After nearly nine months of searching, New Zealand Football finally has a head coach to lead the All Whites through the next World Cup cycle.
Interim coach Darren Bazeley, 50, has been handed the role on a permanent basis, with officials describing him as the "right candidate" for the job.
Whether he was the preferred candidate remains a mystery, following months of speculation and spin over their pursuit of a high-profile coach from abroad.
The question: Why did it take so long to appoint the man they supposedly wanted all along?
Walking onto the field as All Whites manager isn't new for Bazeley, but now it's official - he will be for the foreseeable future.
"It's an honour and a privilege," he said.
But that honour is one he was made to wait for. Bazeley has been the interim manager since March, while at the same time being in the running for the permanent role.
"What Darren has done is played himself into the role through leading the team over this last six months," said NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell.
"It's such a big process, a big decision," added Bazeley. "Obviously Andrew and New Zealand Football have had to go through that and make sure they're happy with their outcome."
Pragnell maintains Bazeley is the right man, despite Canada's national coach John Herdman claiming he turned down an offer from New Zealand Football in February.
"There's various candidates, whose own personal circumstances didn't play out," Pragnell explained.
"In a funny kind of way, the process taking a bit longer gave Darren a chance to show he was 100 percent the right guy.
"A lot of names [were] floating out on the internet. We've never jumped in and confirmed or denied those.
"We'll leave others to speculate on that."
Whether Bazeley was New Zealand Football's top candidate or not, his brief time in charge offers some hope.
Under him, the All Whites have managed a win and draw against China before a loss to Sweden and a half-time lead against Qatar - before his side abandoned the match.
"Ultimately, we want to get results," added Bazeley. "We want to play a style of football that's attractive - attacking but effective."
And it's results that will do the talking if they're to achieve their goal of making the next World Cup.
