As a diesel mechanic whose garage is an hour and a half away from Auckland City’s home ground, Jerson Lagos admits he does not always get to training on time.
Luckily, his coach understands that sometimes real life gets in the way of football. Albert Riera, the Spanish backpacker who has coached the club to successive Oceania Champions League titles, oversees two training sessions per week. Any more than that, he says, and he would be the only one there.
The lack of face time means sometimes his players have to act on their own initiative. And Lagos, the New Zealand side’s set-piece specialist, acknowledges he has another trusted source for advice, too.
When he curled a corner directly past Khalid Essa and into the Al Ain goal near the end of the first half of the Intercontinental Cup opener on Sunday night, it was straight out of the playbook of someone special.
“I was aiming back post, but to be honest my mum always used to tell me, ‘Just aim for the goal,’ and thank God it happened,” Lagos said. “[When it went in] it was incredible, a feeling you can’t explain. There was so much adrenaline.”
The 21-year-old right back owes more than football nous to his mother. He was born in Colombia but moved to New Zealand as a refugee when he was nine years old. His mother brought him and his three siblings – an older brother and two older sisters – to New Zealand to escape serious personal problems in Colombia. They resettled and now have New Zealand citizenship.
“It was a really tough time over there, and I am really proud of my mum for how she took us out of that situation, so we could have a better future,” Lagos said. “Unfortunately, she couldn’t [get to Al Ain to watch the game] but she was watching live on TV.”
One thing Lagos did take with him from South America was a love of football. It survived the move to rugby-mad New Zealand, although he says he did have a crack at the country’s No 1 sport when he was younger.
“I was interested and did try [rugby] for a little bit as being new in New Zealand, you have to try new things,” Lagos said. “But I just felt it wasn’t for me and the passion for football just kept going and going. The passion for football in the family has always run in us.”
His duties as a mechanic are split between New Zealand’s biggest city and Hamilton, which is a 90-minute drive away from the Auckland suburb of Sandringham where the club are based. He says he tries to make it on time for training – "football is peace, so I try my best" – and is grateful that it can lead to nights like the one in Al Ain.
Although the home team finally ran out 6-2 winners, they required a late three-goal surge from super subs Soufiane Rahimi and Kaku to do so. And Lagos and Myer Bevan, who scored the tourists’ other goal, helped themselves to a couple of fine forget-me-nots from their time in the UAE.
“This is incredible, an experience that not many people can get,” Lagos said. “I have been trying to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Al Ain's win over Auckland City in photos
Riera, the coach, said his players were right to feel proud, despite the result, given there is not one professional among them.
“We always ask the same thing of the players: to be here, to be proud, and to play with courage. Sometimes it is very hard,” he said.
While the European entrant into this competition, Real Madrid, only have to turn up for the final of the Intercontinental Cup, Al Ain will have to play three matches if they are to reach that point. Players’ unions across Europe are reportedly considering strike action because of their workload.
And yet for the part-timers from Auckland City, tournaments like the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup provide the chance to create memories to last a lifetime. They are the sort of events that would make the players want to use all their annual leave on.
While some footballers in New Zealand – and even in their city itself – are professional, those of Auckland City are not. The country’s pro teams play in Asian confederation competitions, meaning their league matches are in Australia.
Wellington Phoenix, the professional side who play in the A League, are a different entity to the Team Wellington who Al Ain played in the 2018 Club World Cup. Similarly, Auckland City are the amateur side in a city which also has Auckland FC playing professionally in the Australian league.
“It is our reality,” Riera said. “It is a bit complex and not like the rest of the world, but we have to co-exist with them. We try to be as professional as we can, but the regulations don’t allow for us to have a professional income. So what they have to do is work. We have students, we have all sorts of workers, and that is what makes me very proud.
“It is the reality of our country, which is a beautiful one. We have great elite sport for men and women. We have the All Blacks. At the moment, unfortunately, football is the third or fourth most practiced sport, behind cricket, rugby and other ones. Slowly we are escalating on the ladder.”
The trip to the UAE – with two days in Abu Dhabi and three in Al Ain – provided Riera with a rare chance to spend quality time with his players.
“This is the only time we have had the chance to work together all day every day,” Riera said. “We train in the afternoon, usually twice a week. A lot of players can’t make training because they are stuck in traffic for an hour after work or university.
“If I put on another training session, I think I would be the only one at the training session. They don’t get money to play football, they just get it for their petrol and their expenses. Given where we our coming from, and our resources and facilities, I just have to be proud of my players.”
