The Northampton man who will be managing at the World Cup - and leading his nation against England
Darren Bazeley might not be the most recognisable name at this summer’s World Cup, but the New Zealand manager will have the support of many in Northampton – the town where his football journey began.
The 53-year-old takes charge of New Zealand against Thomas Tuchel’s England in a warm-up match on Saturday (9pm kick-off UK time) before he leads his adopted nation at their third World Cup the following week.
Bazeley was born in Northampton and played football from a young age with Northampton Orion. He grew up in Abington Vale and attended Northampton School for Boys. Between the ages of 11 and 13, he trained on a weekly basis at the School of Excellence – a coaching scheme run by the FA – and it was through these session that Bazeley was scouted by Watford.
A right-back, he would go on to make almost 300 appearances for Watford between 1989 and 1999, followed by spells at Wolves and Walsall. After leaving the Bescot in 2004, he was invited to the other side of the world by former Saddlers team-mate Danny Hay, who had been appointed captain of the newly-formed - and now defunct - New Zealand Knights.
"I just fell in love with the place straight away," the former England Under-21 international told Sky Sports last month. "We settled pretty quickly – it's a beautiful country to grow up and live in. We became permanent residents after a couple of years and then got our citizenship done pretty quickly. We call ourselves New Zealanders now. This is home for us."
After retiring in 2008, Bazeley got stuck into coaching. He started out as New Zealand Under-17s assistant manager before he took charge of the country’s Under-20s and Olympic teams. In 2023, after a spell as interim boss, he was named permanent All Whites head coach, and next week they begin their World Cup campaign. Captained by talisman Chris Wood, they are in a group with Iran, Egypt and Belgium.
"We want to go to the World Cup to do something,” Bazeley added in his interview with Sky Sports. “We're not just there to attend. We want to qualify for the knockout phases. If I'm honest, I'm not sure if it's really hit home yet that we're going to be on that global stage. It's exciting and I can't wait."