KEY POINTS:
He may be one of New Zealand's most successful footballers, but Ryan Nelsen was struck by a case of coyness when he joined the Oly White team in China.
The English Premier League player revealed yesterday he felt uncomfortable about being captain of the men's Olympic soccer team
and offered to stand down.
"In all honesty, when I first came in I said to Aaron [Scott, the regular skipper,] and Stu [Jacobs, the team coach] that I felt a bit awkward just coming in because obviously these guys have been together a long time and deserve what they have got," said Nelsen.
Jacobs and Scott, understandably, refused to accept the Blackburn Rovers defender's resignation offer.
"The guys presented their case and there is no animosity so in the end it was whatever is best for the team," Nelsen said from the city of Shenyang where the team is preparing for its first game against China on Thursday.
He, Simon Elliot and Chris Killen have been brought into the team for the tournament under the rule which allows three over-age players to join the under-23 squad. The Oly-Whites have been together since March, qualifying through a tournament in Fiji, the first time New Zealand has made the Olympics.
Scott said he was aware of Nelsen's offer to stand aside as skipper - and would have been happy to take up the role again if Jacobs had wanted him to - but he felt it best Nelsen lead. Nelsen, Elliot and Killen brought knowledge and experience to the team.
"Ryan took a session yesterday afternoon and the things you learned from it were invaluable," said Scott. The under-23 players all had enormous respect for what the trio had achieved in top-level football.
Nelsen, 30, admitted, though, that he couldn't help but feel a little old. "I think I feel oldest in the warm-ups when all the boys sprint off and I just need a few minutes, but they have made me feel really welcome," he said.
With acres of experience, he has been trying to help the team prepare for what they can expect when they play on Thursday night before a parochial Chinese crowd of about 60,000. The biggest crowd most of the Oly Whites have played in front of is 20,000 in Fiji.
Jacobs said he was happy with the team's preparations, despite the groin injury which has seen defender Jack Pelter ruled out of the tournament. Pelter will be replaced by Phoenix attacker Greg Draper who will join the squad on Thursday morning.
The team has a DVD of China's victory in a warm-up match against Australia and will scour it for clues as to what they can expect.
