New Zealand’s greatest player has been in Dunedin all weekend, taking groups of talented junior players for coaching sessions at Sunnyvale, and staying on today to catch some Chatham Cup action.
On Friday, he hops on a plane for Doha to (fingers crossed) watch the All Whites upset Costa Rica and qualify for the World Cup for just the third time, joining the heroes of 1982 and 2010.
"This is a cup final because there’s so much at stake. It’s exciting, and it’s pretty cool I’m going to be there," Rufer told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"It’s huge. If we get to the World Cup, that’s another new generation of kids who will be inspired.
"Imagine it — New Zealand playing Spain, Germany, Japan ... that’s just unbelievable."
Rufer rates the All Whites an even chance of qualifying, even though Costa Rica has the greater pedigree.
He is disappointed classy midfielders Sarpreet Singh and Ryan Thomas are missing from Danny Hay’s squad that was playing Peru in a warm-up game overnight.
"But there is still a really solid squad of players that can do the job. I’m hoping we can win the game, no matter how."
Rufer, whose striking prowess helped the All Whites qualify in 1982 then led to a glittering professional career, notably with German club Werder Bremen, is a big fan of New Zealand’s star player, Chris Wood.
He remembers working with Wood in his WYNRS academy, and an overseas tour that could have drastically changed Wood’s career.
"We actually tried to make him into a goalkeeper. We had a team on tour that got hammered, and our goalie didn’t want to play this game.
"Chris put his hand up and did outstanding."
Singh, meanwhile, spent eight years with WYNRS before playing for the Phoenix then heading to Germany, where there is talk he may be bound for Werder Bremen in a nice piece of symmetry.
Rufer, who has been running his academy in Auckland since 1997, first formed a solid relationship with Otago football when he was invited to a Grants Braes club anniversary some years ago.
The Oceania footballer of the century now links with Shane Carvell at the Green Island club, and was impressed by the talent on show at the weekend.
"It’s been a great three days.
"I think we’ve only had 14 kids but I’ve identified five that really could be elite kids."
Junior football was all about technique now, Rufer said.
"When I was a professional player, the best players in terms of technique were the strikers or the offensive midfielders.
"Today, everybody is good. It’s the world trend and it’s the same in New Zealand. Every single player in every position, including the goalie, in the top teams is technically unbelievable, and that filters down."
There are big opportunities for talented youngsters now.
Rufer has started working with the ambitious New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport facility in Upper Hutt, the former Central Institute of Technology that is being turned into a world-class sports hub by developers Malcolm Gillies and Kevin Melville.
Wellington rugby, the Hurricanes and the Phoenix were all going to be on site, Rufer said, and he was excited at the prospect of getting the best young footballers from around the country through its doors.
"We’re talking to some parents about getting their kids up to camps at NZCIS with a view to then coming up fulltime, going to school and living on campus.
"It’s an amazing facility."
You might not guess it — he still looks like he could put in a decent shift up front — but Rufer turns 60 this year.
A cardiac arrest three years ago was a scare, but he keeps fit, watches what he eats and relishes the chance to run around with the talented young footballers in his coaching sessions.
He will miss another big day: a 40th reunion of the 1982 All Whites, which is happening when he is overseas.
