Auckland City's captain Ivan Vicelich has answered an SOS call from the All Whites coach Ricki Herbert and come out of retirement to replace Ryan Nelsen for the FIFA Confederations Cup campaign in South Africa.
Vicelich is a veteran of New Zealand's two previous Confederations Cup appearances in 1999 and 2003 and retired from international football last year after 63 games for the All Whites.
He says he couldn't turn his back when Herbert and duty called after a torn calf muscle ruled out Nelsen for up to six weeks.
The 32-year-old defender says he isn't looking beyond the Confederations Cup though.
The All Whites will play European champions Spain, South Africa and the Asian champions Iraq at the eight-team tournament starting on June 14.
