Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano has issued a rallying cry to fans on the eve of the inaugural New Zealand derby.
The Phoenix will play host to Isuzu UTE A-League newcomers Auckland FC at Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon in front of what could be Wellington’s biggest ever regular season crowd.
Tickets have flown out the door this week and the final attendance may surpass the 24,105 who turned out for the Nix’s homecoming game in May 2021.
“I think the fans are everything. They need to come out in force tomorrow,” Italiano said. “We need to fill the stadium, and we need to show what Wellington football is about.
“We also need to represent the history. We need to give the fans something to be proud of and there needs to be good energy from the players.
“It’s a celebration. No different to the Melbourne Victory game last season. That was a fantastic moment, but this is more about New Zealand and who owns football at the moment in this country.”
He views the derby as another opportunity for the club to rise to the challenge.
“Our motto is E Rere Te Keo. It’s a rise from the ashes basically and we really live our motto.
“The club for so long has been under scrutiny, whether it was viable and whether it merited to be in the league, and has gone through so many ups and downs financially as well, and with its supporter base post Covid.
“Every hurdle that we’ve met, we’ve overcome and that ties into what the meaning of the club is.
“Tomorrow’s game is more about our fanbase enjoying that and enjoying that history, and this is just another part of that history.”
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica has insisted the pressure is on the Phoenix as the home side and Italiano has been unable to resist a subtle dig in response.
“I find that very hard to believe. One, I don’t think they’ve left New Zealand yet. You know we’ve just come back from Perth.
“And the money he’s got available for players and so on he’s a strong favourite.”
For several of the younger Nix players it will be the biggest match of their careers to date. Giancarlo Italiano wants them to “embrace the moment”.
“Both teams will feel the same anxiety [and] the same fear and it’s the team that handles that better I think.
“It’s just staying in the moment and controlling what you can control.
“It’s really about focussing on what they can control in those big moments and if they stick to what we train and how we prepare they’ll be fine.”
And he isn’t worried about his team getting carried away with the noise surrounding the match.
“Our players treat this game like every other game. If we beat Auckland, we’re only going to get three points so the importance for every game we go into is the same.
“It’s more the dynamic with the New Zealand teams. It’s new, but once we play that first game the monkey will be off the back. Hopefully they enjoy it.”
Phoenix captain Alex Rufer is set to miss the inaugural derby with a knee injury, but Giancarlo Italiano is hoping to welcome Marco Rojas and Paulo Retre back from injuries. Rojas last played for the Nix in 2011.
The visitors’ squad features a number of past Phoenix players, most notably Alex Paulsen who is returning to Sky Stadium for the first time since his high-profile move to Bournemouth AFC and his following loan to Auckland FC.
“I don’t think there’s any animosity towards Alex. He got a deserved move and I saw a social media post, I think it was yesterday, that he loves the club still and he’s forever indebted.
“And we’re forever indebted for what he did last year so there’s no bad blood between us.
“When the coaching staff see him they’ll give him a big hug and wish him luck, obviously not too much luck, and he’ll be like all the other 11 players that are on the pitch tomorrow.”
The third round Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Auckland United is scheduled to kick-off at Sky Stadium in Wellington at 5pm Saturday and will be broadcast LIVE and free-to-air on Sky Open and on Sky Sport 2 in New Zealand, and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Scott WOOTTON (c), 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 10. David BALL, 11. Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 12. Mo AL-TAAY, 15. Isaac HUGHES, 19. Sam SUTTON, 21. Marco ROJAS, 24. Oskar VAN HATTUM, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk), 39. Jayden SMITH, 41. Nathan WALKER.
Unavailable: 14. Alex RUFER (injured), 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES (injured), 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD (injured).
Auckland FC squad (two to be omitted): 1. Michael WOUD (gk), 2. Hiroki SAKAI (c), 3. Scott GALLOWAY, 4. Nando PIJNAKER, 5. Tommy SMITH, 6. Louis VERSTRAETE, 7. Cameron HOWIESON, 8. Luis TOOMEY, 10. Guillermo MAY, 12. Alex PAULSEN (gk), 14. Liam GILLION, 15. Francis DE VRIES, 17. Callan ELLIOT, 18. Finn MCKENLAY, 21. Jesse RANDALL, 22. Jake BRIMMER, 23. Dan HALL, 25. Neyder MORENO, 27. Logan ROGERSON, 28. Luis Felipe GALLEGOS.
Unavailable: Nil.
