Ricki Herbert holds a unique World Cup record. The 53-year-old former international defender was the only manager not to have lost a game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup as New Zealand held Slovakia, defending champions Italy and Paraguay before bowing out undefeated in the championship. Now, as the NorthEast United FC manager, the Kiwi tactician talks about the past, present and future in this exclusive interview with indiansuperleague.com. Here are some excerpts.How did this assignment with NorthEast United FC come about?A couple of years ago I was here with Wellington Phoenix [a professional team which plays in the Australian league] and we played in Shillong and I made some good contacts and stayed in touch. And we’re lucky that the owners of Shilling Lajong continued those relationships.Did you have second thoughts about coaching in India?No. When you look at the quality of the players that are coming in, the quality of the managers that are being attached to the franchises, I think it is a wonderful opportunity. Because it is the inaugural year, everybody will be excited about it. It’s a great time for Indian football, and I’m privileged to be part of it.Do you have a vision for the team and how will you take it forward? I think the vision is very clear. The franchise has recruited some 19- and 20-year-old boys from the North-East; we have recruited young players because it is a platform to build on for the future. And I think it is a great chance for the young Indian boys to learn from some of the experienced foreign players that we are going to get. I think we’re a little bit in the unknown about the [foreign] players that we have just drafted. They are going to come in and we have got to start working with them. But that’s not a bad thing for everybody.How did you manage to remain unbeaten in the 2010 World Cup? Did the big stars uplift the team or was it a collective effort? It was very much a collective effort, we had Ryan Nelsen who was the captain and was playing in the English Premier League at that stage, an outstanding player, two young central defenders in Winston Reid who plays with West Ham United now, and Thomas Smith who plays with Ipswich, and there were some emerging players coming through as well. But I think the whole campaign was very much about strong team performance. We actually had a very good goalkeeper [Mark Paston] who helped us on a number of occasions.What do you think of this World Cup? Was the quality of the matches higher than that of 2010?People were charged up about it because there was a lot of interest; there were a lot of goals. But the defending wasn’t as good as what we’ve seen in the past. The teams were a little bit expansive, a little more open. But I think at the end of the day, the three most organised and disciplined sides were Holland, Germany and Argentina. I think Argentina were a bit unlucky in the final. They had three good chances which they should have put away. It was a good final anyway.
