The 22-year-old is set to become one of six Argentine players to line up at the tournament in Japan this month. One of those men, Lionel Messi, is regarded as the best in the world.
“If I stop for a moment and think I’m one of the six then it’s more than a wild dream,” Tade says. “In fact, I often find it difficult to sleep when I think about it.”
Tade’s excitement at the comparison is understandable – unlike Messi, he’s not listed as a potential FIFA World Player of the Year.
Originally from Santiago del Estero, a provincial village in Argentina, Tade moved to New Zealand in April 2010 after giving away legal studies back home. Football was the last thing on his mind when he arrived in Wellington – Tade was looking for a complete lifestyle change.
“The move to New Zealand was something I have always wanted,” he says. “I always wanted to travel and visit places you only see in movies.”
He started playing locally for Wellington United before Stu Jacobs added him to Team Wellington’s ranks in the ASB Premiership.
Now, just over 18 months later, and after a part-time job washing dishes, Tade can hardly believe he is about to appear on the world stage with Auckland City alongside some of the greats of Argentine football. But he is tries to stay focused.
“I think of what’s happening in the here and now. I would have never thought I was about to play at the FIFA Club World Cup and yet here I am. I feel like a sacred hand chose me so I could live this great experience,” he says.
With just one week to go before a glamour showdown with the as-yet-unknown J.League winners, Tade can’t help visualising a full Toyota Stadium.
“It will be big,” he says. “On paper we are not the favourites to win but we will be focused in knowing what we have to do and maybe we can benefit from the pressure to win that they will feel.”
With CF Monterrey awaiting Auckland City in a potential quarter-final on December 11, Tade has special reason to be excited. Neri Cardozo, an Argentine and former Boca Juniors star, is a mainstay for the Mexican club.
“I’m a massive Boca Juniors fan and Neri was a world champion with Boca. Neri is a legend and, if I get to play against him, I’ll go talk to him and hopefully we’ll swap shirts.”
Talk of a romantic run all the way to the final itself remains a tricky sell for Tade to buy but his sense of humour takes over for a moment.
“If we beat Monterrey, then beat Santos, then play Barcelona in the final, I think there will be nothing else to aspire too after that,” he jokes. “But seriously, we are the away team playing the champions of Japan on their home territory. If we somehow beat them, the rest will be a big bonus for us.”
Tade is the second top scorer in the ASB Premiership with four goals in four games and coach Ramon Tribulietx faces a difficult task narrowing his selection with competition for places heating up and Manel Exposito looking fitter by the day.
One player wrapped in cotton wool is midfielder Albert Riera, who has a slight knee injury but is still expected to be fit for December 8.
“There is a week to go for Albert, so there is plenty of time to see if the injury comes right, “Tribulietx says.
Influential skipper and 73-cap All Whites defender Ivan Vicelich arrives in Japan tomorrow night, just in time to face Ryutsu Keizai University on Friday evening (7pm local time/11pm NZT).

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