All Whites rookie Dan Keat is carving out a carbon copy of Ryan Nelsen's career and hopes it will go all the way to the Premier League and World Cup.
Like Nelsen, Keat last year won the Major League Soccer title in the United States with the LA Galaxy after making a name for himself in college football with Darthmoor.
"I can't think of many better people to follow, especially in New Zealand football,'' the 24-year-old said ahead of his likely debut in the friendly against Jamaica at Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow.
"Obviously Ryan is a fantastic player and a great guy that I admire a lot. He's paved the way for a lot of guys to go through the college system and has given us a great name in the MLS and hopefully get more Kiwis in the Premier League.''
Keat has been on the football radar for some time, and first met Nelsen in 2005 as a 16-year-old on trial with Blackburn Rovers.
"He was great,'' Keat remembers. "We had lunch a few times and he gave me great advice.''
The trial was unsuccessful but the player from Lower Hutt has never been out of the spotlight, captaining the Under-20 team at World Cup in Canada in 2007.
A year later he was Beijing-bound with the Olympic team when he tore his cruciate ligament which put him on the sidelines for nine months. "It was pretty tough but taught me a lot about the mental toughness that you need in the professional game.
"You realise that the time you have playing football is so precious and so short and you have to make the most of it.''
And he certainly does. Unlike the classic modesty in Kiwi athletes, the distinctive red head radiates American flair and confidence and is not here to make up the numbers.
When asked whether he has pencilled himself in for absent Simon Elliott, he does not hesitate.
"Why not? I want a place in this team and I want to contribute.''
In his first year at his club Keat has struggled to get a regular spot in the star-studded team that includes David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan but hopes to play a bigger part in the upcoming season.
"I played 90 minutes in the last two pre-season games so I hope to get more games.
"With David in the team there is one midfield place gone so you got to fight for the scraps,'' Keat said. "But saying that, we've got to play upwards of 60 games. David is 36 so won't play all those games and will leave some for the rest of us.''
- By Coen Lammers of the Asburton Guardian
