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A Geography and Economics graduate from the University of Otago, Andy Boyens is currently in Austria preparing for the upcoming Football World Cup in South Africa. The tallest defender in the squad, he has a wealth of experience having played professionally in the States for the last few years. Critic spoke to him early one morning last week.

After a narrow but controversial loss to the Socceroos, how did it feel to beat the fifteenth-ranked Serbia?
Yeah, it was pretty awesome. We were pretty disappointed about the loss to Australia. But we spoke about it and said there were a few things that needed to be changed. We changed them and managed to have a really good performance against Serbia.
 
Commentators have been remarking on the high standard of performance being put forward by the All Whites. How did you rate the games personally?
I think we shouldn’t get carried away so early on in camp. They were two pretty good performances but they were still not total performances and I think we need to keep things progressing in our training and get to the point where we are playing 90 minutes of good football. When we get there, I think we can beat any team on the day. 
 
You are scheduled to play another two games before heading into your pool matches. How effective do you think this preparation is in getting the team ready for the World Cup?
We play Slovenia this weekend and then we play against Chile when we get down to South Africa. Yeah, I think it is very important. You need to be playing against higher-class opposition because that is the kind of opposition you will experience at the World Cup. The four games are all top opposition, they are very highly ranked in the world and to be able to play against those teams, it’s awesome. Great preparation. 
 
Speaking of the other nations in your pool – Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia – who are you looking forward to playing the most?
I think I am really looking forward to that first game. I think it’s a game where we can stamp our authority on the tournament. If we get a good result there, it really opens the door for the rest of the tournament. 
 
You started your career in the Dunedin technical squad before playing for Otago University, but you now play in the Red Bull New York club; how did that happen?
I was attending university, in Otago, and loved it. Then, I got an opportunity to go over to the States to play at a college on a scholarship-type basis. I played three years at the University of New Mexico in the States, then got drafted into the MLS – Major League Soccer. 
 
How big is soccer over in the States?
It is getting bigger and bigger, I think, at times like this when the World Cup is pretty apparent to everyone and the US actually have a very good team and will be disappointed if they don’t get through the group stages. It is still in the growing stages in terms of being a national sport, but at the same time, we get an average of around 15 000-20 000 people come to our games. 
 
You debuted for the All Whites in 2006. How have you enjoyed watching the support for the game and the team grow around the country?
It has been awesome. I think as well as the All Whites playing really well at the moment, being a catalyst for that growth having a professional team in the Phoenix is massive. I think they have combined to fuel growth in New Zealand. 
 
A few weeks ago, a radio station promoted International Hug a Ginga day – did you or anyone else in the team show Aaron Clapham some love?
He, I believe, did an interview for International Hug a Ginga day. He is very in touch with his ginger side, but he doesn’t take too much stick.