August 19, 2025 • 7 mins
Auckland FC have made another signing in this transfer window.
This time, it's ex-Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Oli Sail, who returns home in a bid to reclaim his place as the All Whites' goalkeeper before next year's FIFA World Cup.
D'Arcy caught up with Oli to discuss how the move took place.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcie Waldergrave
from News talk z'b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Olie Sale to join us now is just signed a contract.
He's coming back from Western Australia to play his football
in Auckland City. Get Ali.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Good evening, Darcy, thanks having me mate.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey, thanks very much for joining us. Thanks for coming
back to Auckland. This is great news not only for
you but for the fans, and I expect your friends
and family are pretty stoked to see you again as well. Bro.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Yeah, very stoked in the salehousehold and just MAT's back
in Auckland.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Obviously it's been a long time.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
It's been like thirteen years or something like that, so
it's good to be back in the big smoke and yeah,
it's all all looking pretty positive.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Are they going to forgive you for applying your trade
in Wellington initially before disappearing to Australia.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Yeah, I think they might have to. They might have
to get over that pretty quick. I think there's going
to be enough people that don't forgive me for that.
I don't my own family in the same boat.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
What was the ticket? Why did you decide to come
back to Auckland. How long are you over in thoughts?
Quite some time, wasn't it?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah? Two years.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
I was coming up into my third and final year
on my contract over there, and just that I was
fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to terminate and
leave there. So very grateful for them for allowing me
to pursue this. But yeah, it's it's pretty cool. It's
a feeling that I didn't think i'd have for a
long time. Obviously, when I left to pursue professional football,
(01:31):
it wasn't even a possibility, So it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
And yeah, I kind of jumped at the opportunity. Really.
Obviously we saw how successful they were last year.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
I love everything about the mentality of how they they're
so desperate to win silverware and they don't care that
they're the new boys on the block.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
They're just going to go about it their way.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
And for me, they set the standard last year and
they were the team to beat, so I thought I
would jump on board.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And yeah, that's that's it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Really, you're not bandwagon jumping, are you?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
No?
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Of course not, of course not, but no, there's there's Yeah,
it's obviously hard to say no when it's the top
team in the league and they want you.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So it's off. You can't refuse.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Really, it's one's clock back. So they came to you
and said, we have an opening. We want another lanky
bugger to hang around in the net and wear a
different uniform, and they approached you.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That was pretty much a word for word. Really. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Obviously an unfortunate injury to one of the goalkeepers, young
Scott Morris, so yeah, that the opportunity rose through that.
So I'm hoping that he can do what's best for
him and figure out what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
But yeah, that's that's how it all came about.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
They were obviously looking to add another goalkeeper of their
squad and hopefully go two steps further this year.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
So you said that the Perth allowed you to leave.
I'm always fascinated by this contract negotiations. Have you said, Look,
I just don't want to play for you. Why would
they keep you? You see, it's not really a negotiation.
It's like I'm doing this, I'm going home, I'm out.
What do you reckon?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
That simple? And it's not quite that simple. There was
a little bit more to it than that.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Obviously, that they're in a situation where they're building up
the two poor seasons and a lot of administrative issues
with the football clubs, so they're in a slightly different
position to Aucklander. And yeah, I guess, like I said,
I'm very grateful for them for letting me go because
they don't have to. You know that they're they're trying to,
like I said, make progress and get better and hit
(03:24):
in the right direction. And they could easily have asked
me to stay and keep playing and be a part
of that. So to allow me to pursue this something
I'm very grateful for.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's all about lifting yourself through every experience you have
in professional sport. Talking like I'm a professional sport from play,
No I'm not. But what do you bring back from
your time away from New Zealand, from from Perth who
had a rotten old time of it for the couple
of years you were there. But there must be something
you carry with you that's going to make you a
better player.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Oh absolutely, I mean you know what it's taught me
about myself as a person and as a character and
as a player. You know, those are experiences that I'll
be able to lean on, although hopefully not too frequently.
But yeah, certainly something that's going to hold me in
good stead and as a group. You know, when you
go through tough times, and I'm sure we will encounter
(04:11):
those throughout the season.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
You know, I'll be ready.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
To share my experiences and and try and help the
group through that. I'm a very positive character, even through
all of the adversity and the difficulties of the last
couple of seasons. I guess you could never really fault
me in the way that it turned up as a person.
And so that's that's something that I'll bring to the group.
And like I said, I'm hoping that it won't be
(04:35):
required all that often, but no doubt at some stage
it will be.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Ollie. As far as standings within the role, have you
been guaranteed anything? Do you do? You know what position
you sit? Is there a chance you're at number one?
Number one? Is it even competition that you're coming in?
Is back up? Purely? What's the deal there?
Speaker 4 (04:54):
Look, there's absolutely no guarantees in football, and that's it's
certainly the case here. I'm coming into a like I said,
I'm coming into a successful team, and I'm coming into
a position that's already has quality goalkeepers in the thanks
and I'm also cup tied, so I won't be able
to play a part within the cup journey, hopefully right
up until we lift the lift the cup.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
But that's that's.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Mikey spot for now, and you know he's he's got
the box seat for that one, so I'm gonna have.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
To pay my dues and work hard to get that.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
But yeah, it's it's it's uh, that's just football is
the way it goes. I mean, he's, like I said,
he's he's in the box, box seat, but no doubt
I'll be pushing him hard.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
What's going around?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
What's your relationship like with him? Do you know him?
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah, I've never worked a lot with Mikey to be fair. Obviously,
I've known him for a long time and known of him.
We've trained, spent time together in one All Whites camp
one of the last times we went up against the
Aussie boys, but apart from that, we've never actually spending
time together.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So we're still getting to know each other.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
But yeah, he's a top fellow and a top keeper,
so I'm sure that can only be good for for
both of us and the club.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Part of this move is to play for all winning team.
But also, and you're in camp with you all whites now,
is to put your name up in lights with the
your whites. There's no guarantees in football, but this has
got to be solid for you to move on up
playing here right in the eye line of the coaches.
Although they play globally, don't they all of you all whites.
(06:25):
But this is part of your mission, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (06:28):
You know that was at the forefront of my mind
when making this decision. You know that the World Cup
is quickly approaching. It's less than a year away now,
so I felt like this was the best position to
put myself in and give myself the best possible chance.
You know over the last eighteen months or two years
that the landscape and the national team has changed a
(06:49):
little bit for me, So it's important that I knuckle
down and get things right and give myself the best
chance of playing at that World Cup.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
You've been talking with coach the gaffer, Basley, What did
he say to you around what he expects from you
and what your chances are of traveling to that mess
of tournament. Because it is a huge it's eight hundred teams.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
There only absolutely it's the biggest sporting event in the
world and it's certainly pinnacle for US players. So yeah,
in terms of my conversations with Bays, they've been pretty consistent.
You know, we've got such fantastic depth within the squad
now that you've got to be playing and you've got
to be playing well. So he's been very good to
me in that regard and being honest and open with
(07:30):
that communication. And you know, I wasn't a part of
the last squad they were looking at other options. But
for myself now, you know, I've got my foot on
the door. So I have to just keep doing what
I do best, and that's training hard and putting my
hand up.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Ollie sailed great to catch up. It's been too long.
Really looking forward to seeing your engagement. AKFC. Thanks for
your time, Thanks for the call as well. You go well.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Cheers, Darcy, appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Mate.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcie Waldergrave
from News talk z'b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Olie Sale to join us now is just signed a contract.
He's coming back from Western Australia to play his football
in Auckland City. Get Ali.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Good evening, Darcy, thanks having me mate.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey, thanks very much for joining us. Thanks for coming
back to Auckland. This is great news not only for
you but for the fans, and I expect your friends
and family are pretty stoked to see you again as well. Bro.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Yeah, very stoked in the salehousehold and just MAT's back
in Auckland.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Obviously it's been a long time.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
It's been like thirteen years or something like that, so
it's good to be back in the big smoke and yeah,
it's all all looking pretty positive.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Are they going to forgive you for applying your trade
in Wellington initially before disappearing to Australia.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Yeah, I think they might have to. They might have
to get over that pretty quick. I think there's going
to be enough people that don't forgive me for that.
I don't my own family in the same boat.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
What was the ticket? Why did you decide to come
back to Auckland. How long are you over in thoughts?
Quite some time, wasn't it?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah? Two years.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
I was coming up into my third and final year
on my contract over there, and just that I was
fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to terminate and
leave there. So very grateful for them for allowing me
to pursue this. But yeah, it's it's pretty cool. It's
a feeling that I didn't think i'd have for a
long time. Obviously, when I left to pursue professional football,
(01:31):
it wasn't even a possibility, So it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
And yeah, I kind of jumped at the opportunity. Really.
Obviously we saw how successful they were last year.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
I love everything about the mentality of how they they're
so desperate to win silverware and they don't care that
they're the new boys on the block.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
They're just going to go about it their way.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
And for me, they set the standard last year and
they were the team to beat, so I thought I
would jump on board.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And yeah, that's that's it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Really, you're not bandwagon jumping, are you?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
No?
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Of course not, of course not, but no, there's there's Yeah,
it's obviously hard to say no when it's the top
team in the league and they want you.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So it's off. You can't refuse.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Really, it's one's clock back. So they came to you
and said, we have an opening. We want another lanky
bugger to hang around in the net and wear a
different uniform, and they approached you.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That was pretty much a word for word. Really. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Obviously an unfortunate injury to one of the goalkeepers, young
Scott Morris, so yeah, that the opportunity rose through that.
So I'm hoping that he can do what's best for
him and figure out what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
But yeah, that's that's how it all came about.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
They were obviously looking to add another goalkeeper of their
squad and hopefully go two steps further this year.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
So you said that the Perth allowed you to leave.
I'm always fascinated by this contract negotiations. Have you said, Look,
I just don't want to play for you. Why would
they keep you? You see, it's not really a negotiation.
It's like I'm doing this, I'm going home, I'm out.
What do you reckon?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
That simple? And it's not quite that simple. There was
a little bit more to it than that.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Obviously, that they're in a situation where they're building up
the two poor seasons and a lot of administrative issues
with the football clubs, so they're in a slightly different
position to Aucklander. And yeah, I guess, like I said,
I'm very grateful for them for letting me go because
they don't have to. You know that they're they're trying to,
like I said, make progress and get better and hit
(03:24):
in the right direction. And they could easily have asked
me to stay and keep playing and be a part
of that. So to allow me to pursue this something
I'm very grateful for.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's all about lifting yourself through every experience you have
in professional sport. Talking like I'm a professional sport from play,
No I'm not. But what do you bring back from
your time away from New Zealand, from from Perth who
had a rotten old time of it for the couple
of years you were there. But there must be something
you carry with you that's going to make you a
better player.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Oh absolutely, I mean you know what it's taught me
about myself as a person and as a character and
as a player. You know, those are experiences that I'll
be able to lean on, although hopefully not too frequently.
But yeah, certainly something that's going to hold me in
good stead and as a group. You know, when you
go through tough times, and I'm sure we will encounter
(04:11):
those throughout the season.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
You know, I'll be ready.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
To share my experiences and and try and help the
group through that. I'm a very positive character, even through
all of the adversity and the difficulties of the last
couple of seasons. I guess you could never really fault
me in the way that it turned up as a person.
And so that's that's something that I'll bring to the group.
And like I said, I'm hoping that it won't be
(04:35):
required all that often, but no doubt at some stage
it will be.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Ollie. As far as standings within the role, have you
been guaranteed anything? Do you do? You know what position
you sit? Is there a chance you're at number one?
Number one? Is it even competition that you're coming in?
Is back up? Purely? What's the deal there?
Speaker 4 (04:54):
Look, there's absolutely no guarantees in football, and that's it's
certainly the case here. I'm coming into a like I said,
I'm coming into a successful team, and I'm coming into
a position that's already has quality goalkeepers in the thanks
and I'm also cup tied, so I won't be able
to play a part within the cup journey, hopefully right
up until we lift the lift the cup.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
But that's that's.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Mikey spot for now, and you know he's he's got
the box seat for that one, so I'm gonna have.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
To pay my dues and work hard to get that.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
But yeah, it's it's it's uh, that's just football is
the way it goes. I mean, he's, like I said,
he's he's in the box, box seat, but no doubt
I'll be pushing him hard.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
What's going around?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
What's your relationship like with him? Do you know him?
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah, I've never worked a lot with Mikey to be fair. Obviously,
I've known him for a long time and known of him.
We've trained, spent time together in one All Whites camp
one of the last times we went up against the
Aussie boys, but apart from that, we've never actually spending
time together.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So we're still getting to know each other.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
But yeah, he's a top fellow and a top keeper,
so I'm sure that can only be good for for
both of us and the club.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Part of this move is to play for all winning team.
But also, and you're in camp with you all whites now,
is to put your name up in lights with the
your whites. There's no guarantees in football, but this has
got to be solid for you to move on up
playing here right in the eye line of the coaches.
Although they play globally, don't they all of you all whites.
(06:25):
But this is part of your mission, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (06:28):
You know that was at the forefront of my mind
when making this decision. You know that the World Cup
is quickly approaching. It's less than a year away now,
so I felt like this was the best position to
put myself in and give myself the best possible chance.
You know over the last eighteen months or two years
that the landscape and the national team has changed a
(06:49):
little bit for me, So it's important that I knuckle
down and get things right and give myself the best
chance of playing at that World Cup.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
You've been talking with coach the gaffer, Basley, What did
he say to you around what he expects from you
and what your chances are of traveling to that mess
of tournament. Because it is a huge it's eight hundred teams.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
There only absolutely it's the biggest sporting event in the
world and it's certainly pinnacle for US players. So yeah,
in terms of my conversations with Bays, they've been pretty consistent.
You know, we've got such fantastic depth within the squad
now that you've got to be playing and you've got
to be playing well. So he's been very good to
me in that regard and being honest and open with
(07:30):
that communication. And you know, I wasn't a part of
the last squad they were looking at other options. But
for myself now, you know, I've got my foot on
the door. So I have to just keep doing what
I do best, and that's training hard and putting my
hand up.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Ollie sailed great to catch up. It's been too long.
Really looking forward to seeing your engagement. AKFC. Thanks for
your time, Thanks for the call as well. You go well.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Cheers, Darcy, appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Mate.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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