Rufer withdraws

Press, 8 March 1989, Page 72

Rufer withdraws

By

DAVID JONES

of NZPA in Tel Aviv New Zealand suffered a big setback to its chances of World Cup soccer success yesterday when the striker, Wynton Rufer, pulled out of the rest of the Oceania group series. The All Whites, beaten 1-0 by Israel on Monday, had hoped to have Rufer for their second match against Australia in Sydney on Sunday. But his Swiss first division club Grasshoppers Zurich has ordered Rufer to return home for an important cup match against Lucerne on the same day. Rufer said: “Of course I am disappointed as I consider it a great honour to play for my country. “But Grasshoppers have been good to me and I must respect their wishes,” he said. The New Zealand Football Association chairman, Warwick Gendall, said earlier that under F.I.F.A.

rules New Zealand could have insisted that Grasshoppers release Rufer. “But we also realise that such action could have jeopardised his future with Grasshoppers which is the last thing in the world that we want to happen.” Rufer is Grasshoppers’ leading scorer this season with 12 goals. While Rufer prepared to return to Zurich, the rest of the All Whites squad left Tel Aviv yesterday on the first stage of their journey to Sydney. Meanwhile in Sydney, the elegant Socceroo midfielder, Oscar Crino, will begin a double count today for Sunday’s clash. Crino is counting the minutes to the start of the game and is also keeping check on a low blood count which has affected his play recently. The skills and tactics of Crino have been a mainstay in the Australian rrgdfield and he has

played a big role in the success of the Socceroos in the last few years. He missed the first game against the Swedish champion, Malmo, in Melbourne but returned to the team for the 3-0 win in Sydney last month. “I put a huge effort into our Olympic Games qualifying rounds and had to ease down after feeling weary. This year has been similar with the emphasis on getting fit,” said Crino. “I’m pretty much recovered now but I had to take some medication for the low blood count. “My schedule as a player was hurting with the number of midweek and week-end games and I needed a break. “The last time I was affected by a low blood count was just before the Bicentennial Gold Cup and it took me six weeks to recover,” he said. Crino said he only had three weeks to improve this time.