This 38-year-old veteran of four FIFA Club World Cups, three FIFA Confederations Cups and the All Whites’ historic FIFA World Cup™ appearance in South Africa four years ago, Vicelich shows no signs of slowing down.
“I’m absolutely buzzing about going to Morocco again,” Vicelich says.
“We won everything we could domestically and continentally last year and the reward for that is to go to the FIFA Club World Cup. Our pre-season preparation has been really good and to see the FIFA Club World Cup trophy here creates a wonderful excitement around the club and the tournament.”
Vicelich continues to defy the aging process, so much so he finds himself pushed into the centre of Auckland City FC’s midfield.
It is a switch the skipper is thriving on.
“It’s interesting and I’m enjoying it,” he explained. “It’s a position I’ve played in for the All Whites and in club football in Europe – it takes time to get used to but right now I’m enjoying it.”
The positional switch aside, Vicelich’s thoughts about the forthcoming Morocco adventure is coloured by last year’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Raja Casablanca where a last minute goal eliminated the plucky Kiwis.
“It was disappointing to lose in that manner but I was very proud,” he said.
“We worked hard on and off the ball and we did quite well. But to be positive, what that experience does for our team is show us that with hard work, organisation and discipline we can be competitive at the top level. Maybe create an upset.”
Raja Casablanca have not qualified this year, their place taken by Moghreb Athletic de Tetouan. Vicelich says though the two clubs are different, he says lessons have been learned by the Aucklanders.
“We’ve accepted we can compete with whoever we get more than anything else,” Vicelich said confidently. “But Moghreb are Moroccan champions for a reason and they’ll be very very tough.
“But we have faith that if we stick to our tactical approach, organise ourselves, work hard and stay focussed, we give ourselves a chance to compete with them. If we can’t do those things, we could struggle.”
Outside of the Oceania champions’ football mission, Vicelich says he is looking forward to enjoying other aspects of Morocco as a country. It has a charm, he says, that both fascinates and compels. And the love of football is a part of everyday life.
“Morocco is a beautiful place to visit,” Vicelich said. “We had opportunities to see some of the country last time and what struck us was how friendly the people were everywhere we went. What also struck us was how passionate the people are for football. That’s something we miss in our country and it was great to experience that in Morocco.”
Many critics believed the blowtorch atmosphere generated by local fans would intimidate and scare the Auckland players, but Vicelich says the opposite was true.
“We’ve players that had never played in those sort of hostile and passionate stadium conditions before,” he said.
“But, to be honest, it’s not a problem because it brings the level of any player up higher, it’s the big stage, where you want to be.”
And who does Vicelich believe has what it takes to succeed Bayern Munich as world champions? The former Roda JC stalwart does not mince his words.
“Real Madrid are very strong at the moment and I can see them winning it. It always comes down to what happens inside 90 minutes of a match, but it’s Madrid for me.
The final word for the man known as The Godfather pertains to his role as an ambassador for the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015. For the first – and perhaps last time, at least for a while – both the FIFA Club World Cup and FIFA U-20 World Cup trophies were in New Zealand in November.
“The FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup are two great tournaments,” Vicelich explained.
“For a club like Auckland City to qualify for the Club World Cup is fantastic and to have the U-20 World Cup trophy here is great for the country, great for football in general – these are special times for the sport in New Zealand and the two trophies being here at Kiwitea Street (Auckland’s home ground) symbolises that.”
Story courtesy of FIFA. For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com

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