Jack Tame: Auckland FC's hustling has paid off

210 days ago, I was blinking into the sun at Go Media Stadium as Auckland FC strode out onto the pitch for their first-ever A-League game. 

The club was owned by a billionaire and the team’s style of play wasn’t immediately alluring – the very first goal in the club’s professional history came courtesy of an opposition player. I knew about two of the players and had to keep cross-checking the action on the pitch with my gameday programme. 

Upon reflection, there were plenty of reasons why Auckland FC might not have taken off with fans quite as they have. And yet here we are, seven months on, in the semi-finals of the A-League. The crunchy end of the season for the team that has consistently drawn the biggest crowds in the competition. I can confirm I’ve crossed a sporting threshold this season. As much as I love the Crusaders, Auckland FC in my sporting priority each and every week. 

I’ve talked before about how the club really nailed the matchday experience. And let’s not kid ourselves and imagine the season would have been quite the same if they hadn’t been winning. But given they started from nothing, it’s also notable the extent to which the club has actively tried to build and nurture a fanbase. It cannot be easy to snap your fingers and try to build a culture and fanbase overnight. But the club has held however many meet-and-greets. They’ve had an enduring outreach programme with local football clubs. They ‘ve held training days for kids and even made an appearance at my mate’s local school fete last weekend. They’ve had autograph sessions and sponsor gigs and even shipped the regular season trophy around corporate offices in downtown Auckland – including this one! 

As an organisation, Auckland FC has hustled. And I think the same attitude permeates into their style of play. The players run hard. They try hard. And it’s paid off however many times this season when the team has scored a goal in the dying seconds of a game to snatch a draw or even a win. I read an interview at the start of the season in which the players talked about their backgrounds. Apart from the captain, Hiroki Sakai, no one was a big league superstar, and honestly, they knew it. They were professional footballers, sure. But no one was signing perfume deals and earning half a million bucks a week. They had everything still to prove and the only way to do it was through graft. 

By the nature of an inaugural season, everything Auckland FC has done this year has been a first. But knock-out football is a different kind of pressure. It’s a home-and-away semi, of course, with the away leg first. Part of me feels a bit anxious about that. Was it really in our interests to have a full week off before getting up for a critical match in opposition territory? 

Sport can be glorious, and sport can be cruel. Winning the Premier’s Plate does not guarantee anything at this stage of the season. But like so many others, in a few short months, I’ve come to feel a deep affinity for this team. I now know the respective club histories of players who were effectively strangers in October. I know our defence is our greatest strength: Paulsen, Hall, Sakai, Smith, Pijnaker. That Louis Verstraete blends a technical finesse with an enthusiasm for a 50/50 physical challenge. That Francis de Vries will always whip in a ridiculously good delivery and Guillermo May is just waiting to lash it in with that left foot. 

I know how lucky we are to have had this season. How good it is for NZ football. And seven months since that first game, with the knock-out stages upon us, I know we can win. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks at b.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Two hundred and ten days ago, I was blinking into
the sun at go Media Stadium as Auckland FC strode
out onto the pitch for their first ever A League game.
The club was owned by a billionaire, and the team's
style of play wasn't immediately super alluring. In fact, their

(00:34):
very first goal in the club's professional history came courtesy
of an opposition player who lashed it into the back
of the net. I think I knew about two of
the players, maybe, so I had to keep on cross
checking the action on the pitch with my game day program.
So upon reflection, there were plenty of reasons why Auckland
FC might not have taken off with fans quite as

(00:57):
they have. And yet, and yet, here we are, seven
months on in the semi finals of the A League,
the end of the season for the team that has
consistently drawn the biggest crowds in the competition. I can
confirm this morning, and I never thought I would say this,
I've crossed a sporting threshold of sorts. As much as

(01:20):
I still love the Crusaders and we'll always love the Crusaders.
Auckland FC is my sporting priority each and every week.
I know I've talked before about how much the club
kind of nails the match day experience, and let's not
kid ourselves and imagine that the season would have been

(01:41):
quite the same if they hadn't been winning, but given
they started from nothing, it's also notable the extent to
which the club has actively tried to build and nurture
a fan base. It has been deliberate, and it's taken
elbow grease think about it. It can't be easy to
kind of snap your fingers and try and build a

(02:01):
culture and a fan base overnight. But the club has
held how we ever, met any meet and greets. They've
had an enduring outreach program with local football clubs. They've
held training days for kids, and even made an appearance
at my mate's local school fate last weekend. They've had
autograph sessions and sponsor gigs, and even shipped the regular
season trophy around corporate offices in downtown Auckland over the

(02:25):
last fortnight, including this one. As an organization, Auckland FC
has hustled, and I think the same attitude kind of
permeates into their style of play. The players run hard,
they try hard, and it's paid off. However, many times
this season when the team scored a goal in the

(02:46):
dying seconds of a game to snatch a draw or
a win. I read an interview at the start of
the season in which the players kind of talked about
their respective backgrounds and apart from the captain Hiroki Sakai,
no one was really a big league superstar and honestly
they knew it. They were professional footballers. Sure that was

(03:06):
a hell of an achievement, but you know, no one
was signing perfume deals and earning half a million bucks
a week. They had everything still to prove and the
only way to do it was through graft. By the
nature of an inaugural season, everything Auckland FC has done
this year has been a first, but knockout football is

(03:28):
a different kind of pressure. It's a home and away
seemi of course, with the away leg first, and part
of me, I don't know, I just feels kind of
like a bit anxious about that. Was it really in
our interests to have a full week off before getting
up for a critical match in opposition territory? Sport can
be glorious and sport can be cruel. Winning the Premiere's

(03:51):
Plate does not guarantee anything this stage of the season,
But like so many others, in a few short months,
I've come to feel a real, like a deep affinity
for the team. I now know the respective club histories
of players who were effectively strangers back in October. I

(04:11):
know our defense is our greatest strength. Paulson Hall, Sarki
Smith Pineket that Louis Vastrata blends a technical finesse with
an enthusiasm for a fifty to fifty physical challenge. He
will dive in. That Francis Devrees will always whip in
a ridiculously good delivery and because you, Mommai is just

(04:31):
waiting to lash it in with that left foot. I
know how lucky we are to have had this season,
how good it is for New Zealand football, and seven
months since that first game at go Media, with the
knockout stages upon us, I know we can win for more.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
From Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live to News Talks'
b from nine am Saturday, or follow the podcast on
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