Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano responded to taunts from rivals Auckland FC ahead of the first ever New Zealand Derby, dismissing claims that all the pressure is on the ‘Nix this weekend.
In what is a hotly anticipated clash at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the two sides head into their first ever meeting sat one and two on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder respectively.
With two wins from their first two matches the Black Knights sit on top of the table and remain the only side to have a 100% record so far this season.
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“I find that very hard to believe,” quipped Italiano at his pre-match press conference when asked for a response to Corica’s claims.
“One: I don’t think they’ve left New Zealand yet, you know, we’ve just come back from Perth.
“I would say with the money that he has available for players and so on, he’s a strong favourite!”
The Phoenix head into round three sat second in the standings, having picked up four points from their opening two matches.
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The A-Leagues’ newest Derby is set to be the hottest ticket in town on Saturday in Wellington and Italiano believes the event is something both his players and fans should embrace.
“Like most derbies, you know, it’s more the anticipation. Derbies are really more about the fans and the home advantage. There’s always a big build up.
“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve seen some big derbies in my time. The biggest one was 2011: Pep and Jose in El Clasico at Bernabeu – that was an experience.
“It was the whole lead up to the week. The players feel it, the fans feel it. You know, there’s boasting rights and so on. So it’s an event.
Italiano went on to say: “Our players treat this game like every other game. If we beat Auckland we’re only going to get three points. So, you know, the importance for every game that we go into is the same.
“I think it’s more the dynamic with the New Zealand teams and so on. It’s new, but once we play that first game, the monkey will be off the back and hopefully they enjoy it.”
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With the Phoenix’s ‘Yellow Fever’ area sold out for the game and a large number of Auckland FC fans also expected to make the trip to Sky Stadium, the inaugural meeting between the two sides is likely to be played out in front of a crowd of more than 20,000 spectators.
“I think that they’re everything,” said Italiano when asked how important the Phoenix fans will be on Saturday.
“They need to come out in force tomorrow. We need to fill the stadium. 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. There needs to be good energy from the players. You know, it’s a celebration.
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“(It’s) no different to the Melbourne Victory game when we played last year, that was a fantastic moment. But now this is more about New Zealand, about, you know, who owns football at the moment in this country.”
One big blow for the home side though heading into the meeting with Auckland FC is the fact Captain Alex Rufer won’t be available.
Ruled out after picking up an injury during Wellington’s 2-0 win over Perth Glory in round two, Rufer’s absence will no doubt be a huge blow for his side as they prepare to host their new rivals.
“So he caught the knock against Perth at the end of the game,” said Italiano when detailing the injury which has ruled his skipper out of the Derby.
“It was an inflamed Bursar and the swelling and the stiffness hasn’t gone down, so it’d be a risk to play him tomorrow. So we ruled him out.
“He was hugely disappointed. (It’s) such a big event for us. You know, first derby, (I) would loved to see him part of it.
“But again, we’ve got Paulo Retre coming in, who’ll do a really good job for us, and really looking forward to the match.”
Named in the matchday squad for the first time this season after recovering from injury, new signing Retre could be the perfect player to help fill the hole left by the ‘Nix injured captain.
A two-time championship winner with Sydney FC, 31-year-old Retre left the Sky Blues back in 2023 in favour of a move to Indian side FC Goa but is now back in the Isuzu UTE A-League and could even start the clash against the Black Knights on Saturday given his ability to perform a similar role to that of Rufer.
Meanwhile, Italiano also confirmed fellow new recruit Marco Rojas is in line to make his second debut for the club after fully recovering from the leg fracture which has so far left him sidelined since he returned to Phoenix.
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