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RNZ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Football: All Whites coach yet to be convinced on player transfers
Key All Whites defender Libby Cacace is one of 20 New Zealand players to have moved clubs recently. Photo: EYEPIX Around a third of the 60 players on All Whites coach Darren Bazeley's radar have moved football clubs in the last couple of months, a situation he has called both "unusual" and "unsettling". Among the movers are defender Libby Cacace from Serie B side Empoli to English Championship side Wrexham; defender Tyler Bindon was on loan with League One club Reading last season and has now been loaned by Nottingham Forest to Championship club Sheffield United for this season; goalkeeper Alex Paulsen from A-League side Auckland FC to Premier League club Bournemouth and forward Kosta Barbarouses from one A-League club, Wellington Phoenix, to another, Western Sydney Wanderers. "Until the seasons start everywhere we don't know if they've been good moves or not so," Bazeley said of all those who have transferred. "It's quite unusual for us [to have that many] and a little bit unsettling for players because a lot of them have gone into new environments and this is the time for a lot of them to really embed themselves in those environments and sort of work out how they stand there, so it's a little bit unsettling for some of them, but also very exciting." Bazeley and his coaching staff monitor players against wide-ranging criteria before naming squads. Current form and fitness, past performances and what a player can offer on and off the field is taken into account. "It is quite complicated and we do go in depth of what every player brings to each window." An individual player's situation with their club is also considered. Earlier this year Finn Surman was not selected for All Whites duty while he pushed for a starting spot with Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers - a move Bazeley said "worked out really well for him and us". "Every time we pick any player for any squad we always try and pick the strongest we can but then we look at every individual and what's best for that player in that moment." Will Bazeley not select some of the players who have recently moved clubs for September's home and away games against Australia ? "It's definitely something we look at every window, but we would never compromise the strength of the squad to play any international game." The All Whites also have games in the October FIFA window against Poland and Norway . Balancing club and country commitments could be "difficult" for some players over the next six or so months as they try to get themselves on the plane to next year's Football World Cup. "Over the last three years we've never really had any issues with players or clubs coming into the international environment, it's something that they're really passionate about. "Most of our players are at clubs that stop for the windows, and clubs have got other players that go off to international duties, I think they're mostly used to it but it is difficult and it's a challenge at times. But at this stage everybody's really committed and they just can't wait to get together." Bazeley is pleased with the depth of talent available to him and how he can track their progress real-time. "We can monitor most of our players relatively quickly and see how they're playing, see how they're doing within their club environment. We get all the data of minutes played and how they've gone. We're even getting some of their GPS data now from their clubs as well. "We're able to get a lot of stats from around the world, but then the video footage that we get is probably the most important. "If there's anybody that plays anywhere around the world, our analysts can pretty much get that footage and if I want to watch Tyler Bindon or anybody, the analysts can turn that into showing me all of the times they touch the ball, and turn it into a five, six minute video, so I'm just watching that player, rather than the team that that player plays for. "So we're across most of the players. It's a little bit harder when clubs are in pre season, like a lot of them have been, but the last couple of weeks it's got really busy with everybody starting to play games and we've been watching a lot of football and speaking to a lot of players and monitoring them all." Being based in Auckland, Bazeley is in a different time zone to many of the players he is keeping an eye on. "I find myself talking to players very early in the morning or late at night if they're in different time zones, it's sort of become a bit of a 24 hour job seven days a week, but that's football and that's what I've been used to my whole life. "I'm very lucky I've got family and a wife who is very understanding of football constantly being on the TV and me being on the phone."
RNZ News
06-06-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
All White Libby Cacace facing World Cup selection battle after Italian club relegation
Libby Cacace has experienced the highs and lows of football within months. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ All Whites defender Libby Cacace has an uncertain future, after experiencing the highs of international football and the lows of club football within months. Part of the New Zealand squad that qualified for next year's Football World Cup in March, the 24-year-old returned to Italian club side Empoli, who were batting to avoid relegation out of Serie A. In May, Empoli dropped down to Serie B for next season, putting Cacace in a tough position before the global tournament. "It wasn't a was a nice feeling, getting relegated, but it was definitely an experience that will help me grow as a player," he said. "I was hoping that it wouldn't come down to the last match day, like it did. Doing that two seasons in a row takes a toll on you mentally and physically." Cacace's agent would work behind the scenes, but he was still contracted with Empoli for another season. All Whites coach Darren Bazeley favoured players who were getting game time in top competitions and said Cacace's left-back position, among others, was one with plenty of competition in World Cup squad selection. "I have no worries that players will get the right environments for themselves and, whilst we want everybody playing every minute of every club game, it's not just on that," Bazeley said. "We've got players that are really good in our environment and our culture, so there's lots of different reasons for selections for different players. We look at every decision individually, positionally, but it does get tougher." The All Whites celebrate their World Cup qualification against New Caledonia. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / New Zealand play Côte d'Ivoire and Ukraine in the Canadian Shield this week, two of the highest-ranked opponents they have faced this year. With many of their club seasons over, Bazeley said he would have to make use of most of his squad during the games in Toronto. "I think it's going to be difficult for a lot of players to play 90 minutes, so we'll definitely be looking to use the squad and make changes. We can use six substitutes for this game and I can imagine we'll do that, so we'll get 17 players that get game time and probably pretty good game time." Despite this, Bazeley would also try to find consistency with players. "We've got a style of play in and out of possession that we've got agreed with the players that we've been working on for the last year, and we've agreed that we don't keep changing, because we don't get a chance to train that much. "We get together for an international window and and you can't keep starting again, playing a different formation or trying to do new things. What we need to do is just get better and better at what we do. "In every game we've played in the last 18 months, two years, we've had moments within games that we've executed things really well. The challenge now is we do that more, we do that more consistently and regularly, and we do it against better teams." Cacace expected Côte d'Ivoire to offer a different challenge to the Pacific Island teams that the All Whites played to get to the World Cup. "They'll be very physical and they'll use their physical attributes to try to dominate us, but at the same time, we've got to make sure that we use our strengths to hurt them. "I think if we do that, we can have a good chance of winning." New Zealand Football wanted the All Whites to face as many different playing styles as possible in preparation for the World Cup. "That's going to be very important heading into a World Cup, because we're going to be playing three different sides and they're all going to be different, so we're just going to make sure that we adapt the best way possible and use these games to make sure we can adapt," Cacace said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
