Auckland FC are the Isuzu UTE A-League Premiers in their first season. This is the blueprint behind their success and why it feels like a win for all of New Zealand.
Auckland FC’s Premiership party in front of over 24,000 jubilant fans on Sunday night was the moment that crowned a modern day football fairytale.
Just 409 days after being born, the Black Knights celebrated their first piece of silverware even earlier than the bold three-year prediction made by owner Bill Foley before a ball had been kicked, and became the first New Zealand side to finish top of the league in 48 seasons of Australia’s top-flight.
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It was a fitting crescendo to a season that has been littered with historic success almost from the word go.
After their inaugural campaign, Steve Corica’s side hold the record for: The best start to a season by a new team in league history (6 wins from 6), longest time before conceding a first goal (532 minutes) and the highest domestic crowd for a regular season football match in New Zealand history (27,009 v Wellington Phoenix in February).
They will hope to host a bigger party in a month’s time, but this trophy is just reward for a club who have gotten almost everything right in their debut campaign.
HISTORY MADE: Auckland FC crowned Premiers in inaugural season
This Auckland side has been built around a core of Kiwis – 11 squad members have one or more caps for the All Whites – and they have been supported by an all-star cast of imports, led by captain Hiroki Sakai, who have embraced a new challenge head on.
“The brief was to build a local team and a team capable of winning. We looked at thousands of players, talked to them about what we were building here and what we wanted to achieve,” Corica said.
“Now a year on, I couldn’t be prouder. An expansion club winning the league in their debut season is unheard of. It feels very special.”
Indeed, Corica and his staff have coalesced a squad they pieced together from scratch into a winning machine, built on strong defensive foundations with a dressing room culture that was clear to see in their celebrations.
It is also a squad littered with narratives all over the pitch that have built up to this moment.
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HISTORY MADE: Auckland FC crowned Premiers in inaugural season
Alex Paulsen’s return to the A-Leagues on loan from Bournemouth via Foley’s multi-club network is a reminder of the advantages that come with having a billionaire owner, but the decision to bring the 22-year-old back to where he grew up also reflects the club’s keenness to connect with their local community.
Left-back Francis De Vries has been a revelation this season, but less than 12 months ago he was playing semi-pro football and coaching part-time. He is joined by Cam Howieson, Jesse Randall, Liam Gillion and Jonty Bidois in being plucked from the local league.
All Whites veteran Tommy Smith has enjoyed an 18-year career abroad spanning over 550 appearances across eight clubs, but it took returning home for him to win his first club trophy.
Logan Rogerson (Armenia), Max Mata (UK) and Nando Pijnaker (Ireland) have all come home to play in front of Kiwi crowds for the first time in years.
The likes of Guillermo May, Felipe Gallegos, Neyder Moreno and Louis Verstraete have all provided moments of pure quality throughout this campaign, while captain Sakai is now surely one of the most loved men in Auckland.
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“From starting from scratch. I mean, it’s hard enough having an established squad and trying to win a trophy, but when you’re actually trying to pick players… it’s not even as players, it’s how do they mould into a change room and build a culture?” Premier League legend Thomas Sorensen said on A-Leagues Download.
“It’s so hard to manufacture. They’ve got to build the changing room and build the culture in the changing room that they built, you can’t manufacture cultures just overnight.
“So for him to do it really quickly like that, I think that just says a lot about how (Corica) manages and why he had success at Sydney FC.
“It was time for him to obviously move on and then to have success so early at Auckland, I think just shows how unbelievable his managerial skills are.
“I think definitely from the start the strategy has been really smartly laid out.
“Focusing on getting New Zealand players, local players, as a core, and then, trying to add and embed Gallegos, Mata, Moreno, so they’ve had foreign players.
“Sometimes it can be difficult… that’s why I think the early success was so important, because then that gels everyone gets excited.
“You’ve got the fans, and then everyone wants to be a part of it. I think the strategy was smart.
“It’s been a good blueprint for how to create a new market and for further franchises hopefully to come.”
HISTORY MADE: Auckland FC crowned Premiers in inaugural season
Auckland’s success is undoubtedly a model for others to imitate in the future and their success on the pitch has resonated with their community.
The Black Knights boast the highest average home attendance in the Isuzu UTE A-League this term – close to 18,000 – with almost 250,000 fans passing through the gates of Go Media Stadium since their opening match last October.
It is perhaps no surprise that Auckland has connected with this side, when you consider the links between them and the All Whites. You could make the case that this triumph is as much a celebration for football in New Zealand as a whole as it is for Auckland.
Despite football being the most played team sport in the country last year, Auckland FC joined Wellington Phoenix as just the nation’s second pro football side.
In turn, they have broadened pathways for budding talent in Aotearoa.
New Zealand sit 86th in the latest FIFA rankings, their highest placing since October 2013, and their recent World Cup qualification was a proof point for the importance of both the Phoenix and Auckland for the nation’s football future.
It was the introduction of De Vries and Phoenix’s Kosta Barbarouses that changed the game for the All Whites in the OFC World Cup Qualifying Final against New Caledonia.
With the backdrop of an upcoming World Cup, this Premiership title takes on even greater significance.
“Inspirational moments for New Zealand have been few and far between for New Zealand in football,” former All Whites goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley said on Sky Sports NZ.
“If you look at the players who make up the All Whites squad the moment, they are of the age that they were in Sky Stadium when the All Whites beat Bahrain (to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup).
“They then take that inspiration, they harbour it, they harness it, they turn it into their own success for their own generation. That for me is the key thing.”
Former Phoenix defender Tom Doyle added: “I’m a massive fan of all these Kiwi players doing so well in the league, there are so many riddled through this team and doing so well this year.
“With a World Cup coming up, as a New Zealand football fan it’s exactly what you want to see.”
Next year, the nation will be transfixed by the world’s biggest sporting event.
But for now, Auckland FC have their eyes on a different trophy, with the Isuzu UTE A-League Finals Series coming up quickly.
