First Team Squad
1.2K
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1K
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over 14 years
Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

The Bryan Robson of NZ football - tough classic goal-scoring midfielder.

And a tremendously nice man to boot.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Steve a few times on the sidelines at matches in Christchurch over the years, where he preferred to sit with ordinary supporters.

Always good for a chat about football past and present.

He recognized me at a Football Kingz game at Lancaster Park once (second Kingz season) and made sure me and my mate got an invite to the after-match with the players and staff. Brilliant to meet all the players and management. I had a long conversation with Harry Ngata who was lying on the floor the whole time, he was so stuffed...

Hope he wins his battle with cancer... 

and 4 others
Starting XI
1.8K
·
4.1K
·
about 17 years

my favorite player as a kid. always better to watch live because of the way he controlled things and 'owned' the midfield

Surge
·
Can I have some lungs please miss
1.1K
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7.5K
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over 16 years

Sparked my interest in NZ football when I was a kid, always thought it was (ironically) a foreign game 'til he and his mates came along. 

Well deserved recognition. Legend.

LG
Legend
5.5K
·
23K
·
over 16 years

That goal against Scotland shows that you never give up chasing the ball whilst it is in play. Good luck with your current battle Steve.

WeeNix
500
·
800
·
about 10 years

Great to see that the main stand at English Park in Christchurch has ben named " The Steve Sumner Stand" . Not only was Steve a great All White (who can forget his performances during the 1981 campaign)  he is also  a true gentleman

LG
Legend
5.5K
·
23K
·
over 16 years

If his work ethic could rub off on some of our younger players, we'd have some damn good midfielders even now. Sumne'rs attitude throughout his football till even now is an example for every young footballer to aspire to.

Appiah without the pace
6.4K
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19K
·
over 16 years

Passed away this morning. Sad news.

Life and death
2.4K
·
5.5K
·
almost 17 years

Very sad, great footballer and even greater bloke.

Aza
First Team Squad
110
·
1K
·
about 10 years

condolences to his family and friends, untimely death

Stage Punch
2.1K
·
11K
·
over 16 years

I had the good fortune of spending a small amount of time with Steve over my years involved with the Fever. 

He was ever a gentleman, a fiendish raconteur, and he had an infectious enthusiasm and positivity for football in this country that is so rare in my experience. Long involvement in the game so often leaves people tired and bitter, but Steve had none of that.

His health battle he took on in such a public and brave way, with a resolute focus on fighting the disease and maximising his time with his family. It was both heart warming and inspiring.

His death makes me very sad indeed. A great loss to the football community and the country. I hope that his family take some solace from how many New Zealanders he inspired not just during his playing days but throughout his life.

and 4 others
First Team Squad
1.2K
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1K
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over 14 years
Life and death
2.4K
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5.5K
·
almost 17 years

Smithy wrote:

I had the good fortune of spending a small amount of time with Steve over my years involved with the Fever. 

He was ever a gentleman, a fiendish raconteur, and he had an infectious enthusiasm and positivity for football in this country that is so rare in my experience. Long involvement in the game so often leaves people tired and bitter, but Steve had none of that.

His health battle he took on in such a public and brave way, with a resolute focus on fighting the disease and maximising his time with his family. It was both heart warming and inspiring.

His death makes me very sad indeed. A great loss to the football community and the country. I hope that his family take some solace from how many New Zealanders he inspired not just during his playing days but throughout his life.

Well said Guy.
Phoenix Academy
6
·
390
·
over 15 years
61 is too soon. A few years ago the Phoenix had a corporate dinner in Christchurch, I managed to get my workplace to sponsor a table , the next day Steve rang my office asked to speak to who arranged to sponsor the table and got through to me to thank me for my support. Had a good chat he asked about who I supported, text really showed a genuine interest. He didn't have to do that. A real gentleman.
Phoenix Academy
6
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390
·
over 15 years
My other Sumner story is, was a Christchurch airport going to Sydney to watch the Nix play, had a Nix top on and Steve was there also going over to the see the game and visit his son at the same time. He noticed the top shook my hand and had a quick chat, then during the flight he made his way down to say hi and chat further. He didn't have to do that . He was and the 82 lads are the reason o follow the game .
Marquee
690
·
7.3K
·
over 14 years

A proper role model and a lot of youngsters playing the game could learn from his professionalism.

Trialist
57
·
150
·
about 7 years

Shame on the NZ Herald for relegating the news of Steve Sumner’s passing beneath the rugby spygate bore fest.

WeeNix
500
·
800
·
about 10 years

Well done to Martin Devlin who dedicated 3 hours of radio to Steve Sumner. Some wonderful memories of the great man.

First Team Squad
450
·
1.1K
·
over 11 years

A very sad day for us all. Steve was a a great guy and a great AW. I was always remember him scoring at the WC in Spain against Scotland.

As an aside..... all you middle aged guys, get your miserable arses around to your doctor and get your prostrate checked out. ok its not much fun having a stranger in a glove probing your rear end. But this stuff is beatable if you catch it early. Steve himself said he wished he had got checked a lot earlier

WeeNix
200
·
670
·
over 16 years

Never met him but always seemed like a very pleasant and knowledgeable analysis of the game and obviously a legend after the 1982 world cup campaign. Makes me wish I'd been alive to truly appreciate that era. RIP Steve and best wishes to your family and friends.

Marquee
690
·
7.3K
·
over 14 years

Good coverage on Newshub and one news as well as Crowd Goes Wild.  Though I think newshub did a story about the All Blacks bugging controversy well before it - dumb.

Listen here Fudgeface
3.7K
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15K
·
about 14 years

Big ups to Sydney FC for wearing black armbands as well. Would have been perfectly okay for them to not have done it, but shows class that they joined us in honoring Steve.

and 1 other
Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

Sad day for football in NZ.

Steve Sumner was a truly inspirational player and person.

It was a privilege to have met him, as I did in the 1990's and early 2000's.

I was 16 when the All Whites qualified for the '82 World Cup and had watched every game of the qualifying campaign from the home draw with Australia onwards.

It was great watching him play in the national league too after the '82 World Cup.

And he wrapped up his playing career in Christchurch too in the late 1980's where he won the league and cup again.

Not many players in the history of football globally can claim to have won their national cup competition six times, but Steve did (four times with Chch Utd, once each with Gisborne and Manurewa).

Five league titles too (three with Chch Utd in the 70's, one with Utd in 1988, one with Manurewa in 1983).

One nice story I heard this week was from Noah Hickey who said Steve wrote a letter to every All Whites team over the last few decades wishing them well which was read out before a match.

Another indication of how thoughtful he was when it came to players and supporters over the years.

As Bobby Almond said this week, Steve "bled black and white" such was his dedication to NZ since taking the bold move to immigrate all on his own aged only 17 in 1973.

Few 17 year-olds have the guts to emigrate alone to a foreign country on the other side of the world and settle permanently.

But Steve did and never looked back, although he remained close to his parents who he arranged to attend the '82 World cup in Spain.

He is survived by his mum in her 80's who flew to Christchurch for the opening of the Steve Sumner Stand at English Park last year.

That was a wonderful reunion of Steve's friends and family who came from all over. Several ordinary fans also went, such was their respect for the man...   

Appiah without the pace
6.4K
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19K
·
over 16 years

Must say there have been some very good media coverage of Steve's life and contribution this week.

Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

2ndBest wrote:

Must say there have been some very good media coverage of Steve's life and contribution this week.

It was even the number three sports news story on BBC World on the tele on Wednesday.

Starting XI
1.5K
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4.9K
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over 15 years

Make sure you attend your local SS Premiership game this weekend to remember Steve.

There will be a minute's applause before every game and all teams will wear armbands.

I'm sure he'd like to be remembered by people attending games and supporting local football, as well as increased prostate awareness and people generally going out and living a healthy and happy life:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/89170084/do-...

"There will be no shortage of emotion on Sunday with the Dragons eager to put in a memorable performance to honour former All Whites great Steve Sumner, who died on Wednesday.

Canterbury and New Zealand football identity Sumner, who has a stand named after him at English Park, lost his battle with prostate cancer, aged 61.

Sumner was a patron of the Dragons and an ardent supporter, regularly attending home matches.

National league teams will wear blue armbands to recognise the tireless work Sumner did to raise prostate awareness and have a minute's applause before matches.

Gerdsen said Sumner was held in high regard by the team. Many of the players had a close relationship with him and frequently picked his astute football brain.

"I take my hat off. If he couldn't watch the game [live], he'd watch it on the television. He text me before, he text me after [games].

"We still have a letter in the dressing room from him. He was a very nice supporter of the Dragons, even in the latter stage of his illness."

Marquee
690
·
7.3K
·
over 14 years
Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

patrick478 wrote:

Big ups to Sydney FC for wearing black armbands as well. Would have been perfectly okay for them to not have done it, but shows class that they joined us in honoring Steve.

Graham Arnold would have known Steve. He played against Steve Sumner early in his Socceroos career  - he was a member of the Socceroos squad for the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup (was on the bench vs. the All Whites in 1985 for two qualifiers) plus he played twice against an All Whites team featuring Sumner in the 1986 Trans-Tasman Trophy. 

Later, Arnold played a few times for the Socceroos against Ian Marshall's All Whites in the early 1990's when Sumner was Marshall's assistant.

They were also both playing in Australia's NSL in the early 1980's when Sumner had two seasons there. Arnold was a teenager just starting his national league career but he would have been only too aware of Sumner and the All Whites' exploits in humiliating the Socceroos in 1981.

Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

Steve was always considered one of Preston, Lancashire's finest football sons and was often proudly featured in the papers there since his exploits with the 1982 World Cup team made the headlines.

Here is his obituary from the  Lancashire Evening Post (it featured in the main sports pages):

http://www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-...

(Even has a video with the story of 19 minutes of highlights of the All Whites vs. Scotland 1982 World Cup!)

And a two part series of brilliant interviews from the  Lancashire Evening Post  in 2008 where Sumner looks back at his career, the 1982 World Cup and growing up in Preston (this was the main interview of the week on the news pages over two weeks):

http://www.lep.co.uk/sport/the-big-interview-steve...

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/the-big-interview-steve-...

Steve on hard away games - puts modern World Cup qualifying into context alright:

"The game that stands out was against Indonesia, in front of 110,000 supporters in Jakarta. "The stadium, I remember, was like a run-down version of the old Wembley. "The noise was so intense you couldn't hear the sound of your own voice. "The crowd were throwing stones, and then the concrete slabs started raining down. They were ripping the terracing up and a big block of concrete landed at my feet. "They were chucking anything they could get their hands on, and giant water melons were hitting our dug-out. "When we scored our second goal the supporters lit giant bonfires at the top of the terraces. "There was choking smoke all around the stadium. It was an unbelievable sight. "These days Sumner runs a seafood export company in Christchurch, but those World Cup memories still colour his life. He recalled: "The most hostile crowd was in Kuwait."Their fans were lined up on the side of the road throwing rocks at the bus – before the game! "We walked out on the pitch and they had strung a giant banner up behind the goal which read, 'Go back to your Kangaroos'. "They'd got the right part of the world but the wrong country. "There was a bad-tempered herd of snarling camels behind one goal, and it was a mad atmosphere. "When the game kicked off all hell broke loose, and the supporters were firing rockets across the pitch. "I scored to make it 1-1. I don't think I ever hit a sweeter shot. The ball just zipped into the top corner. "Wynton Rufer put us 2-1 ahead, but Kuwait levelled it with the last touch of the game. "When we played Taiwan in Taipei the crowd rushed on to the pitch, trying to attack us. "It was absolute bedlam and the game ended in a free-for-all, fighting with their players. "Our centre-half was hit by a tyre. We had to be locked in the dressing room for two hours afterwards . "We were lucky to get away unscathed...."

Trialist
0
·
41
·
almost 13 years

If you would like to add a message to Steve's family, you can do so here: http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/nzherald-nz/steven-paul-sumner-steve-condolences/184093864?cid=full

First Team Squad
1.2K
·
1K
·
over 14 years

A celebration of Steve Sumner's life will be held at the St Andrews College Chapel , Normans Rd , on Wednesday 15th February, 2pm - live stream for all who can't attend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zryp9ARyheQ

Starting XI
1.5K
·
4.9K
·
over 15 years

Steve's family have put his complete funeral service with all its many nice eulogies and reminiscences on You Tube:

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