by Don Cuddy

New Zealand native Tony Lochhead joined the Revs as a senior international in September last year and has been making his way to the fore ever since. The 24 year-old who plays on the left side either as a full back or midfielder made his first start for the Revs in their home opener last Sunday. Soccer 365’s Don Cuddy had a chat with well- traveled Kiwi after the Revs practics on Thursday.

365: How did you end up in this country?
Tony Lochhead: I played in the U-17 World Cup. We played the US in that competition and someone must have seen the tape because I was offered a scholarship at UC Santa Barbara.

365: That must have suited you. Do you sail?
Lochhead: No. Surf. It was great. After class you just grabbed your board and headed right down to the beach.

365: How does soccer rate in New Zealand? You have the All-Blacks and you have cricket first right?
Lochhead: It’s similar to here. Soccer is the number one game played in youth sport but as you get older rugby takes over.

365: Did you play it?
Lochhead: My Dad was a rugby player so I originally started with rugby but then they changed the rules one year. They made it two-hand touch instead of tackle. I thought that was stupid so I tried a season playing soccer basically to get my kicking game sorted but then I started making representative teams and I never went back.

365: Did you ever imagine you would end up in the US?
Lochhead: The goal was to get to Europe. When I was younger I had no idea that there was professional soccer in this country. Then somebody told me about going to school and playing at the same time. There were guys like Simon Elliot and Ryan Nelsen who’d done it so I though that was a good idea, getting an education and playing at a good level.

365: Is there pro soccer in New Zealand?
Lochhead: We have one pro team that plays in the Australian league and the others are semi-pro.

365: I ask everyone this question but how would you describe the Revs style of play?
Lochead: We like to keep it. It’s more of a passing game. In New Zealand and Europe it’s more direct with a big man upfront. The way we train, there’s a lot of passing drills, keep it on the ground, make the ball do the work. That’s how we like to play.”

365: You had your first start in MLS last week. How much notice did you get?
Lochead: That was a bit of a shock. I got home on Saturday at five (from Chile) and one of the guys said: “ By the way, you’re in the team tomorrow.” It was a thirteen- hour trip so it was a little rough.

365: Well you can’t be too disappointed about the performance then.
Lochhead: No. That was my third game in six days so I was feeling it.

365: So how did the pace of the game last week strike you?
Lochhead: The field actually slowed it down a lot. The grass was way too long and the ball was sticky. I wish they cut the grass or watered the grass so the ball would have rolled better because that really hurt our game. If I pass the ball to you and it rolls like that then someone is up your arse.

365: What was it like down in Chile?
Lochhead: It was pretty crazy. There was a lot of whistling and noise although I didn’t understand what they were saying…

365: It probably wasn’t “ Welcome to Chile”Lochhead (laughs) No.

365: Did you get any results down there?
Lochhead: No. We had a pretty young squad. I had twice as many caps as most of the guys playing. We had some guys getting their first or second caps. The first game we got worked a little bit and lost 4-1. Second game was better but we lost 1-0 but it was good experience for us.

365: Was that a competition?
Lochhead: No. They have some new people in charge of the national team and they want to get the team out playing more. Last year we only played one game, which was terrible really. We actually have a game against Brazil on the 4th of June before the World Cup.

365: Where?
Lochhead: Geneva.

365: That’s a friendly then. Do the Revs have to release you?
Lochhead: It’s in the FIFA window so they do actually.

365: Man, you get to go on the field against Brazil! Get a shirt. Which one would you want?
Lochhead: Any of them would do but maybe Ronaldinho.

365: You might have some competition for that but good luck. Hope you get another start against the Galaxy.
Lochhead: Thanks

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