Thirty years ago this week, the All Whites played three games against top German side Werder Bremen who agreed to let their star striker, Wynton Rufer, play against them.
Rufer and the All Whites lined up against Werder Bremen in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to help them prepare for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Werder Bremen won the opener 2-0 (May 30, 1992) before New Zealand turned the tables winning 2-1 in Wellington (June 1).
Honours were shared in Christchurch (June 3) with a 1-1 draw.
Rufer, then 29, had joined Werder Bremen in 1989.
Match programme
You can enjoy a digital version of the New Zealand v Werder Bremen match programme by clicking the link below.
Our thanks to the late Dave Petraska for providing Friends of Football with the original programme for digital conversion.
Wynton Rufer
Rufer played 23 times for New Zealand, including the three 1992 games against Werder Bremen, and he scored 12 goals for the All Whites.
His professional career included contracts with Norwich City, FC Zurich, FC Aarau, Grasshoppers, JEF United and FC Kaiserslautern, before returning to New Zealand in 1999 for a 48-game stint with the Auckland Kingz.
In 174 games for Werder Bremen, he scored 59 goals.
Here’s a collection of some of his best goals:
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