Now based on the Gold Coast, he told the New Zealand Herald that his next step was going overseas to complete his UEFA A coaching licence.

"I'm not just going into coaching to take up a job," he said. "I go into it with drive and ambition which I always had as a player. I'm excited and really looking forward to it."

Smeltz scores against Italy at the 2010 World Cup

In an impressive international career Smeltz scored 24 goals in 58 appearances for the All Whites, including a memorable strike against defending champions Italy in a 1-1 draw at the 2010 World Cup.

Much travelled, the German-born striker lined up for more than a dozen different clubs throughout his professional career, and during a prolific decade in the A-League wore the jerseys of Wellington Phoenix (twice), Gold Coast United (twice), Perth Glory and Sydney FC.

He famously battled Melbourne Victory legend Archie Thompson for goalscoring supremacy, in the end shading the Victory man by just two goals.

His most recent club was Borneo FC in Indonesia's Liga 1.