The members of Auckland City will share the $1 million extra prize they will receive from FIFA among players, coaching staff and support staff for the point they earned in their third game of the Club World Cup by snatching the historic 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors from Argentina.

This was announced by Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastian Ciganda, who cleans pools and jacuzzis on a daily basis, who mentioned: “The prize for the tie, which is one million dollars, will be shared among the coaching staff and the entire squad.”

Ciganda, who explained that in his daily life he works as a pool and jacuzzi cleaner, said that he had to take vacation time from work to compete in the tournament in the United States and that he did not receive a salary during those days. “In New Zealand I clean pools and jacuzzis. I asked for vacation time from work or else I would have resigned. I did not get paid for these days we were in the United States; when I return I will return to work.”

The goalkeeper also emphasized that the result is historic because no one gave a penny that they could score anything against Boca Juniors and most were talking about a rout: “Everyone was predicting that we would be thrashed again, they were confident that Boca was going to score six goals.”

The impact of the result against Boca Juniors

A result that has gone around the world because the New Zealand squad is made up mostly of semi-professional footballers, including workers, teachers, government workers, coaches, many of whom had to request their annual vacations to be able to have the four weeks of rest that the football event will last, held for the first time under this modality by FIFA.

This amount is added to the 2.5 million dollars that the New Zealand club had already secured for qualifying for the intercontinental competition, a figure that far exceeds any income he normally earns in his local league and that he has decided to share among the entire Oceania squad.

Other players, such as PE teacher Christian Gray, who scored the goal against Boca, jokingly said: “I have some tasks that have accumulated over the last month, so that's what I'm going to get back to.”

He added: “We've regained a bit of respect. A lot for the club, that's for sure. You know, we depend on volunteers. We don't have a lot of money, so I'm glad the team is happy. I think the club deserves it, and I'm happy for the boys.”

Historic result

On the other hand, the press in New Zealand has described the result against Boca Juniors as a historic feat, despite the fact that they were already eliminated before facing the Argentinians and has mentioned that the result is: “One of the greatest victories” in the history of Auckland City and highlighted the figure of goalkeeper Nathan Garrow, responsible for maintaining the tie against the xeneize offense at Geodis Park in Nashville.

Other media outlets such as Radio New Zealand described the draw as unexpected due to the thrashings they had received and their goal difference of minus 16. They also described the draw as an exceptional defensive display against Boca Juniors, and said the result would serve to send them back to their home country with their heads held high and “to silence their critics and doubters.”

Another outlet, such as Stuff, described the draw as memorable, because after a 10-0 defeat in their debut, they had now earned a point against a club of the caliber of Boca Juniors, in a historic moment for New Zealand football. For Stuff, the result is seen as a symbolic victory and will go down in Auckland City's local history.