This was one of the most relaxed interviews I have ever done. We basically had a two and a half hour chat down the park while our kids played on the play equipment or threw a frisbee together. What follows is an edited version of our chat.

Wynton Rufer was voted the Footballer of the 20th Century for Oceania. He has won domestic cup trophies in both Switzerland and Germany and he has won the 1st & 2nd Division Titles in Germany as well as winning the UEFA Cup Winners Cup Competition. He played 39 times for New Zealand who he represented at the World Cup in 1982. He is now heavily involved in youth development in New Zealand and works on various Fifa Football Committees.

Sean: What was the highlight of your playing career. Wynton: I'd like to think there was a few but when I was a kid just playing in college. I came on as a sub and we were down 2 - 1 and we won the game and I scored what turned out to be the winning goal. The thing was that it wasn't even a fancy goal it was just that when you're playing as a kid it is just for the fun of the game and being with your mates. When I scored the goal I turned around and I did big Pele jumps and all my team mates and subs come running on. It was a tournament but it was only the round robin stage but that night I couldn't sleep I just relived and dreamt that goal all night. It was the joy of scoring and of playing just with your mates when you become a professional it changes as you don't have those friendships.

Normally I should be saying playing in the World Cup against Brazil in 1982 or scoring the goal that won us the European Cup Winners Cup for Werder Bremen against Arsene Wenger's Monaco or scoring the winning goal in the German Cup Final in front of 98,000 people but really it is just that goal at schoolboy level. It wasn't even a special goal it was just the feeling and the love and the passion for the game and I was able to do it with my mates.

Sean: That is the best answer I've had to that question so far but I'll still include all your achievements in there as well. What was the first juggling trick you can remember learning.

Wynton: I'm not sure why but for some reason I just juggled the ball. It wasn't so much tricks with me it was more just juggling. My dad told me that a good player must be able to kick with both feet. I remember, no one ever told me to do this, I set myself a goal that by my 10th birthday I would be able to juggle 500 times. It wasn't any specific trick it was just to juggle 500 times.

Before my 10th birthday, when I was still 9, I achieved that goal and was able to juggle 500 times. Of course then I set another goal to do 1,000 before my 12th birthday and when I achieved that I stopped counting as it took a lot of time. I think the 1,000 took 15 or 20 minutes I mean I have kids in my academy who can juggle 10,000 times. There are some really good kids there who are better than I was at that age.

Sean: At your academy you actually have juggling tests for the kids. How do you run them.

Wynton: Again you see I'm a great believer in technique and ball skill and we have this worldwide problem of getting the kids to play the way we did when we were kids. We just played everywhere all the time. So the whole idea with the juggling was here is a very easy method of soccer training you can do on your own and at home. So we have a program of goals and such so the kids don't need a coach or anyone else all they need is the ball and that is why juggling is an integral part of my soccer training with the kids.

Sean: What actually are the tests.

Wynton: Well they are just really simple. Juggle with both feet with both thighs with your head and maybe some freestyle. They are simple because football is a simple game and although there are millions of variations we keep it simple. At the end of the day the kids advance on and do 'Around the Worlds' and 'Ronaldo's catch the ball on the back of your neck' and horseshoes which is up one side of the body and down the other and other stuff but that is for the specialists. Generally we just try to keep it as simple as possible because you have to be good with both feet you have to control the ball with your thighs and chest and you've got to head the ball. For those of the parts of the game if you want to be professional you have to be competent in those areas.

Sean: You been around the world as both a coach and a player have you noticed a different attitude to juggling in the different places you have been.

Wynton: Again that is a good question. What I try to do is, well as I'm a Christian my role model is Jesus. It used to be Pele but now it's Jesus. I still think Pele is pretty special though but now it's Jesus and what Jesus did was ask a question back to people so my question to you is. Who in your opinion are the best soccer players in the world.

Sean: Brazilians.

Wynton: Exactly and who in general are the best jugglers in the world. I know we know the Korean guy and the Japanese guy are amazing and you're amazing and I'm not bad but we just sort of know that it is the Brazilians so at the end of the day for me when people say juggling this and juggling that I just say tell who are the best players in the world.

Like I said before I was in Japan in the summer and saw Barcelona play and I know the vice chairman of Barcelona and he's a really lovely guy and after the game I was having a chat with him. He was saying that Ronaldinho basically came from holidays to Japan to join the team. He was the last man to join the squad. He isn't a superstar or arrogant or anything but it just needs to be understood what you are dealing with here. The other guys don't mind because they know he is going to win the game for them anyway.

I'm waffling on a bit here but the point is Ronaldinho was sitting on the bench. He didn't start the game but when he stood up the whole stadium just watched him there was a buzz about the crowd. When he came behind the dugout all the Japanese started clapping and the game is still going on. Everyone forgot the game and then he starts to juggle a ball all the eyes are on him. So he's doing a few tricks and he knows he has the crowd in his pocket. It was just UN-BE-LIEV-ABLE and what he could do with the ball. It was just amazing and I'm just saying all the hype and it was Ronaldinho and he's got this big smile. It was amazing. He's juggling the ball and then catches it on his head and he gives the crowd a big wave.

But the brilliant thing was when I was talking to the vice president after the game he said we have to do what we can to keep this man happy so if that means we let him juggle and not play we have to do it. Because we know if we have him in the right mood then it is going to happen and you can see from his recent games for Barcelona the guy is from a different planet. That is why he has been voted 'World Player of the Year' twice and won La Liga for Barcelona although they hadn't won it in ages. I guess they are lucky with Ronaldinho as he is always smiling and happy and that rubs off on everyone around him. I mean what would it be like having someone smiling all the time around you.

Any way the point is if juggling makes him happy and these guys who are paying him these millions of bucks are going to say we will do everything we can to keep him juggling and keep him happy because at the end of the day he is going to win us the Champions League.

That's brilliant just brilliant in my opinion.

Sean: You have sort of already answered this one but a phrase often directed at anyone juggling is why bother catching the ball on the back of your neck if you cannot do it on the pitch. How would you answer that one.

Wynton: Again I always bring it back to the Brazilians and with Ronaldinho and what the Vice President said. You have got to keep people happy and if that brings joy to your life and soccer then let them do it. Like I said about the Brazilians are they having fun.

Who is going to stop the Brazilians at the World Cup next summer. I was fortunate enough to have Dunga (Captain of the Brazilian side that won the World Cup in 1994) stay with me for 6 days and he was telling me stories from USA '94 and they are all just best mates. Like I said to the first question my favourite moment is about scoring a winning goal with my mates and the joy that brought and when Brazil come together they are just all mates and having fun.

Look to the Brazilians they are just enjoying themselves. If you watch Brazilians train they will all have a ball and just juggle with it. I was reading an article about the Brazilians at the recent Confederations Cup in Germany and they said they enjoy what they do and have fun and that was their secret.

Look, at the end of the day, take my son it is difficult to get him to just run around and do shuttles but you ask him to come to the park and juggle and he'll be down here for hours just having fun. He is still achieving something and getting a bit of a sweat up. The whole thing with the juggling is it looks good it builds up your self esteem. Others will come and say I can't do that you're just having fun.

Again I say look at the Brazilians and Ronaldinho in Japan. 70,000 people in the world cup stadium in Yokohama and they weren't worried about the game they were all just watching Ronaldinho.

Sean: Have you got any funny stories about juggling.

Wynton: Well none really from my time in Germany but when I was in Japan. We used to play a game were we all stood in a circle and juggle the ball and kept the ball in the air. You were allowed to drop the ball once but when you dropped it the second time you got 'Japanese punishment' which was normally a punch in the arm or a slap on the hand. It had different rules like 1 or 2 touch or you couldn't use your head or thighs to control the ball. You weren't allowed to hit the ball hard at anyone because everyone else was the judge if the ball was hit too hard so you used to just float the ball to someone's hip because you can't control the ball with your hip. So you'd have to have fast feet to get into position to control the ball or drop it.

One of the other tricks we did with that game that the Japanese were very good at was to hit the ball with your shin. So the other guy would be waiting for the ball to hit your foot and you'd hit it with your shin so it came quicker than they expected and you'd get caught it.

Sean: One last question Wynton before we started the interview you spoke about how highly you rate the Japanese youth development system. What is it about their system you like so much.

Wynton: Personally I rate it the number one youth development system in the world. FIFA would probably rate it in the top five. FIFA would probably rate the French, Spanish and obviously the Dutch and the Argentinians very highly. The Brazilian youth system doesn't even rate a mention and if you think about it logically it makes sense because if you brought some order to their system you might stuff the whole system. They are producing players from a different planet. They play football everywhere and if you read interviews with players such as Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Robinho, Ronaldinho none of them even played 11-a-side until they were 15 or so. That is the Brazilian system and somehow although it doesn't even rank it is somehow just a natural system. If you tried to bring some order like the French in Clarefontaine who are now reaping the rewards with the Zindanes and Henrys you might stuff it.

Me personally from travelling quite a bit I rank the Japanese. They are the number one in Asia. The Japanese are terrific at taking the best from others and copying it. They have a huge Brazilian influence. They have a multimillion contract with the French to have access to all the workings in their system and they are getting the rewards right the way from school football through University level to the J-League to national level. The biggest number of foreign players in the J-League are Brazilian and I bet you that Brazil could field a side next year in the World Cup made up of players based in Japan and make the semis and these Japanese players are getting the benefit of playing with and against these world class players.

Sean: Thanks Wynton

Wynton: Thanks