- John Adshead
John Adshead (born
27 March 1942 ) is anEngland -born former head coach ofNew Zealand 's national football team theAll Whites , whom he led to their one and onlyFIFA World Cup appearance in the 1982 tournament. Most recently he was the coach of theNew Zealand Knights in the inaugural season of theA-League .Life and work
Adshead is arguably one of the most important people in the history of
New Zealand football. The English born Adshead first started off as a player withExeter City before injury ended his career at just 22. Following his retirement as a player, Adshead instantly got into coaching and upon his arrival inWestern Australia in 1970 he coached for six years in the Western Australian State League.It was in
New Zealand where Adshead made his mark. With his clubManurewa he won six trophies includingChatham Cup and got the club into the top division inNew Zealand . In 1979 Adshead was appointed as the coach of the New Zealand national side and with the World Cup having one half spot forOceania it was down to the two strongest teams inOceania to fight for the right to compete in theAsian Football Confederation final qualifying round and ultimate qualification. New Zealand overcame theLes Scheinflug ledAustralia ns. Adshead led the All Whites through the qualifying round againstKuwait ,Saudi Arabia and China to joint top spot with China, and won the playoff 2-0 in Singapore to qualify for the World Cup for the first and only time in their history. A total of 15 qualifying games were required by the All Whites to reach the finals tournament.New Zealand lost all three finals games, against Scotland (5-2), Soviet Union (3-0) and Brazil (4-0) [ [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/page/all-whites%2526%2523039%3B-results-1982-soccer-world-cup|1982 Soccer World Cup Results] ]After leaving the
New Zealand national coaching job in 1983, Adshead spent time in football obscurity again before returning to coachNew Zealand again in 1987 to try and get the team to the1990 World Cup but they failed to get out of theOceania round by one point. Adshead again coached in Perth and as a youth coach inOman before returning toNew Zealand to coach theNew Zealand Knights in the inaugural season of theA-League . A cancer scare just after his appointment and the poor on field performances of the club led to his retirement after the end of the 2005/06 season.References
External links
* [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/q/1982.html| 1982 FIFA World Cup]
* [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/1982-soccer-world-cup|The All Whites and the 1982 World Cup finals ]
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