SIBConline News

Moffat Mamu on 29 March, 2007 - 5:39pm. Sport

IN his little office at the CEMA Building, Port Cruz, Terry O’Donnell sits unnoticed but he’s a man that every soccer fanatic would like to talk to.A former Liverpool striker and the only victorious Vanuatu coach, O’Donnell is in the country for a short stint not to play football but to help Solomon Islanders with rural development on a World Bank project.

O'Donnell who once played with Liverpool plays a low profile on his job but outside of his job he follows football like any mad fan.Vanuatu is one country that will never forget him because he is the only man that led them to their only Melanesian Cup triumph about 17 years ago and created history by beating the Socceroos during his reign as their coach.

Accidentally he met-up with his one time first eleven player Harry Atisson, who was here last week to officiate the match between Marist and AS Temanava of Tahiti. "Everybody in Vanuatu remembers the name," says Attison when he introduced himself to me this week.

To another extreme - nobody knows him in downtown Honiara or even in the corridors he’s working as he keeps a low profile and confines to his job.One of the biggest contributions to that is the nature of his job, which limits him from outdoor activities except to glue him to his table.But today, the former Liverpool man hopes to catch a glimpse of football by heading to the soccer pitches to watch the DJ League.The Solomons, in his opinion, is fast becoming a powerhouse of football in the region especially with its recent achievements in the last World Cup qualifiers.

In contrast, he believes, Vanuatu soccer is on the nosedive since his departure in the early 90s because of the axing of the school of excellence program he once introduced.He believes that with Australia now joining Asia, there’s likelihood of an island nation qualifying to the World Cup.Attison who officiated during many Solomon Islands matches including the famous 2-2 draw with Australia in 2004 further endorsed that.He rates the Solomons as the best team in Oceania.

He said the Solomons has great potential to be top contenders in Oceania as they have the players to do it.O’Donnell believes that Ni Vanuatu and Solomon Islanders are more skilful compared to their Fijian counterparts who are more physical.Atisson said Solomon Islands has played a rare blend of football with English influence whilst Vanuatu is more of French.But he rates SI above their Melanesian neighbours.

O’Donnell believes that the two neighbours have a good chance of making the world stage of the world game given their skill and passion for football.He played for Liverpool from 1967-8 during which he got 100 pounds per week.Today Liverpool’s stars are paid in millions not hundreds.

Despite that, O’Donnell whose family members support Everton not Liverpool recalls that it was big money.During his two years he played along side one of England’s great strikers Roger Hunt who was a World Cup winner.He then moved on to New Zealand straight after and in 1981-84 he played for the All Whites.In 1987 he moved to Vanuatu as the manager of Melitco Company during which he involved in the Port Villa soccer.

From 1988-93 he was the Vanuatu national coach, during which he led the Vanuatu side to a 1-0 win over Australia and won the Melanesian Cup.He clearly remembered that the Solomon team was on their way home and were in the same plane as their Vanuatu competitors and they even joined them for the victory parade in the Vila street.

Now a Kiwi, O’Donnell still follows football especially his English team. He was disappointed with their 1-1 draw over the weekend but hopes for a better result against Andora this morning.When asked if he would take an offer to coach the Solomons, O’Donnell said “yes”.He said he’s still very much interested in coaching and believes that one day he’ll return to the islands to do the job he really loves.

The Englishman believes that with proper coaching the islanders can do very well at the world stage.With the little time he has, O’Donnell hopes to see as much football as he can to get a taste of what local soccer is like.But for now he’s much into the business of getting his job done with the World Bank before any thoughts of the round ball comes to mind.