The NZ part-timers looking to shock Bayern and Benfica

With a squad including property agents, students and teachers, part-timers Auckland City will spell from visitors to facing Bayern Munich pinch thing to suffer astatine this month's Club World Cup successful nan United States.

The New Zealand side, nan winners of nan Oceania Champions League successful each of nan past 4 years, are nan only 1 of nan 32 teams playing successful America that are not full-time professionals.

"We're each utilized to leaving nan location successful nan morning, going to do nan time occupation and past going and training shot astatine night," Auckland striker Angus Kilkolly told BBC World Service.

"I activity for a powerfulness instrumentality brand, a world brand, I negociate a income squad there. We've sewage a fewer different boys who activity successful income arsenic well, existent property agents, teachers, a mates of nan boys are uni students.

"It's not easy but it's thing we person ever done truthful we don't really cognize immoderate different. It's nary different to going to schoolhouse and past going to play shot aft school.

"This opportunity mightiness not travel astir again, truthful each nan group astir america cognize really awesome this arena is and really overmuch of an opportunity it is to play successful it."

While Kilkolly's activity colleagues will beryllium attending what he calls a "big nationalist income event", he will beryllium connected nan different broadside of nan world representing not only his nine but, arsenic Oceania's only representatives, nan state and continent too.

He mightiness return pinch immoderate awesome stories.

The tourney originates connected Saturday, pinch Auckland successful Group C and drawn alongside 3 legendary clubs.

They commencement against six-time European champions Bayern Munich connected Sunday, past person a lucifer against Portuguese giants Benfica 5 days later earlier taking connected Argentina's Boca Juniors, a broadside that has won nan South American Copa Libertadores connected six occasions.

"When nan tie sewage made we were each ecstatic, it's a dream for us," added Kilkolly. "These are teams we're utilized to watching successful nan Champions League and European finals truthful to really measurement ft connected nan aforesaid writer arsenic them and compete and hopefully person a really bully game.

"It's a awesome opportunity for america to show our personalities, show we merit to beryllium here, and are bully footballers.

"When we were younger, we each dreamed of being master footballers and we haven't sewage location aliases been wherever those boys person been, but we've each worked hard, each train regular to make judge we're successful our champion information for these tournaments and put our champion ft forward."

With Auckland dominating nine shot successful Oceania, this will beryllium their 12th quality astatine nan Club World Cup, much than immoderate different side.

They came 3rd successful 2014, but this twelvemonth nan format has been dramatically changed from antecedently only having 7 sides to now having 32, pinch 12 from Europe, including Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain, Inter Milan, Manchester City and Chelsea.

But earlier they spell head-to-head pinch reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern, whose squad includes England's grounds goalscorer Harry Kane, Auckland person been keen to bask each infinitesimal while successful nan United States.

"We sewage to walk a fewer days successful Washington and went to spot nan White House and a fewer of nan monuments, which was cool," added Kilkolly.

"A batch of america haven't been to America earlier truthful to person a small spot of free clip wherever we could spell retired and spot a batch of nan history successful nan metropolis was awesome.

"The facilities, training grounds person been amazing, and it was besides bully to get retired and spot nan White House and each these things that you only really spot connected TV aliases connected nan news."

Kilkolly says his broadside could compete astatine nan highest level and origin immoderate daze results.

"It's a really astonishing opportunity and it's exciting," he said. "We cognize we person sewage 3 games and it's not nan lawsuit if we triumph 1 crippled we enactment on. We tin hole for a full tourney and person nan opportunity to grow, show our personalities and what we're tin of."

Kilkolly, now 29, had a six-month spell playing successful Lithuania erstwhile he was 19.

He has precocious had immoderate difficult times pursuing nan decease of his relative 3 years agone and his begetter conscionable complete a twelvemonth ago.

"Going done experiences for illustration that doesn't needfully alteration your position but enhances your position of really valuable life is and really valuable opportunities are," he said.

"If you get an opportunity and want to do thing successful life, you person to do it now. You don't hold for anything.

"The memories [of his relative and father] ne'er fade. I want to make them proud and person my ain story. That's what I'm doing, to unrecorded each time trying to do what would make them proud and I cognize they are watching."

The world will beryllium looking connected arsenic Auckland purpose to daze nan footballing community.

"We've had a batch of acquisition playing astatine Club World Cups earlier and Bayern Munich, Benfica and Boca will beryllium different step," said Kilkolly. "We've played successful beforehand of large crowds and against bully players before.

"It's daunting but nan Kiwi cognition is very overmuch nan underdog connected nan world stage. We're going to activity difficult and hopefully time off nan grounds pinch our heads held high."