert is back on the big stage, this time wearing the blue Fifa suit as part of Fifa's Technical Study Group.

Ricki Herbert watches Socceroos training in Brazil. Photo / Coen Lammers

Along with 12 other former national coaches he studies and reports on the tactical innovations.

During the captain's run, Herbert watches the Socceroos go through their paces from the sideline, and no doubt he would have given his right arm to swap the Fifa suit for Ange Postecoglou's track suit.

Another New Zealander, photographer William West is also at the ground, snapping the match for an international agency, while Kiwi expat Michael Cockerill is tapping out another column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Cockerill has had a distinguished career in Australian papers and Fox TV, but he is proud of his Canterbury roots where he started his career at the Christchurch Star.

Gordon Glen Watson says it's a pity referee Peter O'Leary and assistant referee Jan Hendrik Hintz are no longer in Porto Alegre, after being reserve officials for the France-Honduras game here earlier in the week.

The All Whites didn't qualify but we still seem to be able to field a New Zealand XI.