June 8, 2024 • 8 mins
This is a big year for sports, with the Olympics falling among the other competitions.
The OFC Men’s Nations Cup has reached the group stage, and Darren Bazely has named his squad.
Piney caught up with him to discuss the selections he’s made and the challenges of it falling in the same year as the Olympics.
He told Piney that despite the troubles with scheduling players, he’s wound up with a strong squad that’s really blended.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's get back to some more positive stuff. Let's get
back to the football. All Whites head coach Darren Basley
has named his squad to compete at the OFC Nations Cup.
This's is said to play take place in Fiji and Vanuatu,
are starting next weekend and towards the back end of June.
Darren base Le's with us. Darren, thanks for taking the time.
What were your main considerations when you were putting the
squad together.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hey, Planny. Yeah, so obviously we always try and put
together the strongest squad that we can for every tour.
So I think the last month I've spent talking to
players and clubs and agents around availability of players, and
this one's a little bit different because of the closeness
of the Olympics. Having two pretty big long tournaments pretty
much back to back has made it a little bit
(00:54):
difficult for some clubs and some players. So yeah, if
I'm honest, I think we've with a strong squad that's
really blended a lot of the younger players involved that
you are going to be potentially involved with the Olympics.
So yeah, we've had to really players personal commitments and
club commitments, but to ensure we've got the strongest squad
(01:15):
available that we can.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So when it comes to some of those players, the
European based ones who are in their off season summer
in the squad, the likes of Laby Cacaci, Tyler Bunden's,
there have been way and others who aren't the likes
of Marco Staminich, Mett Garbett separate thing for example. Are
they just sort of calls made on an individual basis
for each one of their personal circumstances year.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
One hundred percent. So every player's got a different you know,
different things was going on. So we've had to go
on a case by case basis, speak to the players,
speak to the clubs and find out exactly what you
know is best for those players in this moment of time.
And obviously someone like Marco Staminich, you know, he's obviously
got the Olympics as well. You know, it's it's tough
(01:59):
for clubs had got us for three weeks to a
Nation's Cup and then another three weeks and Olympics. So yeah,
every player's got different circumstances, so we do. We treat
every player individually. Like I say, we always try and
get the best squad that we can available for us.
This one's again slightly different with regards to the Olympics
(02:19):
coming out under twenty three tournaments, so it does give
us a chance to you know, once we were looking
at then, you know, the fill in the squad, you know,
we chose to go down to the limit with the
younger players that potentially we will get more preparation for
the Olympics as well.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, well, team I think of the twenty one are
under twenty three, so Olympics eligible. How came were you
to get a chunk of players together who may well
feature at the Paris Olympics and spend time with them
both in the training scenes and also to see what
they've got out on the grass.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, I think it's going to be valuable, really valuable
experience for a lot of these players.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Obviously we've still got some to come in in regards
to Staminich and garb It with those younger players, you know,
and Matt w Ds as well, so there's other players
to come into the Olympics. What it does for some
of these younger ones that maybe haven't had so much
international senior experience. It gives them a chance to be
involved with us for you know, a good three weeks
over in Vanua, two before obviously we go into the
(03:19):
Olympics as well. So I think it's great. I think
it's a great opportunity. And what we will be saying is,
you know, this is an opportunity for all the players
in the squad to state a claim to push themselves
for regular selection.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
How much do you enjoy calling players and telling them
that they're in a squad and all white squad for
the first time You've had that pleasure with fun conci
oskar van Adam, Jesse Randall, Sam Suthon, it seems like
it's gout to come before now for such How nice
is it to make those fun calls?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, they're They're the real nice parts of the job,
you know, give them good news. It's a lot easier
doing that than than telling people they're not selected. So
I no, that was that was that was nice having
those moments with those players. I've obviously got really good
type relationships with those younger players as well, having you know,
coached them previously in different environments. Yeah, I think, you know,
(04:08):
they're all they're all rewarded for stuff they've done over
the past year.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
No Chris Wood or Joe Bell a couple of players
who have worn the armband recently. Lebby Cacacci was skipper
in the last window. He's on the squad. Is it
likely he'll be the skipper again?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yes, yeah, we'll be Yeah. Yeah. Libby's obviously captain de
l Whits. He's part of our leadership group. So yeah.
I mean we've we've got players that we do work
within that leadership group, lib being part of it. So yeah,
we would seeing Joe not being a not being available
on this tour, then Libby will step into that.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Are we looking at a high degree of squad rotation here, Boz?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I mean we've gone with a squad of twenty one
at this stage. We have got the option to add
to that if we need to. But I think what's
important is that, you know, the players get good game time,
get good opportunities. So yes, there'll be some rotations, but
I think what's good as well is that players that
are committing to come in away, you know, at the
(05:09):
end of seasons, whether that's the A League or or
a European season is that they're actually coming away and
they're going to get good games. So yeah, I think
it's it's good to have a tight squad. It just
means that the players that are there, you know, you know,
and we'll they will be fit enough. We've got good
recovery recals, so I think players can play a lot
a lot of those games. But yeah, I'm sure the
(05:30):
whole squad will get used and get rotated to an extent.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So one of the squad, Alex Paulson, headed for Premier
League side Bournemouth. How exciting is this for him and
for the game of football here in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
I think it's a mate, you know what, an exciting
opportunity for for Alex. You know, he's worked so hard
to get to where he's at, you know, so this
is a reward for him and it's an exciting journey
that he's on. You know, he's had a great year.
But I also think for New Zealand and so the
young players growing up now and developing themselves within the game,
(06:07):
I think it's I think it just shows that the
pathway is there, you know, you can get to the
best league in the world. You're from this part of
from this part, from this country, you know. And he's shown,
you know, as did Libby and Ben Wayne, that if
you're a young player and you get into the A League,
it does show that you progress from there. And I
(06:28):
think this is an amazing example of you know, the
Premier one of the top leagues in the world. Where
is the top league in the world, the biggest clubs,
you know, coming knocking on the doors of the A
League and take him one of our players.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
You haven't keptaim yet, I guess I get the feeling
that will happen at some starts in the next month
or so.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah, I mean he's been with us, you know, so
you know, we always knew he's you're obviously a very
good goalkeeper, being a young goalkeeper, and he's just developed
well all year, you know, he's grown in confidence, had
a great season with the Phoenix and yeah, we're we're
excited obviously to see where he can get to and
obviously to have an involved is great.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
And as far as the Nation's Cup itself is concerned,
obviously the aim is to is to go there and
win it. What will you have to do particularly well
if that is the outcome at the end of June.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, definitely. We know we have to go there and
we have to win it. We have to perform and
we have to score goals and that, you know. But
I think for us to do that, we've you know,
we've just got to go there and be professional, you know,
have you show a lot of discipline, concentration. It's not
going to be easy. Obviously. We are, you know, the
higher ranked team in the tournament and you know the rankings,
(07:38):
and we've got the players that play in professional leagues.
But you know, I think everybody that's ever been to
the Islands to play football, No, it's not quite as
simple as that, you know, and there's some tricky moments
to go in and playing in these away tournaments. So yeah,
we just need to go and we need to make
sure that we are fully professional as we will be,
you know, and that we show great discipline and concentration
(07:59):
in every game. And you know, we just don't put
ourselves in a position where we're given the oppositions, a
real good opportunity and needed to be involved in games.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
It's a good squad based all the best for the
month ahead.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Brilliant Thanks Biny Good to catch up mate.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
No good to chat Darren, thank you indeed Darren. Basically
they're all whites coach ahead of the Nation's Cup, which
is in the second half of June.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news talks b weekends from midday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk Z'B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's get back to some more positive stuff. Let's get
back to the football. All Whites head coach Darren Basley
has named his squad to compete at the OFC Nations Cup.
This's is said to play take place in Fiji and Vanuatu,
are starting next weekend and towards the back end of June.
Darren base Le's with us. Darren, thanks for taking the time.
What were your main considerations when you were putting the
squad together.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hey, Planny. Yeah, so obviously we always try and put
together the strongest squad that we can for every tour.
So I think the last month I've spent talking to
players and clubs and agents around availability of players, and
this one's a little bit different because of the closeness
of the Olympics. Having two pretty big long tournaments pretty
much back to back has made it a little bit
(00:54):
difficult for some clubs and some players. So yeah, if
I'm honest, I think we've with a strong squad that's
really blended a lot of the younger players involved that
you are going to be potentially involved with the Olympics.
So yeah, we've had to really players personal commitments and
club commitments, but to ensure we've got the strongest squad
(01:15):
available that we can.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So when it comes to some of those players, the
European based ones who are in their off season summer
in the squad, the likes of Laby Cacaci, Tyler Bunden's,
there have been way and others who aren't the likes
of Marco Staminich, Mett Garbett separate thing for example. Are
they just sort of calls made on an individual basis
for each one of their personal circumstances year.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
One hundred percent. So every player's got a different you know,
different things was going on. So we've had to go
on a case by case basis, speak to the players,
speak to the clubs and find out exactly what you
know is best for those players in this moment of time.
And obviously someone like Marco Staminich, you know, he's obviously
got the Olympics as well. You know, it's it's tough
(01:59):
for clubs had got us for three weeks to a
Nation's Cup and then another three weeks and Olympics. So yeah,
every player's got different circumstances, so we do. We treat
every player individually. Like I say, we always try and
get the best squad that we can available for us.
This one's again slightly different with regards to the Olympics
(02:19):
coming out under twenty three tournaments, so it does give
us a chance to you know, once we were looking
at then, you know, the fill in the squad, you know,
we chose to go down to the limit with the
younger players that potentially we will get more preparation for
the Olympics as well.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, well, team I think of the twenty one are
under twenty three, so Olympics eligible. How came were you
to get a chunk of players together who may well
feature at the Paris Olympics and spend time with them
both in the training scenes and also to see what
they've got out on the grass.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, I think it's going to be valuable, really valuable
experience for a lot of these players.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Obviously we've still got some to come in in regards
to Staminich and garb It with those younger players, you know,
and Matt w Ds as well, so there's other players
to come into the Olympics. What it does for some
of these younger ones that maybe haven't had so much
international senior experience. It gives them a chance to be
involved with us for you know, a good three weeks
over in Vanua, two before obviously we go into the
(03:19):
Olympics as well. So I think it's great. I think
it's a great opportunity. And what we will be saying is,
you know, this is an opportunity for all the players
in the squad to state a claim to push themselves
for regular selection.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
How much do you enjoy calling players and telling them
that they're in a squad and all white squad for
the first time You've had that pleasure with fun conci
oskar van Adam, Jesse Randall, Sam Suthon, it seems like
it's gout to come before now for such How nice
is it to make those fun calls?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, they're They're the real nice parts of the job,
you know, give them good news. It's a lot easier
doing that than than telling people they're not selected. So
I no, that was that was that was nice having
those moments with those players. I've obviously got really good
type relationships with those younger players as well, having you know,
coached them previously in different environments. Yeah, I think, you know,
(04:08):
they're all they're all rewarded for stuff they've done over
the past year.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
No Chris Wood or Joe Bell a couple of players
who have worn the armband recently. Lebby Cacacci was skipper
in the last window. He's on the squad. Is it
likely he'll be the skipper again?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yes, yeah, we'll be Yeah. Yeah. Libby's obviously captain de
l Whits. He's part of our leadership group. So yeah.
I mean we've we've got players that we do work
within that leadership group, lib being part of it. So yeah,
we would seeing Joe not being a not being available
on this tour, then Libby will step into that.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Are we looking at a high degree of squad rotation here, Boz?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I mean we've gone with a squad of twenty one
at this stage. We have got the option to add
to that if we need to. But I think what's
important is that, you know, the players get good game time,
get good opportunities. So yes, there'll be some rotations, but
I think what's good as well is that players that
are committing to come in away, you know, at the
(05:09):
end of seasons, whether that's the A League or or
a European season is that they're actually coming away and
they're going to get good games. So yeah, I think
it's it's good to have a tight squad. It just
means that the players that are there, you know, you know,
and we'll they will be fit enough. We've got good
recovery recals, so I think players can play a lot
a lot of those games. But yeah, I'm sure the
(05:30):
whole squad will get used and get rotated to an extent.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So one of the squad, Alex Paulson, headed for Premier
League side Bournemouth. How exciting is this for him and
for the game of football here in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
I think it's a mate, you know what, an exciting
opportunity for for Alex. You know, he's worked so hard
to get to where he's at, you know, so this
is a reward for him and it's an exciting journey
that he's on. You know, he's had a great year.
But I also think for New Zealand and so the
young players growing up now and developing themselves within the game,
(06:07):
I think it's I think it just shows that the
pathway is there, you know, you can get to the
best league in the world. You're from this part of
from this part, from this country, you know. And he's shown,
you know, as did Libby and Ben Wayne, that if
you're a young player and you get into the A League,
it does show that you progress from there. And I
(06:28):
think this is an amazing example of you know, the
Premier one of the top leagues in the world. Where
is the top league in the world, the biggest clubs,
you know, coming knocking on the doors of the A
League and take him one of our players.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
You haven't keptaim yet, I guess I get the feeling
that will happen at some starts in the next month
or so.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yeah, I mean he's been with us, you know, so
you know, we always knew he's you're obviously a very
good goalkeeper, being a young goalkeeper, and he's just developed
well all year, you know, he's grown in confidence, had
a great season with the Phoenix and yeah, we're we're
excited obviously to see where he can get to and
obviously to have an involved is great.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
And as far as the Nation's Cup itself is concerned,
obviously the aim is to is to go there and
win it. What will you have to do particularly well
if that is the outcome at the end of June.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, definitely. We know we have to go there and
we have to win it. We have to perform and
we have to score goals and that, you know. But
I think for us to do that, we've you know,
we've just got to go there and be professional, you know,
have you show a lot of discipline, concentration. It's not
going to be easy. Obviously. We are, you know, the
higher ranked team in the tournament and you know the rankings,
(07:38):
and we've got the players that play in professional leagues.
But you know, I think everybody that's ever been to
the Islands to play football, No, it's not quite as
simple as that, you know, and there's some tricky moments
to go in and playing in these away tournaments. So yeah,
we just need to go and we need to make
sure that we are fully professional as we will be,
you know, and that we show great discipline and concentration
(07:59):
in every game. And you know, we just don't put
ourselves in a position where we're given the oppositions, a
real good opportunity and needed to be involved in games.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
It's a good squad based all the best for the
month ahead.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Brilliant Thanks Biny Good to catch up mate.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
No good to chat Darren, thank you indeed Darren. Basically
they're all whites coach ahead of the Nation's Cup, which
is in the second half of June.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news talks b weekends from midday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
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