New Zealand Under-17 coach Leon Birnie savours team's moment in the sun PHILLIP ROLLOGETTY IMAGES New Zealand players celebrate after beating Uruguay to qualify for the knockout stage of the U-17 Women's World Cup. Young Football Ferns coach Leon Birnie was set to embark on an overseas playing career when injury struck 24 hours before his scheduled flight. Birnie, who was in his early 20s at the time, continued to play domestically for Hawke's Bay United but never reached the level he had ambitiously targeted before the ACL tear. He obtained his Level 3 coaching badge and landed a fulltime job as a development officer with Central Football. There's a whole lot of change and all the kids are starting to come through now and I'd say we'll start to get more results on the world stage.

Source: Stuff November 23, 2018 20:37 UTC