When Dutch coach Thomas Rongen accepted an offer to train American Samoa in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, he knew that this was no ordinary team and this no small challenge.
American Samoa held the reputation of being the worst football team in the world, following a crushing 31-0 defeat against Australia in 2001.
A decade later, they had lost every competitive game they had ever played.
When Rongen arrived, he tells The Green Room, it was not only their skills and fitness levels that needed an intense overhaul, psychologically too, the players felt like failures.
The heart-warming new film Next Goal Wins, directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison follows what happened next.
Most extraordinary among the players is Jaiyah Saelua, who belongs to the fa’afa-fine or third gender. She lives 24-7 as a woman but plays with the all male national soccer team and is central to the morale of the group.
Jaiyah Saelua says Thomas trained the players out of the mentality of being losers.
Listen here for the full interview with coach Thomas Rongen and soccer player Jaiyah Saelua on The Green Room with Orla Barry:
Next Goal Wins opens on May 9th 2014
The Green Room airs on Saturdays 9pm-11pm
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