When Luke Casserly returned to coaching at National Premier League level in New South Wales with Hills United, he probably didn’t envision standing on the sidelines at Eden Park in the most attended game of men’s club football in New Zealand’s history, shaking hands with Roberto de Zerbi in front of 40,112 fans as Tottenham took on Auckland FC.
Casserly, who was lured to the A-League club by Steve Corica, has been in charge of the squad since the Championship-winning coach’s departure to Yokohama F.Marinos. After leading the side to OFC Pro League success, he got the chance to match wits with one of football’s most fascinating coaching personalities, even enjoying an embrace with a coach he has long admired.
“They knew why they were there, they were keen to promote the game, (they’d had) a lot of travel and quick turn around, (but) he was full of compliments,” Casserly told football360.com.au.
“Class act, really.
“As a coach he is someone I have admired for a long time, how he goes about his football. Not that I had a lot of time with him but it was nice to have that little connection, it was cool.”
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While Spurs named a young line-up, captained by 20-year-old Archie Gray, what struck Casserly was the intensity in De Zerbi’s movements on the sideline, respecting this first game of the tour like it was as important as any other contest.
“What I like, it’s a friendly game and they started with a lot of their younger boys as well in the game, but he was out in the technical area and whistling to the players and wanting them to shift the ball more quickly, wanting them to shift it from one side to the other.
“So you can see that he’s quite demanding and he wants the game played in a certain way.
“From that side I think that was good. It was good for our boys to see that as well, that these guys are the best pros going around. They’re EPL players and no matter what the scenario is or the situation or who they’re playing, their coaches are demanding that things are done the right way. And I thought that was good to see.”
It continues the journey of the former Football Australia Head of National Performance’s return to the dugout, where he will remain at Auckland for the upcoming A-League campaign, although Football360 understands that the widely reported pursuit of Portuguese coach Pedro Moreira will be confirmed imminently.
Having worked more with the younger players and OFC Pro League squad, preparing for this contest was Casserly’s first chance to get his hands really dirty with the first team players.
“It was great to allow the players to get a lot more insight to how I work and how I view the game,” Casserly said.
“So I think that’s been a positive and then obviously, when the new coach comes in then, I’m just really looking forward to the opportunity and hopefully I can learn a lot from him and keep progressing as a coach.”
Auckland has opened up an extra coaching pathway for aspiring coaches in Australia and New Zealand, and as the OFC Pro League, A-League silverware, imminent Intercontinental Cup and this pre-season friendly mix show, opportunity beckons.
“Delighted that I get the opportunity and then you’ve got to get in and make the most of it. But certainly two years ago I didn’t think I would be at Eden Park shaking hands with De Zerbi in front of forty thousand people.”
With Auckland mid-pre season and Spurs in the early moments of their own preparation and a tour Down Under, both sides were understandably under strength on the weekend, with Casserly giving a lot of his youngsters an opportunity too to experience the occasion, without forcing the side’s established stars back too quickly.
Still, he saw enough to think De Zerbi’s Spurs won’t suffer the same difficulties as Tottenham did last term.
“I think with De Zerbi in charge and the signings that they’ve made, they’ll be alright. I’m not quite sure they’re going be challenging for the for the title, but I think they’ll be a lot better than they were.
“The big thing for Spurs over the last couple of years, even when Ange Postecoglou was there, is the amount of players that ended up in the medical room. So I think that’s something that if they can get on the better of that and have all of their best players healthy and available is going to make a massive difference because they haven’t had that for a couple of years.”
For a club still so early in its infancy, this fixture continued a fairy tale ride, which will include a clash with Al-Ahli in the FIFA Intercontinental Club World Cup later this year.
“Fantastic for us,” he beamed.
“Obviously we won the premiers plate in the A-League the previous season but being from New Zealand and part of OFC we (don’t) qualify for the Asian Champions League so as a member of OFC through the OFC Pro League, we as a club get to qualify for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
“The A-League team that will participate in that so it’s really perfect at the back end of August for our pre season to have something to look forward to now that we’re no longer in the Australia Cup.”
The weekend’s festivities, off the back of New Zealand being back in a World Cup, and Auckland’s A-League success with silverware in consecutive seasons, is creating a tangible sense of momentum for football in New Zealand.
“What’s happened in recent times shows that Auckland was ready for a team,” he said.
“So when we talk about expansion in the A-League, it’s sometimes a bit of a gamble that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work. And this is certainly a case where the city was really ready for a team and I think that’s shown.
“As a football fan in Auckland it’s been an amazing time. We had the A-League grand final in Auckland, the Pro League Grand Final in Auckland, the ability to see the All Whites at the World Cup for the first time in sixteen years, through June and then in July you’ve got a big EPL club out here.
“It’s been a pretty cool time to be a football fan in Auckland at the moment.”
Like anything in football, that doesn’t guarantee future success, and Casserly said the A-League club will need to work hard to continue momentum with salary cap concessions, granted to help them launch, lapse.
“Our squad’s going to be a little bit different and we’ve already seen the departures from the end of last season.
“We’ve got some young Kiwi boys that I think people can get really excited about and I think that’s the story for the next season or two really…for the local fans. Some of the young boys coming through is the big story that they can get excited about.”