Black Sticks’ Ryan Archibald optimistic for home-soil Champions Trophy
One of the best midfielders across the world, Ryan Archibald, made a comeback to the New Zealand men’s national team for the forthcoming Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy, to be played from December 3 to 11, in Auckland, New Zealand.
Having experience of more than one-decade, Archibald was not part of the squad after the 2010 Champions Trophy, held in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Archibald opted to take rest from international hockey, preparing himself for the 2012 London Olympics, the last mega tournament of his career.
Archibald’s rejoining will surely assist the considerably improving Black Sticks in the upcoming mega event. His skills are also expected to lead his team to a top position in the Champions Trophy.
Speaking to the media, he stated that he was working to improve his skills for a long time to deliver brilliant performances in the mega tournaments.
He added that he needed a break in order to refresh himself after playing more than a decade. He, however, informed that he is used to playing 25 to 30 test games in a year since 1997.
He observed, “I wanted to start transitioning into a work career knowing I was coming back to live in New Zealand. But I always knew I wanted to go to London”.
Archibald, who earned 251 international caps to his credit, started his career back in 1997. He is second after Phil Burrows, having the highest caps for the Black Sticks.
He was named in the World All Stars as well as earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the prestigious EuroHockey League, back in 2008.
Although the New Zealand team became used to playing without Archibald, his presence will help the national team in achieving its aims.
Black Sticks Coach, Shane McLeod, is quite happy about the return of the legendry midfielder. In his view, Archibald is considered one of the few best players in the country.
He uttered, “We have been without him (Archibald) for close to 18 months and were starting to adapt to life without him but any time we have with him now is a bonus. I think the side is good enough without him but to have one of the best players in the world
in your side adds another dimension to your game”.
He expressed that they are hoping to finish the prestigious Champions Trophy among the top four places. He also went on to say that they will have to make many improvements in the national line-up, if they want to fulfill their dreams.
The Black Sticks, currently sitting at the 7th place according to the world rankings, will face South Korea, Germany and the Netherlands in the group stage of the upcoming event. The other group comprises teams from Pakistan, Australia, Great
Britain and Spain.
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