The appointment of Danny Hay as the new All Whites head coach brings a rare local flavour to the job.
A former captain and veteran of 31 appearances as a player, before taking charge of national age-group sides as a coach at two World Cups, Hay has New Zealand football running through his blood.
The 44-year-old has been inundated by messages of support from former All Whites teammates, who understand just how crucial that heritage is in establishing a foundation for the team to flourish.
"My phone has been going nuts," said Hay. "I think they are very excited about somebody who understands the culture, understands wider New Zealand culture and understands what it means to play for the All Whites.
"It's a huge honour. I've been hugely invested in the game in this country for a number of years now.
"I know there's a massive amount of responsibility on my shoulders, but that's something I'm really looking forward to. I want to make sure I do right by the players, the organisation and the country."
Hay replaces Swiss Fritz Schmid, who resigned from the position after just 16 months at the helm. The other main contender for the job was NZ U-23 coach Des Buckingham.
NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell reiterated the importance of having a coach who had "skin in the game" and was deeply ingrained in the football culture, an attribute atop the organisation's criteria during the selection process.
"He was the outstanding candidate," said Pragnell. "It wasn't necessarily about their nationality, but we needed someone who could fit within the team really quickly and had a knowledge of the playing style in NZ.
"We thought he could mobilise the team and also demonstrate what it means to represent the country."
Hay joins the All Whites from Auckland club Eastern Suburbs, which he led to the 2018/19 national league title.
His first task is qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar 2022, and he's confident he has the right blend of youth and experience in his global playing group for that goal to be completely realistic.
The former Leeds United defender is familiar with the emerging Kiwi talent on offer from his time in charge of the national U17 team and he's eager to construct a style of play to take full advantage of their abilities.
"I think we can be far better in terms of maintaining possession, but incisive at the same time and I just love the thought of letting our players off the shackles.
"The type of players we've got now and the creativity going forward… we can be a little bit more expansive."
His first opportunity to showcase that new approach will come in friendly fixtures against Ireland and Lithuania in November.
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