Nick Becker: Auckland FC CEO on the team's victory over Melbourne City

The A-League will have a new champion after Auckland FC ended Melbourne City's season in a thrilling 14-goal penalty shootout.

The Kiwi side will play Adelaide United across a two-leg semi-final.

CEO Nick Becker says it was 'crazy' watching the team's performance on the night.

"Sport is such an incredible thing, I think with football especially, because it's such a low-scoring game - the scarcity of goals and then the drama... it was a real emotional rollercoaster. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edb Well, Auckland FC fans, how are you feeling after
that one?

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Next time with Melbourne City seventh penalty? There's Nathaniel Edkinson
and Dan Hall who has never scored for Autan FC
and last scored in December of twenty twenty three. So

(00:45):
highly mean semifinal in the most dramatic.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Shirley Gosh, listen to that crowd. My producer was in
that crowd, but she wasn't watching. She had to turn
her back. She couldn't cope anyway. Auckland FC through to
the A League semifinals after a thrilling penalty shootout match
in their elimination final against Melbourne City. Auckland FC CEO
Nick Becker joins me.

Speaker 4 (01:06):
Now, morning back, good morning How you doing.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
How did you handle that one?

Speaker 4 (01:09):
Could you watch? Well?

Speaker 5 (01:11):
I could watch, but I was very nervous and that
just gave me goosebumps.

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Listening to pineyed In, it was a really special night.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
What is going through your head when Vald save that
penalty and Dan Hall is walking up to win the game.

Speaker 5 (01:25):
Well, he was in the Michael was kept looking over
to his goalkeeping coach kind of just try and get
some direction on which way he should go, and Jonathan
Goild who was telling him, kept getting it wrong, so
he was getting I could see he was getting angry
and angry, and I was just kind of going, come on,
come on, this has to end. It can't go on forever.
And then when he stood up and made himself massive

(01:45):
and made that huge save, it was you know, it's
just pure adrenaline runs through the body.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
It's it's such a crazy feeling.

Speaker 5 (01:51):
I mean, sport is such an incredible thing, and I
think football, especially because it's such a low scoring game,
the scarcity of goals and the drama, and then to
go through one all and you play for full ninety
minutes and then extra time as well, and then go
into penalty shootouts.

Speaker 4 (02:09):
It was a real emotional rollercoaster.

Speaker 5 (02:11):
But it's such an incredible thing that only only sport
can actually create.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Sakai won the toss, which meant the penalty shootout was
in front of the port. Was that important for the players?
Do you think does that make a difference?

Speaker 4 (02:23):
It was massive, It was mass.

Speaker 5 (02:24):
We actually talked about it before the game, not not
with the players, but with the coaching staff. And I
normally pop up and see the port before the game too,
and you know, people were asking me about it, and
you know, it did come down to the flip of
a coin, that's the rules, and luckily we won it
and could do it in front of them. But you know,
it's interesting because you watched the Melbourne City players sort

(02:46):
of rose to the occasion as well, and they really
after they scored their penalties, they they went over to
the port and sort of told them to but you know,
kind of did the classic you know, shush be quiet now.
So there's really good like sort of interaction between fans
and players and just added to the whole drama of
the piece.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
So you now go to home and away semi finals
against Adelaide, starting at home next Saturday. Last year the
team won their away leg at the semis, but they
lost at home. What does the team learn from that.

Speaker 5 (03:14):
Well, you know what it's been. I mean that was
obviously our first ever time in finals. And I think
there is a there is a saying in sport that
you've got to go there and lose before you go
back and win. And I think that the finals. Football
is just different, and that's a fact. You know, knock
out everything's there's so much pressure on it, and there's
so much rioting on it.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
So it's it's, you know, sort of win or go home.

Speaker 5 (03:36):
So I think our as a squad, we took a
lot of learnings from that semi final last year and
we'll take that experience and and they the other thing
is that they know how much it hurts when you
do lose, so nobody wants to lose. They always you
want to be in that that kind of all the
way the right to the end. So you know, I
was talking to some of the players last night after
the game and they were saying, right now, we go

(03:58):
on and win it. And that's a real sort of
attitude and belief in the in the squad. And it
is going to be a huge, huge semi final the Saturday.
It looks like it's a six pm kickoff, and you know,
a lot of people expected us to be in that
semi final.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
So last night's crowd was a little bit disappointing.

Speaker 5 (04:15):
We certainly wanted more fans there and so it's a
real rally cry and let's get let's fill go media
next Saturday and get everyone behind the.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Team and Nick, when will the housewife's favorite be back? Francis,
how's he doing health?

Speaker 5 (04:30):
He's going well, he's going well. We're we're hoping he'll
be back for the weekend. He's sort of he's he's
on track, and we'd always aimed for Saturday the ninth,
that semi final first weekend. So yeah, barring any setbacks
this weekend, we're hoping to see him play some sort
of part of it, whether it's off the bench or

(04:51):
or or something bigger.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Tickets on sale tomorrow, Neck, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (04:55):
So tickets to go on sale for members at nine am,
So there's an exclusive member window for King to see
members and that runs through from nine am to four pm.
And then tickets on sale for for general or everybody
all of Auckland from four pm tomorrow.

Speaker 4 (05:10):
So yeah, let's let's fill the fill the stadium.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Thank you so much for your time this morning. That
was Auckland fcc ow. Nick Becker, if you were at
the game, we're watching the game. I know a lot
of people were. How did you cope with this? It
just sounded like it was absolutely fantastic.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
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