\u201cThey had thought about it for a while,\u201d Old said. \u201cBut they were worried about how I\u2019d react to going from a winger to a left back because it might seem like a demotion. I had a strong game but they wanted to make sure I liked the position. I told them \u2018I honestly don\u2019t know, because I haven\u2019t been playing for ages. So I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s just me playing or the position that I enjoyed\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Old started the next match, then the one after that and began to thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I was bringing out more of my potential and my true style,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing able to run and attack and control the whole channel was bringing out my best qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Old has moved between a traditional fullback role and a wingback position, bringing back memories of how he was employed by coach Giancarlo Italiano<\/a> in his final season at the Wellington Phoenix.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very similar,\u201d he said. \u201cA bit more defensive but I\u2019m still able to get forward and it takes a lot of running but that\u2019s a big part of my game.\u201d<\/p>\n A thoughtful type, Old admits he is still processing the turn of events.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s incredible how it has worked out,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just about surviving sometimes when you\u2019re in Europe and so finding a way to be able to stay at the club was massive.\u201d<\/p>\n It has also continued his rollercoaster time since he arrived at St Etienne in July 2024 after the big transfer from the Phoenix. He surprised pundits by breaking into the top team immediately, becoming the first Kiwi to start a Ligue 1 match, before suffering the worst injury of his career a few weeks later, tearing his medial collateral ligament and meniscus and enduring a brutal winter on the sidelines. He returned last March, with St Etienne relegated two months later. Now Old couldn\u2019t be in a better place.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve moved apartments and my girlfriend\u2019s living with me now,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel really settled. I\u2019ve got a great relationship with the coach, with the players in the team and the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Old is desperate to help St Etienne return to Ligue 1, but the more immediate task is making the most of two All Whites matches in Auckland, with Finland on Friday (7pm) followed by Chile (Monday 7pm)<\/a> as part of the Fifa Series. Old will be used further forward by the All Whites, with coach Darren Bazeley making his preference clear.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to Baze a lot because I wondered how it would affect things, playing in a different position,\u201d Old said. \u201cHe said \u2018I still want you to play winger\u2019 and I was like, \u2018That\u2019s my intention\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The wide attacking midfield spots<\/a> are among the most contested in the team, with Elijah Just, Callum McCowatt, Jesse Randall, Matt Garbett and even Sarpreet Singh among the contenders in a potential World Cup XI.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s competition in all spots, especially winger,\u201d Old, who has won 20 caps since his 2022 international debut, said. \u201cI enjoy it. It makes me come out and be an even better player. The next step for me is to really take on that ownership as a number one winger.\u201d<\/p>\n 2026 Fifa Series<\/p>\n Friday March 27 Chile v Cape Verde, Eden Park (4pm), All Whites v Finland, Eden Park (7pm).<\/p>\n Monday March 30 Finland v Cape Verde, Eden Park (4pm), All Whites v Chile, Eden Park (7pm)<\/p>\n Michael Burgess<\/a> has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America\u2019s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI was training well but had really good players in my position,\u201d Old said. Then came the moment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[74,5263,15361,124,10542,185342,36862,88316,1221,305,1360,424,111,139,69,9716,90,15400,185343,213,11420,2737,1361,2044,20563,16550,5264,377],"class_list":["post-348948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-after","tag-all","tag-ben","tag-could","tag-cup","tag-etienne","tag-fifa","tag-foreseen","tag-france","tag-have","tag-having","tag-life","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-old","tag-on","tag-push","tag-revivial","tag-sports","tag-st","tag-star","tag-that","tag-time","tag-transformation","tag-white","tag-whites","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Ben Old has enjoyed an impressive season at St Etienne in France. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n