FOOTBALL HISTORY: "A Tribute to Rudi Gutendorf, Fiji National Team Coach", by Henry Dyer, 25 March 2015.

Nadi and Fiji stars Savenaca Waqa (GK) (left) and Henry Dyer, Namotomoto Village Extension, Nadi Town, 27 August 2015.

A Tribute to Rudi Gutendorf, Fiji National Team Coach

All the coaches who came before Rudi only lifted the morale of the team. However, Rudi implemented a European pattern of soccer that was appreciated and absorbed by the soccer people of Fiji. In that European pattern of soccer you had to be extra fit and you had to have the guts to take the hard knocks and to give them too. He would really talk in a harsh and direct and sometimes offensive way using terms that would offend you. However, then all of a sudden, he would come to you as a father and as a parent and give you that kind of loving talk which would lift your morale and bring you back to where you should be after you had been shattered by his scolding. He would not tell you directly that he was talking to you in a fatherly way. You would feel remorse as if you had been in the wrong and you had to make up. You felt that you had to prove yourself and show him as if he was a parent or a father. This is how it was when you were in the squad or in the first XI. It is a pity that, after he had left, Fiji football slowly lost touch with that style of play and with that high standard of coaching. It was fortunate that the players of that era carried the rhythm of that play for some time – until they retired. At the time of Fiji’s 1-0 win over Australia in 1988 there was still some Rudi influence as Billy Singh had been under him.

Rudi Gutendorf.

Like every human being you have a hidden secret of what is close to your heart. Before Rudi selected his teams, I sensed that he was talking mostly to the boys who were on his list of chosen players. I caught on to this. He would only tend to scold those players whom he really wanted to teach. These were the players he really wanted for the team. He mentioned that if he is talking to someone over and over again do not think that he is angry with him. He has something in mind for him. He has the goal of motivating that person to become a better player. He had the skills at an old age to have kicks at training and this really inspired us further to better our kicks.

At the Natabua High School grounds we had just been starting to learn this European soccer pattern. The two left and right-backs would run down the flanks and become the hidden wingers. This was designed to catch the defence off-guard as these two would become the extras in attack. At Natabua grounds, Rudi Gutendorf was still trying to get us to understand the tactics of the new pattern of European soccer that he was introducing to us. It was a new thing for both him as teacher and us as students. When he gave the command to the boys to cross from the corner of both flanks into goal, and for the midfield and the strikers to strike at a volley-kick (the one-touch of the corner kick into the goal), this was really his dream which he wished to implement. He wanted to see a classy finish which is really what the Fiji soccer of today lacks. You could see this at the 2013 IDC tournament at Churchill Park where Lautoka scored zero goals for the whole tournament despite having numerous chances in opposition territory.

Henry Dyer helps the English PhD student Jack Sugden.

In this training at Natabua Grounds we started to understand what the European soccer pattern was all about. We started to gain momentum and confidence. At this training it came to my turn to receive the cross. I would say that I am not boasting but this is the truth. I scored one of the best goals of that training that day. Rudi yelled out in delight because what he wanted to implement had come to pass.

The senior players in that 1983 training squad (to go to the South Pacific Games in Samoa at which we won the silver) gave me some friendly remarks such as “your name is in the book now and you have a tick”. I really felt great for myself. The ball struck the bottom of the crossbar from my kick and Rudi shouted out: “This is the goal which I was talking about.” That goal instilled me with confidence and it gave meaning and direction to the boys. When I kicked the ball I was around six metres out from goal and I was directly in front of it. I remember my friend Mohd. Salim from Rewa and my club-mate Emasi “Bacardi” Koroi (from Airport Soccer Club) were joking with me that now I had been able to satisfy Rudi. I would say that Rudi’s coaching was a challenge to us to either make it or drop out at the early stages. You had to be fit, you had to perform; you had to have a positive attitude; and you had to be able to take the hard knocks and the scolding. The other players were also doing their bit to become a part of the team.

Henry Dyer, Semi Tabaiwalu (Ba / Fiji), Kieran James.

Rudi thought that Savenaca Waqa (goalkeeper) was an excellent player. He did not make any attempts to take the players overseas to play as Fiji Football probably did not want him to take any of the players away. He mentioned to me that he wanted to take me to a club in Europe but nothing happened. This is why today I am living in Nakavu Village, Nadi instead of perhaps Hamburg, Budapest or Prague! Fiji Football should do more liaisons with Oceania and European football to give our younger players at club level some exposure. Out of this squad Tony Kabakoro, Stan Morrel, Kelemedi “Cheetah” Vosuga, and Abdul Manaan all made it overseas to play abroad (in either Australia or New Zealand). Furthermore, Ivor Evans went over to Canada to play for Vancouver and eventually he migrated. He was one of the lucky ones. He had the connections and the network from Ba. He was a part-European. He went over there and he fitted into a team where most of the guys there were from Fiji or Ba. He was absolutely at home away from home. Very few Fiji players played in Europe during this era. I can say that Rudi’s time in Fiji as a coach was bound up with the futures of most of the players of that era.

[By the former Fiji national team player Henry Dyer, as told to Dr Kieran James of University of Fiji in Nadi, 25 March 2015.]
Comment by Gurjit Singh (Facebook, 15 February 2019): I did coaching course under Rudi Gutendorf. He actually followed German system. Players to be physically fit and tough. He believed in close marking, not giving any chance to for opponents to move. Believed in Discipline.

Comment by Vono Tag (Facebook, 16 February 2019):  Came under his coaching style when at 17 years fresh from high school to be reserve goal keeper for Fiji at No 3. Savenaca Waqa was No 1 and Iliesa Bolabiu was at No 2. During our warm up to play Minx Dynamo from Russia a ball was kicked out of the 18 meters box.

While Save (No 1) was concentrating on a cross ball from the right side. A player behind me outside the 18 meters kicked a low bouncing ball that went straight on the face of Save putting him down like a chopped banana tree.

They have to take No 1 to CMW hospital and No 2 GK become No 1 and me No 3 become No 2 shivering on the bench as first time appearance for national duty.

He was a great coach with his short stint with Fiji team we learned alot from him. We drew that game and I was not able to go in the field. Imagine if something wrong with our goal keeper again.

Kieran James and Inia Bola aka "Golden Header" @ Ba Town, 17 June 2015.

Fiji teammates / domestic soccer rivals Henry Dyer  (Nadi / Lautoka) (left) and Meli Vuilabasa (Ba), Ba Town, 2 June 2015.

FOOTBALL HISTORY: Fiji versus New Zealand and Australia, and why I was dropped from the team for the Australian game, by Henry Dyer

Nadi town main street. During the 1980s Nadi and Fiji were successful teams and local stars were treated as heroes as they walked around Nadi town especially by Nadi's soccer-crazy Indian supporters. The villages outside of Nadi (just before the bridge if you are driving from Lautoka) produced an amazing wealth of soccer talent during this era. Will Nadi soccer ever experience such a great era again when huge crowds flocked to Prince Charles Park?

Henry Dyer remembers

Chapter 2

Fiji versus New Zealand and Australia

Introduction

Nadi main street during the flood

In the first season I started with Nadi (1982) I remember that we went into the finals of the IDC where there was a controversial ending to the final. There was an argument because of light failure at the Prince Charles Park ground in Nadi where the game had to be abandoned. The light was not too good according to the officials of Fiji Football. I think that year we had won the league too (although we failed to make the final of the BOG). This was when Nadi had won the league title for three years in a row (1980-82) (Fiji Football Association, Silver Jubilee Celebration 1977-2002, Fiji Football Association, Suva, p. 11). These were the years when some of the best soccer players in Fiji were playing the game. I was lucky to enjoy the game with them. I made a lot of good friends with them and these friendships exist up until today. The players were from Labasa in Vanua Levu and from all the districts in Fiji. I still meet with them. There was a high class of soccer then. I remember a friend of mine had to sit on the bench for three years before getting his first game with Nadi.

I believe Nadi then had a wealth of talented soccer players that made it hard for a new player to get into the team. It was a big thing for me to play with and against the big names of soccer in Fiji. I guess I made it up to the top so fast because of my rugby training while I was young, straight after secondary school. I did a bit of weights straight after training with my cousin who had a set of weights. He got these from the Sugar Mill. In fact his father got it for him. This strengthened my ability. By this time my Grandmum (Viamila Neisau) had moved from Namoli Village to Tukuvuci on the outskirts of Lautoka close to Tomuka. I used to run from Churchill Park up to Tukuvuci every afternoon because I could not afford fares and I had to be home on time for dinner. I think this must have built me up to become strong as an athlete.

While playing for Nadi, during my first year in 1982, I was selected into the Fiji training squad. This lifted my spirits as a player to be in camp with the big boys. I was only 20-years-old (born 1962). I was on the bench for the first few games for Fiji. I remember playing Tahiti in Nausori which was not so good for me because I did not play well. I think I was a bit nervous then as a young boy.

Fiji 2, New Zealand 0, Laucala (National Stadium, Suva)

Tony Kabakoro (third from left) scored two goals vs. NZ

I began to pick up my confidence as the years went by. We played against New Zealand in Suva on a windy evening at Laucala (today’s National Stadium); we beat NZ 2-0. I remember Tony Kabakoro scoring two goals. I remember while in defence running the ball on the side facing the grandstand booth. NZ striker Kevin Fallon tried to get the ball off me but did not succeed. After walking back into defence Fallon walked up to me and said: “Hey, boy, you are really fast”. I didn’t know who Fallon was but I found out he was the top striker in NZ. I thought I was playing against just another guy.

The New Zealanders were very tough guys on the field but I guess that they respected us too because we were tough also. However, it was just because of their skills that they were just a level above us. Nonetheless we managed to beat them. Our coach was a German guy, Rudi Gutendorf. Rudi brought with him a European soccer pattern of play that caught NZ off guard. Rudi used the defenders as the hidden wingers. When the wingers went up in attack the two side midfielders dropped back a bit in their place in defence. Then the two full-backs went up-field as the hidden wingers to receive the ball from the midfielders. These two full-backs were trained specifically to get the balls with perfection to the strikers in the penalty area. 

Fiji 1, New Zealand 0 and New Zealand 4, Fiji 2

There was another game when we had a fight which was a big fight where one of the strikers was a very dirty player. He initiated the fight. This was also against New Zealand (won 1-0 by Fiji). In this match the NZ Goal Keeper was knocked out unconscious and one of our players was knocked to the ground (Stan Morrell). He was a defender. In this game we used Rudi’s pattern of soccer too. Stan Morrell scored the winning goal via an indirect free-kick. Abdul Manaan pushed him the ball. The free-kick was quite a blast from afar. Stan was immediately recruited to play for a club in New Zealand. We went back and played in Nadi against NZ and lost 4-2 (Mohit Prasad, Celebrating 70 Years of Football, 1938-2008, Fiji Football Association, Suva, Appendix VII, p. 94). These two games were one after another.

This is what makes me say that I was fortunate to have played with the big boys. One of them sadly died in a car accident after coming back from a party celebrating the win of the IDC for Ba (Joe Tubuna). He was by then a veteran of his own high calibre. He was something else on and off the field and a very humble guy. He was almost like our Nadi Goal Keeper who was the Fiji Goal Keeper and a veteran too (Savenaca Waqa). He was of a high calibre too of his own.  He was a very polite, kind, and humorous guy. These two (Savenaca and Tubuna) had been playing soccer for Fiji way before me. They may have been playing for Fiji while I was still at high-school. For a young player like me to make it up into the First XI, playing alongside big names such as Waqa; Tubuna; Manaan; Rusiate Waqa; Stan Morrell; Upendra Choy (“Boxer”); Tony Kabakoro; Sam Work; Kelemedi Vosuga (“Cheetah”); Semi Tabaiwalu; and also Meli Vuilabasa, it lifted my motivation to reach a level higher as a soccer player. It would have been a boost to any sportsperson.

The lead up to the Australian game (1988) – the real story as to why I was removed as captain and dropped from the team

On the eve of the Australian game [Fiji versus Australia], the President, Dr. Sahu Khan, came up to me and said: “Are you ready to lead the team?” You could tell from his countenance that he was coming to convey good news. I was happy to be told I would captain the team so I took the news quietly and with dignity and pride as this was to be the biggest game of my life. It was great that I could hear the message directly from the President and not from one of the other members of the management team. I kept this quiet in my heart until, not long after this, President Sahu Khan comes back to me shaking his head in disbelief that I was to be dropped from the team and that he was to tell me the news. He did not ask me any questions as he had known or been told from the management as to why I had been dropped.

This was because our Lautoka team manager Shah Anwaz Kahn (as I was playing for Lautoka then) was working for a solicitor. The solicitor asked him (the manager) to locate a vehicle which he had hired out for rental to a Fijian guy who was now living in Suva. The rental car was in Suva too while we were preparing for the Australia match. I had a lot of friends on the streets in all walks of life. They helped me to locate the vehicle in a very short space of time. The manager asked me to fetch the car back for him as he knew that I would be able to complete the task. He was a very good friend of mine and I played for his club (Leeds United in Lautoka). The name of the lawyer was Haroon Shah. What I did wrong was I was driving the vehicle around in Suva and did not let the lawyer and the manager know that I had located it. I kept it for about one week.

My team-mate from Lautoka replaced me to become captain (Pita Dau). I can say that they used me to do a hard job but did not treat me with a professional and responsible attitude. However, nonetheless, Fiji won against Australia. I was happy to be there at Prince Charles Park to witness the game. I was also happy that Pita Dau, who was my team-mate, was able to captain the team in my place. The highlight of that match was the cross from the right flank by Lote Delai to Ravuama Madigi who scored a spectacular goal.

  

Fiji 1 Australia 0 (Saturday 30 November 1988)

Ravuama Madigi (Ba / Rewa / Fiji)

In the (1988) Australia match a few of the new players were picked but they had been playing for quite a few years at district level and for the Fiji youth team. In this match against Australia Ravuama Madigi scored a perfect goal from a cross from the left-flank outer-wing towards the hospital end by Lote Delai (Mohit Prasad, Celebrating 70 Years of Football, 1938-2008, Fiji Football Association, Suva, p. 48 and Appendix VII, p. 94). This goal put Madigi into the headlines as this was a big thing for Fiji soccer to beat Australia given that we had not been doing well for a couple of years.

Madigi’s goal was a left-footer from the side of his foot that sailed through the defence and left the Goal Keeper standing in the middle of the goal; he could not believe that the speed of the shot had been so fast. It was like Sam Work’s kick from the left-flank of Churchill Park, on the wooden-stand side heading towards the hospital end, for Fiji against a Russian team Minsk Dinamo. These were the two kicks I will never forget. They travelled with such speed that they left the Goal Keepers stunned.

Henry Dyer (left) and Lote Delai, October 2014

I believe that what led to my being dropped for the Australia game was that there was speculation (but no evidence) that the rental car had been involved in some nefarious activities after the time that it was discovered by me. Until today neither the lawyer Haroon Shah nor my friend Shah Anwaz Khan has told me directly the reasons for my being stripped of the captaincy and dropped from the team. However, like any other sportsman, I take it with a smile. I learned a lesson but it was too late and I never got the chance to be the captain again. I had a big red mark on my back not for performances on the field but for my alleged extra-curricular activities.

It may be that I still had a lot of energy and youth left in me. However, I captained at district level for Nadi. Lautoka did not want me to be captain so that I could be free to perform well on the field without the additional pressure which captaincy brings. I believe that all sportsmen have their ups and downs. I would just like the younger generation which reads this not to fall into this trap but just to be obedient sportsmen and good listeners.

[By the former Fiji national team player Henry Dyer, as told to Dr Kieran James of University of Fiji in Nadi, 8 May 2014 and 15 May 2014.]

Naviti Street, Lautoka on a beautiful sunny afternoon just before dark.

Nadi star players Henry Dyer (left) and Emasi "Bacardi" Koroi in recent times. Henry Dyer started with Nadi, switched over to Lautoka, and then returned to Nadi to finish out his career. 

FOOTBALL HISTORY: "1983 South Pacific Games, Henry Dyer remembers", 14 May 2014.

HENRY DYER REMEMBERS

CHAPTER THREE

1983 SOUTH PACIFIC GAMES (APIA, SAMOA)

Introduction

At the South Pacific Games 1983 (Apia, Samoa), this is where all the soccer greats of the Pacific played against each other. I remember the Solomons’ team had one player by the name of Henry Suri. He was a great striker. There was this player from Tahiti named Bernard. There were other big names from the other Pacific nations. It was great to be playing against the players of this calibre because most of them had been playing in other nations such as France.

Nadi's Savenaca Waqa & Suva's Jone Ratu.

I was very young at this time; I was only 20. So, to watch and play against these players in a tournament with the name “South Pacific” was like you were playing for the World Cup; that is true. Getting into this team to represent Fiji was not easy. I had to perform well in the trials to be selected as there were many other seasoned and matured soccer players who had been around for some time, including Emasi Koroi (“Bacardi”) and Marika Ravula. There were a lot of soccer players around but I managed to get in.

To be selected at a training session in Lautoka (Churchill Park) I remember that some of these senior and elder trialists had vomited in the western heat. In fact everybody had felt like vomiting. That training session I will never forget because I would have dropped out too. It was just that I was fit enough to take the endurance course and withstand the pressure. This was when my real career started. The 22 of us that had been selected I would say were the best. It would have been better if the other players who had not been selected could have withstood the pressure. There were quite a number of good talented classy players who were dropped.

We managed to beat Solomons 10-0 and Vanuatu 6-0 to get into the final against Tahiti (Mohit Prasad, Celebrating 70 Years of Football, 1938-2008, Fiji Football Association, Suva, 2008, p. 43 and Appendix VII, p. 95). It was a great experience to represent Fiji at the Games being an ambassador for the country. We all camped at one venue – at the Leififi Teachers’ College in Apia, Samoa. At the camp it was good to mingle with the other South Pacific athletes. It was great to watch them prepare for a match in the school grounds. We used to mingle with the volleyball and rugby players from Fiji. We would listen to how they would prepare their game plan. We supported each other very much especially for the women’s sports. They needed our support and we needed their support. I remember that the other island nations would look up to us. I remember when some Tahitian players came around to our classroom at the camp and quietly asked: “Where is Joe Tubuna?” But we didn’t know that these were some of the Tahitian players until we watched them on the field playing and we said: “Hey, these players went into the classroom.” So we started teasing Joe Tubuna: “Joe, you had better be careful, you’re gonna get some black magic coming on your back. Maybe you’ll have a pulled muscle.” He said: “You bring that black magic and I will eat it alive.” This was to show that Joe had a lot of guts and a never-say-die attitude.

We would go for a walk in the evenings when given half-an-hour break. We would see the Samoan villagers walking on the street with big stomachs and without shirts. These were really big Samoans looking like the sumo wrestlers. They would be holding the big sugar canes and chewing them. It was really scary to walk past them. It would be like they would just about whack you on your back and everyone was ready to run. They would not say much, not “hey Talofa”. Down the road further we would meet the landowners drinking beers on the side of the road. It was not prohibited. This made it even scarier until we came to get used to it. The beers were sold at every shop and very cheaply whereas in Fiji at that time you could only get beer at the bootlegger and at the supermarket. Today beer is sold at many shops in Fiji just like in Samoa then. So the Samoan beer was tempting for a Fijian sportsman.

Four days before playing New Caledonia in the semi-final we were given a break for two hours and told to be back in camp by 8pm. I joined the older boys, Joe Tubuna, Upendra Choi, and Semi Tabaiwalu, and we went for a few beers under a tree close to the camp. The beer got sweeter and sweeter as the hours went by. Then the making up of excuses started. We went on until 10pm. I said to myself: “I’m the youngest one. I will leave it to the older boys to take the blame”. Joe said: “We are all going to give our own excuses”. We said: “No, the captain must take the burden”. We were all joking amongst ourselves thinking that we are really in for trouble now. Little did we know that our manager, Jahir Khan, a police inspector, had the police attitude and he was lying (sleeping) across the door so we could not sneak in unnoticed. So we started calling from the door to Mohammed Salim, who was sleeping very close to the door: “Salim, Salim” and then the answer was from Jahir Khan (manager): “Were you looking for Salim? Salim is waiting for you. Open the door”. As we were drunk we wanted to laugh and every negative thought started to run around in our minds. Tubuna signalled to us to stay still. Then Jahir opened the door. He asked us: “Where have you been?” Tubuna gave an excuse but Jahir said: “Go and have a good sleep and wait for tomorrow”. We did not sleep well that night. Some of the other players were laughing at us because they sneaked in before time. They had consumed beer but they were not caught.

In the morning I did not enjoy my breakfast, thinking about what was about to happen, that I had let my teammates down and my country down. After breakfast, our coach Rudi Gutendorf arrived at camp. We were all called into the classroom and as a professional coach he scolded the team as a whole. He did not point the finger at anyone. He mentioned: “I have this idea of sending you back to Fiji. You have betrayed Fiji. You have betrayed your family. You have betrayed yourselves [not pointing the finger at anyone]”. So he takes our group of four for a training session in the Apia heat apart from the rest of the team. He made us sweat out the alcohol for quite some time and then he regrouped us all together again. I believe this camouflaged the problem in front of the other island nations’ players whom we had camped together with in the same school campus. It was a very professional approach from our coach. He did not penalize us in front of everybody. This allowed us to maintain our self-respect and dignity which was great especially for me as a young boy.

Semi-final: Fiji 3 New Caledonia 2, Apia Stadium

Abdul Manaan - scored the first goal vs NC.

On the eve of the semi-final, against New Caledonia, Rudi came up and talked about our strategy and what to expect from the opposition. We went out with the full support of the other athletes from the other Fiji teams (rugby, volleyball, netball, and athletics). They were cheering us on even before we went into the game. This really boosted our morale. Abdul Manaan scored the winner in this game (the third goal). The game was a very hard-fought battle. It was a bit rough and physical. I guess that the coaching strategy being put into place by the German coach Rudi Gutendorf really worked for us. The strategy was, if they were leading, for Fiji not to play defensively and to use the libro defence to come in from the middle. He was the hidden attacker. And, when and if we were drawn, to play one-on-one tactics, not to let go of them. This is where your fitness, guts, and mentality count.  It is a do-or-die situation. We were at this stage. Abdul Manaan and Sam Work scored the first two goals (Mohit Prasad, Celebrating 70 Years of Football, 1938-2008, Fiji Football Association, Suva, 2008, p. 43). When all the Fiji supporters were hoping for a goal, Tubuna scored the winner (final score: 3-2) (Prasad, 2008, p. 43). We were like on Cloud Nine. We hugged each other as if we had just been given the gold medal in the Olympics or in the World Cup because we had proved to the management that their belief in us had been warranted. Our coach Rudi Gutendorf almost cried in tears. This was the first time I had seen him so happy. He was hugging all the senior players to say his thankyou and they were very appreciative for the belief he had shown in them. The camp mood was back to normal now. The mood was very happy unlike before the game.

Final: Tahiti 1 Fiji 0, Apia Stadium, match abandoned due to riot, game and series awarded to Tahiti

On the eve of the final, our coach Rudi Gutendorf, after drawing up our game strategies, gave us a promise, mentioning that if we beat Tahiti he will buy all the beer at the shop closest to the school campus and bring it back for the team. Because all sportsmen in Fiji are beer drinkers, before the match we are thinking of the beer as the prize. We were joking about this to each other as we walked down into the Apia Stadium.

On the day before the Tahiti game, our coach Rudi had a meeting with the soccer officials running the games. He told them that we did not want any French nations’ referees to officiate. We were fighting to get officials from other island nations rather than those from the French countries (i.e. Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tahiti). We were concerned about favouritism. This favouritism really happened in the finals leading to a disputed final. Rudi tried in vain to have only one French official in the final but they still put two instead. We had no choice but to play our hearts out. In the final the whole of the Melanesian South Pacific island nations (i.e. Solomons and PNG) and Tonga (our island neighbours) were supporting our soccer team. The French countries in the region were against us. They were our main rivals because of the British and French wars which came to influence sporting rivalry even all this time later and even though most of the countries are independent now.

It is like the communities were watching the re-enactment of war on the pitch. In Fiji some of that loyalty to the British countries remains. Our coach was German and he brought another aspect to the table. Possibly he brought some of the German animosity towards the French into our attitude. We can’t read his mind and these things are hard to pin down but it is probably true to say that we had this impression. What he thought would happen in terms of double-standard decisions by the referee and officials did come to pass.

L to R: Cheetah, Epeli Kosa & Henry Dyer.

Tahiti had a lot of players playing for French clubs with a lot of soccer skills and we were aware of their ability to score quickly against us. We were ready for this. When we had held them scoreless for the first 20 minutes we knew that we were capable of conquering the South Pacific Soccer Kings on Apia Park. We almost lost the match when libro full-back Stan Morrel back-passed to our goalkeeper Savenaca Waqa in front of the goal-mouth. The goalkeeper casually tried to put his foot on the ball but, because the type of ball used was not familiar to our team and it travelled very fast on the dewy ground, he missed the ball and it headed for the net. Luckily Savenaca Waqa, whom I know personally to be a very fit and energetic person, was able to reach the ball in time to take a long dive and tap it out. This made our coach jump up and down. He was frustrated and worried and yelling to our reserve goalkeeper (Bale Raniga) to warm up. Whilst Bale is warming up, Save makes a glamorous save in the air and another save. Tahiti was attacking our goal-mouth at this time. Rudi now has double thoughts as to whether to change the goalkeeper.

As the game came to half-time both teams were evenly matched with neither side dominating. In the first 10 minutes of the game, Rudi asked me to get ready to replace our captain Joe Tubuna. I did not know why. Maybe he saw that Joe’s opposite was penetrating our defence. I believe so because he asked me to stick to the central midfielder and not to let him run free or take possession. It was a bit like the New Caledonia game. The Tahitians were tough and also physical in their approach to the ball. However, we had the upper hand in the encounters in the air. We were taught by our German coach to be King and to conquer our opponent in the aerial contests. This played a major role in the game meaning that, when our opponent is on the ground, he is psychologically defeated.

Ten minutes before the game was due to end, there was a tussle between our defenders and their attackers. The goal-mouth was full of both sets of players. Everyone was busy either trying to score or trying to clear in the Fiji goal-mouth. One of our Fiji defenders (it may have been Semi Tabaiwalu or Stan Morrel) cleared the ball but before clearing the linesman indicated to the referee that the ball in mid-air had crossed the line. There was a big commotion on the field from both sides as we had been warned prior to the match about the likely decisions of the French officials. While complaining to the referee about the linesman’s decision, our eyes were on the bench where our officials were sitting. The referee listened to the linesman and allowed the disputed goal. We were all flabbergasted and amazed. Anger and frustration sunk into our heads. Our team officials walked on to the pitch.

One of the players got punched by our striker Rusiate Waqa and fell to the ground. Our masseur (Madrai from Suva) started the chase now from behind the Tahitian goal-mouth; he was chasing the goalkeeper around the pitch. By now we were chasing the other Tahitian players around the athletics track at the Apia Stadium. The Samoan police-force, with the blue helmet type of hats, walked on to the pitch to stop further antagonisms. Some of the cool-headed players were helping them too.

Rusiate Waqa and another player were arrested and taken into the Apia Police Station. Luckily we had our police inspector Jahir Khan. He went there and he brought him out which he could do because of his status as a police inspector. The whole of the Fiji contingent was behind the soccer team. We could not do much. The game was cancelled because of the riot with 10 minutes remaining. The soccer officials held a meeting about the match and they decided that Tahiti should be declared the winners. We were awarded the silver medal as the runners-up. I don’t know if today the same emotions remain as strong for the participants as they were back then. I was very fortunate to participate and witness such an event. The South Pacific Games Closing Ceremony was very colourful to watch.

Henry Dyer (left) & Emasi Koroi ("Bacardi").

After the game we were not too happy about the decision which led to the silver medal. However, you have to accept both the good and the bad events which come into your life. If the goal had been recorded on camera it may have vindicated us and won us the gold. The coach and the manager were a lethal combination after the game. Billy Singh and Mani Naicker, who were understudies to Rudi, later became the country’s best coaches. Rudi cried as he had known and said that we would be cheated. At the end he bought us our beers! Some of our players after these games retired and some moved on overseas. I am sorry that up until today only a few of us former national reps have made it into coaching. This is one fact which no-one has investigated or commented upon. This may be partly because the Fiji FA does not advertise coaching training clinics in the newspapers or on TV. Those were the good old days when you played soccer to enjoy for fun.

The Nadi players in the Fiji team then were heroes even though we came second. The fact that the goal was not scored (but allowed anyway) was similar to the decision in the IDC Final between Nadi and Ba in 1982 which was controversial because of floodlights. The Nadi soccer fans were now used to controversy. The diehard fans had this belief for Nadi – “O Nadi Ko” meaning that: “We are Nadi, This is our Time”. I enjoyed mixing with our soccer supporters back at home in Nadi. Our Indian fans were crazier than the Fijians or the natives. We became well known characters in Nadi Town and people would talk to us on the street from all walks of life. This was a new thing for me. I had never come across this in my whole life.

[Henry Dyer interview with Dr Kieran James of University of Fiji, 14 May 2014, Nadi.]                    

Apia Park, Apia, Samoa. The athletics track still surrounds the football pitch just as in 1983.

Apia Park, Apia, Samoa. The athletics track still surrounds the football pitch just as in 1983.

Joe Tubuna funeral @ Govind Park, Ba, Fiji players carrying the casket, 1984. Manager Jahir Khan is in necktie and white shirt. Joe Tubuna died from a car accident on 4 August 1984 (Mohit Prasad, Celebrating 70 Years of Football, 1938-2008, Fiji Football Association, Suva, p. 44).

Tony Kabakoro of Suva and Fiji (third from left) pictured here with the Suva team, sometime in the 1980s. Tony Kabakoro scored the two goals in Fiji's 2-0 win over New Zealand in Suva.