In a rugby-infused country such as New Zealand, and with England's cricketers in town for a Test match this past week, Hamilton on the winding Waikato river could feel every bit the other side of the world from the Premier League that it, well, very much is.
Yet right now English football's dream factory has never been closer. Chris Wood, their boy and New Zealand's captain, is leading a stirring rise at Nottingham Forest this season; one that has them fourth in the league, ahead of the champions, Manchester City.
Driven by Wood's 10 goals, and with Anfield and Old Trafford having been conquered, hopes of a first European adventure since 1995-96 have been rekindled at a club with a little bit of history there.
"The effect [on football in New Zealand] has been awesome," says Mike Groom, a former All Whites international who witnessed Wood's formative years in Hamilton. "Chris was born to score goals in a way that cannot be coached. He is a lighthouse, a neon sign, and for all those young kids here the possibilities could be infinite."
Those kids were keen already, in fairness, with football not the niche pursuit in New Zealand some in England could assume. It holds its own against the major team sports participation-wise, sitting among a tight top five at secondary school level.
Recreationally, for ages five to 17, it is No 1. The All Whites have appeared at two men's World Cups - the last an unbeaten group stage exit in 2010 - and the Football Ferns have played on the highest stage of the women's game six times.
Kiwis are not new to the Premier League either, Ryan Nelsen at Blackburn and Winston Reid at West Ham to name a couple from the past. But Wood sitting among its leading scorers this season is a level not previously witnessed: ultimate poster-boy status, to the point of being one of the first you see on arrival at Auckland airport.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 20, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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