Bill Tuiloma (Charlotte FC | USA)
To me having less expectations on his shoulders (less media exposure) would be better for his development.
If he flies under the media spotlight its good at this stage.
Chris James was the go to man when at Fulham..
It's pretty big name me another player in NZ that's gone to a team as big !
Blackburn.fulham.roda.burnley. Plse..even werder Bremen ..
Good luck to him anyway
Anywho, he's on twitter. @billtuiloma
Nice :)
It's big to anyone who doesn't think of the EPL as the centre of the football universe - which it isn't.
Although you could argue that France is currently the number five league in Europe (after EPL, Spain, Italy, Germany), the recent influx of big money and big talent into Ligue 1 clubs - e.g. PSG and Monaco, is rapidly increasing both the quality and appeal of the league there. Having a kiwi talent on the crest of that wave can only be good for the game in this country.
[quote=ThreeFourThree]
It's big to anyone who doesn't think of the EPL as the centre of the football universe - which it isn't.
[/quote]
It's good as it stands. If he cracks the first team it will be really big. Its just that Paul Hobson was going overboard when he said "I do think it is the biggest-ever signing out of New Zealand" when other kiwis have full first team contracts playing in top leagues. Dominik Traunmueller was on the books of Bayern Munich for instance.
I'm delighted for him. Good luck.
It's big to anyone who doesn't think of the EPL as the centre of the football universe - which it isn't.
Although you could argue that France is currently the number five league in Europe (after EPL, Spain, Italy, Germany), the recent influx of big money and big talent into Ligue 1 clubs - e.g. PSG and Monaco, is rapidly increasing both the quality and appeal of the league there. Having a kiwi talent on the crest of that wave can only be good for the game in this country.
This
The French league is certainly on the rise....any league with Ibrahimovich, Cavani, Falcao, Silva, Lucas, Lavettzi, Montinho etc is bound to attract more attention. For the first time Ligue 1 has been buying players.....normally it is a selling league due to tight financial regulations on clubs. Basically if you get into big debt you automatically get relegated.
Where France is strong is in their youth set up. They have always produced a string of technically skilled youngsters many of whom end up overseas. They are current FIFA WC U20 champs and their U19 team is into the final of the European U19 cup after beating a very good Spanish side in the semi's. Bill will get a very good technical football education at OM
As for OM and where they rate. In terms of club income generated I think they rate around 18th in the world(without being super $$ doped by Ruskis or Sheiks). Average crowds of 50,000. They have four times made the finals of the CL or European cup....winning the CL once. Hard to compare between countries but I would rate them easily a top 20 European team over the last 30 years or so.
I just think his signing is just another marvellous example of the growth of NZ youth football. Who would have thought five years ago that we would have kiwi youngsters at European clubs like Olympic Marseille, West Ham, Stuttgart, Leicester, Ipswich etc
If the likes of Rojas and Tuiloma go on to play first team football I would rank as achievements
1, Nelsen Spurs
2, Rufer Weder Bremen
3, Tuiloma OM
5, Rojas Stuttgart
6, Reid, West ham
7, Elliot, Fulham
If the likes of Rojas and Tuiloma go on to play first team football I would rank as achievements
Off topic but really? 5 EPL games with Spurs are more important than his 172 with Rovers?1, Nelsen Spurs
2, Rufer Weder Bremen
3, Tuiloma OM
5, Rojas Stuttgart
6, Reid, West ham
7, Elliot, Fulham
Lets all give him a chance to play some football before we get ahead of ourselves. This is only the beginning not the end for him
[quote=ThreeFourThree]
It's big to anyone who doesn't think of the EPL as the centre of the football universe - which it isn't.
[/quote]
It's good as it stands. If he cracks the first team it will be really big. Its just that Paul Hobson was going overboard when he said "I do think it is the biggest-ever signing out of New Zealand" when other kiwis have full first team contracts playing in top leagues. Dominik Traunmueller was on the books of Bayern Munich for instance.
I think when he say's its the biggest ever signing, he would mean from a small amature club in NZ to top pro club in Euro no stepping stones inbetween, who else would have done that?
Instead he is signing up as a trainee starting his career in the OM technical centre with the reserve team.
He will play in CFA 2 the second best amateur league, or fifth division, in France which is one step away from professional footballer.
He will play in CFA 2 the second best amateur league, or fifth division, in France which is one step away from professional footballer.
Anyone gone to a bigger club straight from amateur NZ?
Wynton Rufer, from Miramar to Norwich City in old English 1st Div. is probably the closest. He signed for them but was then denied a work permit so went to play professionally in Switzerland for FC Zurich and a coupla others. Then to Werder Bremen of course.
Anyone gone to a bigger club straight from amateur NZ?
Chris Wood?
Straight to the Premier league and played in it.
Straight to the Premier league and played in it.
Tuiloma could be arguably bigger if he ever makes a first team appearance
PS Re above: at the time Rufer signed for Norwich (1981) they were relegated end of season to then immediately bounce back up and go on to enjoy their best ever run, winning the League Cup and then finishing high enough in the 1st Div to again qualify for Europe - but as English clubs were at that time banned from Euro participation following the Heysel Stadium disaster, they never made it into Europe.
And, at that time Marseilles were having one of their worst periods, playing in the French 2nd Div. A decade later they too were banned from European play for a while, following the match-fixing scandal the year (1993) of their European Champions League triumph, when they were stripped of their French title but strangely allowed to remain Euro Champions.
Anyone gone to a bigger club straight from amateur NZ?
Chris Wood?
Straight to the Premier league and played in it.
Tuiloma could be arguably bigger if he ever makes a first team appearance
Correct. Brain-fade. Forgot about Wood.
It's a fantastic signing and fantastic for Nz football but we really shouldn't get carried away here. He is in the youth team and the average conversion rate from a youth team player to a professional within the same club is like 1 out of 10. I mean just look at the likes of Cameron Lindsay, Luke Adams, Luke Rowe etc that were all with top clubs and were released.
In saying this, I really hope Bill can achieve big things. He's just gotta know that now is the time to work harder than ever before but I'm sure he knows this already.
True well put
But have Arsenal won the European Cup..
Liverpool - 5 (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005)
Manchester United - 3 (1968, 1999, 2008)
Nottingham Forest - 2 (1979, 1980)
Aston Villa - 1 (1982)
Chelsea (2012)
So signing for Nottingham Forest would be bigger than signing for Arsenal? hmmm
LOL....Bills already got 5000 views of his Youtube clips....even though they are only old U17 WC and dodgy footage of him playing in a paddock when he was at Lincoln Academy.
Still he has a bit to catch up Rojas.....his combined Youtube viewership is over 100,000.....must be his Mum!!!!
This highlights reel on You Tube actually includes footage from Bill playing on a tour of Europe, including against Everton u-18, so not all "dodgy" (about 3 mins in - the big stadium) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5J2Aq3HtWY
Bill's up to a collective total of more than 16,000 views on You Tube (plus another 9000 or so for NZ u-20 v Uzbekistan and v Croatia he played in) now !!!
"MAIS QUI EST BILL TUILOMA?" :
First French video about Bill up on You Tube now - an interview from an Olympique Marseilles news site with Didier Chambaron, Technical Director at the Oceania Football Confederation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zzF5q_E_V4
"Le Phoceen" good Olympique Marseilles news site: http://translate.google.co.nz/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.lephoceen.fr/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dle%2Bphoceen%2Btv%26rlz%3D1C1AFAB_enNZ468NZ468
"le Phoceen" video site: http://www.dailymotion.com/lephoceen#video=x12j2fm
give it a year or two and he'll probably be new zealands best fullback.
Bills OM reserve team have a preseason game this afternoon in Marseille. I am in the area and thought about going.....But he's only been here a week and probably wouldn't get a run, plus the game is way out in the burbs somewhere and driving around Marseille is like Auckland. The OM Reserves comp in CAF2 has a 28?? game season, so with preseason Bill could get 30+ games, which is exactly what a young player needs. The home games appear to be in the Velodrome..which would be great for him
Might catch him later in the month......wish I had my Nix scarf.....give him a bit of kiwi support and tell him he signed with the wrong team...arf!!!. Mind you a scarf is about the last thing you need right here at the moment...its been mid thirties all week. I'm pleased I don't have to train and play in this heat.
Bill makes good impression on his first game for OM reserve.
Played second half of the game against a team one Div higher. His team one won 1-0 (penalty) after Bill was bought down after making a run into the box.
OM coach said after the game" Tuiloma is a boy full of quality and has a simplicity and good maturity in his play. He made the difference for us especially in the last few metres of play...as we saw with the penalty. He has huge potential"
Early days yet but good he made a favarouble impression after being there less than a week. Game also played in mid 30degrees.
Fantastic Bill great start....
Yeah.What good comments.Cmon you Kiwi
Highlights clip of the reserve game up on OM.net Some nice touches from Bill
Highlights clip of the reserve game up on OM.net Some nice touches from Bill
Clip here, Bill playing no. 12 I believe.
Couple of good things from him.
Massive, massive dive.
Pretty Clear contact from Consolat #15 on Bill in the video. Ref obviously didn't think a 'massive massive dive'...
50-50 for me - hard to tell if there was contact.
He didn't look to be working very hard in terms of movement - maybe still a bit of JetLag
I don't think you'll find a more obvious penalty.
Very inciteful commentary.
Pretty Clear contact from Consolat #15 on Bill in the video. Ref obviously didn't think a 'massive massive dive'...
yeah, I agree- and thought the player who fouled him reacted in a way that looked more angry at himself rather than the decision.
Great touches from Bill just prior in the clip when he did the lovely touch to beat his man then put through a nice ball that should have ended in a goal.
Couple of good things from him.
Massive, massive dive.
What? You might want to go to the optomotrist.
Unless its sarcasm and we have all missed it.
Who cares? He's there, he's doing it. He's underway. Good on the lad.
There is a new article on the Marseille website about Bill - sounds like they are impressed with what they have seen so far.
This is my own translation of the original article - bear in mind my French is rather average (luckily there are plenty of translation sites on the web to help out) and there is a bit of colloquial language I have had to interpret so please don't take anything in this translation as absolutely literal.
Bill Tuiloma: the story of a "Kiwi" at OM
Meet Bill Tuiloma, the young New Zealander intern. An endearing and talented boy, who is already perfectly acclimatized and liked by everyone.
To see the change, it's hard to imagine that Bill Tuiloma came to Marseille just a few weeks ago. He seems at ease amongst his new teammates.
Talks between the young New Zealander and OM date back several months, but it was during the world U20 in Turkey, won by France, that he truly won-over the Marseille staff. Then, a two-year contract was offered by the training centre: "This is a godsend, I'm happy and excited to be here".
A defector from the L.A. Galaxy, where he rubbed shoulders with David Beckham during a training session, Bill sees Marseille as "an important part of football in Europe. It is the ideal place to build myself". And added: "It is a very good opportunity for me".
Already having won the penalty against Consolat that gave victory, and involved in the second goal against Marignane, young Tuiloma has wasted no time. His adaptation has been made at the speed of light helped by "very nice teammates. They help me a lot on the field. They are also very funny outside". His coach Eric Thiery does not beat around the bush when speaking of his protege: "He's a boy who possesses many qualities. He has a simplicity to his game and a great maturity. He has big possibilities" These are words that go right to the heart of the midfielder who is also able to play in defence, and he is determined to "seize the opportunity that is given to me to advance here".
"At home, everybody plays rugby"
Far from home, the "Kiwi" (the name given to New Zealand players) does not regret his choice for one second: "football is my life. If I want to pursue a career in football at the highest level, I have to be ready to go wherever I need to go". However, a date is already marked on his calendar: "At Christmas, I will go back to see my family. All my cousins play rugby, I'm the only one playing football".
In New Zealand, a small country in Oceania "football is gradually developing in the shadow of rugby. The most watched league is the Premier League, but we still know OM".
Casual, smiling, Bill Tuiloma is clearly living the dream, but has another more secret one: "I hope I can one day wear the All Whites jersey and represent my country, and perhaps participate in the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014". Given his technical and physical capabilities, there is hope for this boy. He still has to learn French. He already speaks a universal language, that of football...
Link to original article;
http://www.om.net/fr/Saison/101002/Actualites/68642/Bill_Tuiloma_l_histoire_d_un_Kiwi_a_l_OM
Good on him ..awesome ...what a talent
I here that another Birkenhead player Jack Salter has signed with a Turkish division 2 team...