Young Kiwis Outside the UK

coochiee

Interesting journey. Him (and presumably with his parents at age 12 in Brazil), ain't afraid to put in some air miles.

Yeah bit of an odyssey. He actually went without parents - with me and 5 other players, his mum stayed at home in NZ (dad working in Korea). His parents have always been super supportive of his football though. They really encouraged him to chase his dream. Hopefully he can make a success of it in Austria.

nufcfanatic

coochiee

Interesting journey. Him (and presumably with his parents at age 12 in Brazil), ain't afraid to put in some air miles.

Yeah bit of an odyssey. He actually went without parents - with me and 5 other players, his mum stayed at home in NZ (dad working in Korea). His parents have always been super supportive of his football though. They really encouraged him to chase his dream. Hopefully he can make a success of it in Austria.

Fantastic insight - Welcome to the forum as well. 👏

nufcfanatic

coochiee

Interesting journey. Him (and presumably with his parents at age 12 in Brazil), ain't afraid to put in some air miles.

Yeah bit of an odyssey. He actually went without parents - with me and 5 other players, his mum stayed at home in NZ (dad working in Korea). His parents have always been super supportive of his football though. They really encouraged him to chase his dream. Hopefully he can make a success of it in Austria.

So if I can ask, as this may matter down the track - he fully considers himself a Kiwi? Family still in NZ? Must be a bit of buzz to see a kid you coached for a time, playing in Europe.

My aunt who lives in Mt Eden actually teaches young Korean kids English, after school hours. Lots of Auckland Grammar, Mt Roskill students. And yes often one or both parents are back in Korea.

Mentality's the most important aspect of success in a football player imo and this kid's journey demonstrates his. Awesome to see!

coochiee

nufcfanatic

coochiee

Interesting journey. Him (and presumably with his parents at age 12 in Brazil), ain't afraid to put in some air miles.

Yeah bit of an odyssey. He actually went without parents - with me and 5 other players, his mum stayed at home in NZ (dad working in Korea). His parents have always been super supportive of his football though. They really encouraged him to chase his dream. Hopefully he can make a success of it in Austria.

So if I can ask, as this may matter down the track - he fully considers himself a Kiwi? Family still in NZ? Must be a bit of buzz to see a kid you coached for a time, playing in Europe.

My aunt who lives in Mt Eden actually teaches young Korean kids English, after school hours. Lots of Auckland Grammar, Mt Roskill students. And yes often one or both parents are back in Korea.

His family are back in Korea now. But I think he considers himself a Kiwi and would want to be involved in the NZ set-up if a chance came up at some point (I haven't spoken to him about this topic though.... obviously he still has to break through to a first team in Europe which is not easy!).

I was trying to dig up some old footage - winding back the years here - and here is him playing futsal with Adam Bell and Ilham Hameedi (Auckland City) as 11/12 year olds. It was a great team. You can see Seoram doing some dribbling at 00:40 and a nice goal 02:00.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn1HiphtKsU

Yes proud to see Seoram still having a good crack at it... he has natural talent + a really determined guy, really resilient and full of self-belief. I think he has had more life experiences than most other kiwi 19-year-old players as he's either trained or played in 6 countries already (Chile/Brazil/Spain/Germany/Croatia/Austria). Somewhat of a "journeyman" already lol. And many of these he has been on his own in a foreign country, not knowing the language. I think that has built a lot of mental toughness in him. He could have quit a few times when things weren't going his way.

Hopefully he can keep progressing his career and take his chance there. Credit to his parents honestly because they are are so supportive BUT crucially they as far as you can get from "helicopter parents" and "lawnmower parents"... i guess they are more "free range"  i.e. they gave their blessing for him to go to Brazil at 12, to Chile by himself at 15/16, and then give him the confidence to live in Croatia, Spain, Germany and now Austria for multiple years by himself to chase his dream. I think that's made Seoram really independent and mature for his age. Just my two cents. The mentality of the parents shapes the mentality of the player.

mrsmiis

Mentality's the most important aspect of success in a football player imo and this kid's journey demonstrates his. Awesome to see!

100%

Some good insights. Thanks for sharing. I see in the tweet above he mentions 'yes I am still playing football'. So he's obviously had some well meaning folks question his chosen vocation. 

I imagine in Korean culture there is a lot of pressure on young kids to study hard, go to uni & choose a 'respected' occupation blah blah. Good on him to sticking in there, and hopefully he 'makes it' in football. 

Edit - wonder if he can avoid the compulsory military service young Koreans normally have to do. Maybe a Kiwi passport is handy to get around that??

Really good insight and information nufcfanatic. 

Sounds like a real well rounded chap. Head on his shoulders, start from the ground up type, which is awesome to see. A lot more of the aspirational footballers from this part of the world would do well to take this 'path less trodden' approach. It's not all just heading off to England and Italy, Spain etc - There are lots of fantastic opportunities beyond those borders in Europe.

Hope he goes well, and will be keeping an eye out for him.

If you keep an eye out on his Instagram btw he posts up stories about how he's travelling in the pre season and it looks like he's being given plenty of opportunity. Also note the very young average age of the first team over there too. 👀

Once again, great information. Keep checking in on the place, always refreshing to see a new face. 

coochiee

Some good insights. Thanks for sharing. I see in the tweet above he mentions 'yes I am still playing football'. So he's obviously had some well meaning folks question his chosen vocation. 

I imagine in Korean culture there is a lot of pressure on young kids to study hard, go to uni & choose a 'respected' occupation blah blah. Good on him to sticking in there, and hopefully he 'makes it' in football. 

Edit - wonder if he can avoid the compulsory military service young Koreans normally have to do. Maybe a Kiwi passport is handy to get around that??

He's not a dual citizen. Only holds a NZ passport going off of our chats.

Although I'm sure one could be obtained?

No worries guys. 

I keep in touch with Seoram pretty regularly so will drop in here every now and again. 

He told me that they had 5 pre-season games so far and he played in 4 of those, got 2 goals and 3 assists. 

I'm heading over to Europe next year at some point so will try make the trek across to Austria to see him.  

Norman Garbett's new coach at Potenza Primavera has been revealed - one Massimiliano Moras, 55 years of age and a past equally divided between coaching in the 4th+ tier and other Primavera sides (mainly in Primavera 2).
A far cry from Antonio Nocerino, though arguably more prepared than the former Italian footballer.
Only a one year contract, too, which makes you wonder what kind of development plan the club has for their young 'uns.

But where is Norman?

MetalLegNZ

But where is Norman?

He's still with Potenza U21 (Primavera) in the 3rd tier of Italian youth football as far as I know

Couple of tidbits of information for a couple of players.

Till Estermann now at FC Solothurn in the Swiss 1.Liga Classic (4th tier) having moved from the Neuchâtel Xamax U21's, who are in the same group. Permanent move by the looks.

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And out of left field, but it seems that Sebastian Barton-Ginger was in Latvia recently practicing/trialling(?) with last season's Virslīga Champions Valmiera FC. 

Although it seems he's back in Wellington again after turning out in Cap Prem for Miramar over the weekend.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/toby-hunt/profil/spieler/878202

Toby Hunt playing 6th Tier in Germany 

Just found out about John Higashi, a 21 y/o GK currently with J1 League side Nagoya Grampus. He's out on loan at third-tier Sagamihara and has played 9 games so far this season

https://www.transfermarkt.com/john-higashi/profil/spieler/786988

https://twitter.com/JohnHB_52

mrsmiis

Just found out about John Higashi, a 21 y/o GK currently with J1 League side Nagoya Grampus. He's out on loan at third-tier Sagamihara and has played 9 games so far this season

https://www.transfermarkt.com/john-higashi/profil/spieler/786988

https://twitter.com/JohnHB_52

I'm assuming Kiwi/Japanese parents?

mrsmiis

Just found out about John Higashi, a 21 y/o GK currently with J1 League side Nagoya Grampus. He's out on loan at third-tier Sagamihara and has played 9 games so far this season

https://www.transfermarkt.com/john-higashi/profil/spieler/786988

https://twitter.com/JohnHB_52

 Awesome find. Presumably he’ll never be able to play for NZ as long as he keeps his Japanese citizenship though, a la Michael Fitzgerald?

Not sure if this got picked up but 20yo CB Till Estermann has signed for Swiss 4th tier side FC Solothurn.

Bit disappointing as he was captain of the Neuchâtel Xamax u23 team, whose senior team play in the 2nd tier.

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Friar Tuck

Not sure if this got picked up but 20yo CB Till Estermann has signed for Swiss 4th tier side FC Solothurn.

Bit disappointing as he was captain of the Neuchâtel Xamax u23 team, whose senior team play in the 2nd tier.

IMG_5551.jpeg 474.45 KB

About a month ago. 😉

But it's all good, I share the disappointment as thats a low level over there. Who knows, maybe he'll have a blinder of a season with regular first team game time and make a move up the tiers over the next couple of years.

Another young kiwi CB making a disappointing move:

Jack Van Luijken, formally of the Go Ahead Eagles u23 team, has signed for MASV Arnhem. They play in the Dutch FIFTH tier, not even the highest level of amateur football there.

Hopefully just a stepping stone for him to move on to bigger and better things.

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Friar Tuck

Another young kiwi CB making a disappointing move:

Jack Van Luijken, formally of the Go Ahead Eagles u23 team, has signed for MASV Arnhem. They play in the Dutch FIFTH tier, not even the highest level of amateur football there.

Hopefully just a stepping stone for him to move on to bigger and better things.

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He only managed one Northern League appearance for eight minutes at Bay Olympic this season, he was otherwise playing reserves. Olympic's first team was also made up of young kids and only survived relegation in added time on the final game, so there would be opportunities to be taken. When you look at it with that context, it's not so disappointing/surprising he's at that level. 

We shouldn't get too hung up on young players in European youth teams, given how many thousands of kids are in academies but never play for that team at senior level. Basically every club in Europe has a U23s, U19s, U17s etc with a full squad, in addition to the senior squad. Think how many kids the Phoenix churn through and they cater to a whole country essentially, these clubs are often in cities of 200k or less.

As for down the road in Nijmegen, Kian Donkers didn't play in NEC U21s first match, and I don't think he did in the second (can't be certain because voetbal.nl has some players' names hidden, so he may possibly be a hidden name). Bad to say, but hopefully it's just a minor niggle or something stopping him, because if he's not breaking into a U21 side...

Also, is there any word on Norman Garbett? I remember he was on Jason Pine's ZB show after the Guatemala game and he said he was off-contract and technically a free agent during that game. He doesn't follow Potenza on Instagram (I don't know if he previously followed them though). Their U19s don't start until this weekend, so could find out where he is quite quickly, but he hasn't been on a 12-or-so man bench for the senior team in Serie C. Nowhere obvious that he's been trialling at or anything, nothing like a whole bunch of players starting to follow him from the same club. Wait and see, I guess.

Friar Tuck

Not sure if this got picked up but 20yo CB Till Estermann has signed for Swiss 4th tier side FC Solothurn.

Bit disappointing as he was captain of the Neuchâtel Xamax u23 team, whose senior team play in the 2nd tier.

IMG_5551.jpeg 474.45 KB

Same level (different group) as former Auckland City and Manukau United player Maro Bonsu-Maro who has turned up in Switzerland for FC Coffrane.

https://www.rtn.ch/rtn/Sports/Football/20230909-Coffrane-monte-dans-le-wagon-de-tete.html#

Can't find anything about Norman Garbett. He's still listed on the Potenza website as being in their U23 team. Same for Transfermarkt, so I assume that's still the case.
We might know more after the Primavera 3 League kicks off this weekend

Norman Garbett not in the Potenza U19 squad as they lose their season Opener 4-1. Can't find ANYTHING about the lad. Hoping he's training somewhere...or he might be injured, I don't know.

No news on Norman Garbett yet. Potenza Primavera with a 3-3 draw and 6-1 win in the 2nd and 3rd round of the league. Formations very hard to come by and he hasn't scored in either game, so I can't confirm whether or not he's played.

Seo Ram Lee - LW (🇳🇿🇰🇷 - 2003) is starting to see reward for the WSG Tirol U-23's after his move to 🇦🇹 from 🇩🇪 earlier this year.

His first goal 📽️ v SC Schwaz in a friendly last week.

His second goal 📽️ v SV Wörgl in the Landesliga Tirol over the weekend.

1/2 pic.twitter.com/w25fmgAawJ

— YoungHeart - 🇳🇿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@YoungHeartHM) October 9, 2023

Bit of a progress update on Seo Ram Lee and his recent fortunes over in Austria. 

After leaving Germany last month and initially looking to head back to New Zealand for the Summer, youngster Bronson Sammut has actually travelled back to Europe, where he's currently trialling in Malta.

Will keep ya's posted. 👀

Potenza U19 draw 1-1 va Foggia. No news on Norman Garbett

Finally found the formations for Potenza U19s latest game and N. Garbett wasn't in it. A 2-1 loss away at Gubbio for the record. 
I wonder if he's injured maybe. You'd expect someone to have picked him up if he left Potenza. The mystery continues

Credit to Simon Chrétien on Twitter for this find.
Dublin Boon (18, Goalkeeper), formerly of Nomads United was on the bench for Roda JC in the Eerste Divisie this morning! 

Young Kiwi goalkeeper Dublin Boon (18) from Southern League side Nomads Utd in Christchurch on the bench for Roda JC in the Eerste Divisie for the first time.

Roda JC currently top of the Eerste Divisie. https://t.co/jpg4mDARrd

— Simon Chrétien (@si_chretien) November 3, 2023

newzealandpower

Finally found the formations for Potenza U19s latest game and N. Garbett wasn't in it. A 2-1 loss away at Gubbio for the record. 
I wonder if he's injured maybe. You'd expect someone to have picked him up if he left Potenza. The mystery continues

can confirm he’s not with the club unfortunately - no idea where his next destination is however!

Shabang

Credit to Simon Chrétien on Twitter for this find.
Dublin Boon (18, Goalkeeper), formerly of Nomads United was on the bench for Roda JC in the Eerste Divisie this morning! 

Young Kiwi goalkeeper Dublin Boon (18) from Southern League side Nomads Utd in Christchurch on the bench for Roda JC in the Eerste Divisie for the first time.

Roda JC currently top of the Eerste Divisie. https://t.co/jpg4mDARrd

— Simon Chrétien (@si_chretien) November 3, 2023

Actually a Dutch Cup game, Roda JC losing 5-3 at top tier NEC 5-3.
https://yellowfever.co.nz/categories/kiwi-players-overseas/topics/young-kiwis-outside-the-uk/page/19?highlight=post_1435581

Looks like Roda's normal backup keeper was in goal, hence the promotion for Boon onto the bench.

Dublin Boon, 18 year old keeper (19 on Xmas day) of Roda JC u-21's was on the bench as Roda's first team won 2-1 on the weekend against PSV's reserves in the Eerste Divisie (second tier) and are in 2nd place, four points behind Willem II and three points ahead of third place Emmen.

It’s a bit of a step up from last year when he played 17 games for Nomads in Chrischurch!  
https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2023/12/08/netherlands/eerste-divisie/roda-jc/jong-psv/4097387/
More info on him:
https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2023/11/08/nomads-united-keeper-dublin-boon-signs-for-dutch-second-division-club/

Former Christchurch Tech striker Kian Donkers isn't going so well in his u-21 league in the Netherlands as fellow Christchurch lad Dublin Boon is in his different u-21 league (see my above post on him).
Has made only seven match day squads for two sub appearances in NEC Nijmegen u-21's 14 matches this season:
https://www.transfermarkt.com/kian-donkers/leistungsdaten/spieler/953397
Was given one minute on 25 November and two minutes on 7 October and ws on the bench the weekend before last.

mrsmiis

newzealandpower

Finally found the formations for Potenza U19s latest game and N. Garbett wasn't in it. A 2-1 loss away at Gubbio for the record. 
I wonder if he's injured maybe. You'd expect someone to have picked him up if he left Potenza. The mystery continues

can confirm he’s not with the club unfortunately - no idea where his next destination is however!

I spend way too much time looking for news on him most weeks. Even messaged his dad but he hasn't replied. I wonder if he's keeping an injury on the down low or simply wanted to step up from Primavera 3 (understandably), but hasn't quite found the right place.
One thing is for sure, not playing at his age can be detrimental to his progress.

newzealandpower

mrsmiis

newzealandpower

Finally found the formations for Potenza U19s latest game and N. Garbett wasn't in it. A 2-1 loss away at Gubbio for the record. 
I wonder if he's injured maybe. You'd expect someone to have picked him up if he left Potenza. The mystery continues

can confirm he’s not with the club unfortunately - no idea where his next destination is however!

I spend way too much time looking for news on him most weeks. Even messaged his dad but he hasn't replied. I wonder if he's keeping an injury on the down low or simply wanted to step up from Primavera 3 (understandably), but hasn't quite found the right place.
One thing is for sure, not playing at his age can be detrimental to his progress.

YoungHeart posted the below that Antonio Nocerino, Norman's  former youth team coach at Potenza Calcio, has scored coaching gig with USL club Miami FC (not to be confused with Beckham's MLS outfit Inter Miami). Likely a stretch for Garbett jnr to jump to that level, but you never know.

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