Hudson-Wihongi: I've dreamed of playing at the Club World Cup - FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
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Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi has dreamed of playing at a FIFA Club World Cup since he was a child and is on the verge of making that dream come true.
The 20-year-old Auckland City FC and New Zealand midfielder starred at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in June and now has his sights set on making a big impact in Japan for the team that won bronze last year.
"It's been a dream of mine since I was a small boy to play at a FIFA Club World Cup and I'm hoping I can get a start in Japan and play to the best of my ability," said Hudson-Wihongi. "I just want as much game time as I can and hopefully impress the right people and earn a professional football contract somewhere."
Hudson-Wihongi is no stranger to Japan having visited the country no less than three times as a youngster with Wynton Rufer's youth development set-up.
And Japan is a country that Hudson-Wihongi enjoys: "Japan is a lot different lifestyle wise, there are 20 times the number of people there than in New Zealand and there's also a lot of bicycles, and its cold at the time of year we'll be playing.
"Japanese football is amazing the players are technically unbelievable in terms of how good they are and if they get a chance they keep the ball away from you, individually they are all superb players."
The youngster also cites former JEF United and Sanfrecce Hiroshima defender Hiroshi Miyazawa as one of his biggest influences. "Hiroshi Miyazawa has been a big influence on me since I was young and I played for him at a local club called Onehunga Sports, which is a club he has involvement," he said.
International opportunity
Signing for Auckland City FC also led to a winning All Whites debut as Hudson-Wihongi came on as a substitute when New Zealand beat Oman 1-0 in November.
"Auckland City FC has felt great so far, the players and people are very welcoming," he says. "I remember waking up early in the mornings to watch Auckland City's games in Morocco with my family last year and wanting them to do well as a New Zealand and Oceania representative.
"But I'm also glad I got on to the pitch to make my All Whites debut and hopefully it's not a one off thing for me. I want to keep pushing my case and get myself on the next tour. I'm sure my parents were watching on TV in the early hours of the morning and they were very proud. Continuing to make them proud is something I want to do."
New Zealand's last win was a 1-0 away victory over Saudi Arabia on 5 September 2013, so to end a two-year wait for success was a relief for coach Anthony Hudson and delight for his players. And with winning momentum a vital ingredient in football, there was mild disappointment to not take that into a second match.
"The feeling was unbelievable," he said. "We were well overdue a win so the feeling afterwards was as if we'd won a World Cup qualifier. It was a positive atmosphere afterwards.
"The mood was very positive and there was a sense of optimism so it was disappointing to not have a second game in the window to carry that on. But New Zealand Football do everything they can to make sure there are more fixtures so we just have to wait and find out who it is, where it is and if I'm lucky enough to be picked."
While winning a football match was the main objective for the Navy Blues' new All White, the country of Oman held some fascination for Hudson-Wihongi, too. "Oman was beautiful but we didn't see much because you obviously spend most of your time between the airport, hotel, training and the stadium. But I did Google Oman and it's a great looking country, very interesting and with an interesting culture," he said.
The Navy Blues face a winner-takes-all showdown with the J.League champions on Thursday.