Hockey star Cullen sets his sights on Athens

Michael Cullen was destined for greatness from an early age. A Natal High Schools representative while still in std 7 (grade 9), he had made the senior provincial side before finishing school at Durban High School (DHS).

"I guess the signs were there from an early age," he agrees, looking back on a glittering career that has seen him capped 167 times for South Africa, a feat of longevity bettered only by that of teammate Gregg Clark.

Cullen's loyalty to the province is to be rewarded by a series of functions over the coming months. A golf day has been planned for Durban Country Club (Beachwood course) on June 27; there's a testimonial hockey day at Queensmead, followed by a banquet on August 9 culminating in a banquet at the ICC on November 15.

"Hockey players, as you know are always financially cash-strapped," said Lennie Botha, president of KZN Hockey, "and we were thinking what could be done to keep our top players in the province. Michael has played for various Natal sides for the last 14 years and this is one way of incentivising for one of our star players.

"His contribution to the game, whether at club, provincial or country level, has been immense. He's been a superb role model for kids and, much like Gregg Clark, he's always found time for people, often to the detriment of himself. They've both gone the extra mile.

"We were going to do benefits for both players," he said. Clark moved to Natal Midlands earlier this season.

Cullen, who is employed as an assistant sports co-ordinator at Crawford La Lucia in addition to coaching the men's and women's sides at Tech, was clearly thrilled to be the first recipient of a benefit season.

"It's nice to be recognised like this," he said. "Apart from a few seasons of club hockey in England, I've never been tempted to leave Durban."

Cullen had no ambitions to display his talents on the world stage while growing up. "There was no international hockey for us, so I didn't even think about that while I was still at school." The country's hockey isolation ended only two years after Cullen left school.

Since then it's virtually all been an upward curve for Cullen, who has shown an uncanny knack for finding the back of opponents' nets as his 62 goals at the top level suggest. Like quality wine, he has matured with age; last year he was adjudged Player of the Tournament at the Champions Challenge event in Johannesburg with South Africa the silver medallists.

But perhaps his greatest personal achievement came recently when he was nominated as one of the four international players of the year. Cullen didn't crack the nod for hockey's most prestigious individual award, but insists there's a great deal yet to come from a player who celebrates his 30th birthday in August.

"The first immediate aim is the Commonwealth Games in Manchester later this year. That ranks just behind the Olympics, if a little smaller.

"If I get to play at the Commonwealth Games and a few others I'll be up around 180 (caps) and then who knows," he said.

"If the 200 Test landmark comes along it'd be nice," he acknowledged, before turning to the solitary achievement to have eluded him so far - the Olympics.

"I've never been to the Olympics," he says, matter-of-factly. "In 1996 I was left out of the side for Atlanta because of a personality clash with then-coach Gavin Featherstone."

The Englishman's autocratic ways didn't go down with the bulk of the South African team, but none suffered as much as Cullen, whose outbreaks of individual brilliance were deemed surplus to requirements for Featherstone's regimented, army-style approach.

Four years later, Cullen's world was turned upside down by Nocsa president Sam Ramsamy, who refused to allow the men, who had automatically secured their berth in Sydney by virtue of their status as African champions, to venture Down Under.

"Wouldn't that be great," he says, momentarily considering Athens 2004, assuming he could "still cope physically" before the time comes to turn his attention towards pursuing a career away from the astroturf.