Young Kiwis Outside the UK

mrsmiis

Ex-Nix reserves stalwart and U20 international Dan McKay’s signed for Cobh Ramblers in Ireland. Finished third in the second tier last season - first game’s this weekend

McKay's mostly been a bench player to date for Cobh Ramblers (7th of 10 teams in the Irish 2nd tier). 

Only 2 starts (last one was 26th May), in 18 games. Came off the pine 4 times, otherwise yeah he's just been watching on.

Further to my Norman Garbett investigations.

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Announcement incoming any day, sounds like it will be a place in Europe. Very exciting, hopefully it's a place where he can show his skills and fulfill his potential. He impressed with the U20s and a season under Nocerino in the Italian youth leagues will have helped. 

I think YH has uncovered the club. Not a destination to get too excited about, but hey it's a pro contract in Europe.

coochiee

I think YH has uncovered the club. Not a destination to get too excited about, but hey it's a pro contract in Europe.

A bit of news before kickoff this evening....

We are pleased to announce the signing of New Zealand U20 international winger Norman Garbett on a deal that runs to the end of the season. The 20-year-old will be eligible to play on July 1st, pending ITC.#CmonTheTown

— Dundalk FC (@DundalkFC) June 28, 2024

😎

Probably worthy of his own thread (if he doesn't have one already?)

coochiee

mrsmiis

Ex-Nix reserves stalwart and U20 international Dan McKay’s signed for Cobh Ramblers in Ireland. Finished third in the second tier last season - first game’s this weekend

McKay's mostly been a bench player to date for Cobh Ramblers (7th of 10 teams in the Irish 2nd tier). 

Only 2 starts (last one was 26th May), in 18 games. Came off the pine 4 times, otherwise yeah he's just been watching on.

Heard unfortunately he's terminated his contract early to come home and sign for Olympic. Possibly not happy with his gametime?

mrsmiis

coochiee

mrsmiis

Ex-Nix reserves stalwart and U20 international Dan McKay’s signed for Cobh Ramblers in Ireland. Finished third in the second tier last season - first game’s this weekend

McKay's mostly been a bench player to date for Cobh Ramblers (7th of 10 teams in the Irish 2nd tier). 

Only 2 starts (last one was 26th May), in 18 games. Came off the pine 4 times, otherwise yeah he's just been watching on.

Heard unfortunately he's terminated his contract early to come home and sign for Olympic. Possibly not happy with his gametime?

Makes sense - has played minimal minutes in a team that (I thought would be better) have been pretty ass up until recently.

Pay is absolute bugger all at that level too, so unless you can get in to the Premier Division, then it can be a bit of a slog. Part of the reason why Corban Piper came home to NZ.

mrsmiis

coochiee

mrsmiis

Ex-Nix reserves stalwart and U20 international Dan McKay’s signed for Cobh Ramblers in Ireland. Finished third in the second tier last season - first game’s this weekend

McKay's mostly been a bench player to date for Cobh Ramblers (7th of 10 teams in the Irish 2nd tier). 

Only 2 starts (last one was 26th May), in 18 games. Came off the pine 4 times, otherwise yeah he's just been watching on.

Heard unfortunately he's terminated his contract early to come home and sign for Olympic. Possibly not happy with his gametime?

That's a shame. He's a DM? Now with Pennington gone, would he be a chance of a return to the Nix?

Seemed to be rated when in the Academy, and played at last year's U20 WC. Though both him and Jackson Manuel (they were basically rotated through the tourney) were overshadowed by Conchie, one of NZ's better performers.

Johnny Martin - Pretty sure this lad came out of Western Suburbs a few years ago (?) and moved to Germany where he's been since.

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Anyway, he's moved to 1.FC Senthofen (5th tier) from the youth set up at FV Illertissen (4th tier).

Same tier (and league!) as the recently resurfaced Stefan Marinovic.

Following on from the above post - Johnny Martin made his first team debut off the bench for 1.FC Senthofen in the Bayernpokal (regional cup) earlier this week in a 3-0 win over 6th tier VfB Durach.

He followed this up by making his league debut in the Bayernliga Süd (5th tier) off the bench overnight in a 2-2 at home to Nördlingen.

Stefan Marinovic (in the same league) made his debut for TSV Grünwald in a first up 4-2 loss to 1860 München II.

Seo Ram Lee will continue his time in Austria this season with WSG Tirol, having extended his initial contract from last season.

Mostly a fringe player for their reserve side last term after picking up an early season injury. He's hoping to push on this term given some of the other players in the setup moving on.

And yes, if he was ever in a position where he was called up by New Zealand then he would accept that call. Has a bit of work to do on that front given the talent in front of him in the national team setup, but who knows. He would have to be pushing for first team duties to elevate his case, but just a nice tidbit of information for you all.

YoungHeartHM

Seo Ram Lee will continue his time in Austria this season with WSG Tirol, having extended his initial contract from last season.

Mostly a fringe player for their reserve side last term after picking up an early season injury. He's hoping to push on this term given some of the other players in the setup moving on.

And yes, if he was ever in a position where he was called up by New Zealand then he would accept that call. Has a bit of work to do on that front given the talent in front of him in the national team setup, but who knows. He would have to be pushing for first team duties to elevate his case, but just a nice tidbit of information for you all.

Put up some nice goals on his social also one debating if he was offside or not (definitely was not)

YoungHeartHM

Seo Ram Lee will continue his time in Austria this season with WSG Tirol, having extended his initial contract from last season.

Mostly a fringe player for their reserve side last term after picking up an early season injury. He's hoping to push on this term given some of the other players in the setup moving on.

And yes, if he was ever in a position where he was called up by New Zealand then he would accept that call. Has a bit of work to do on that front given the talent in front of him in the national team setup, but who knows. He would have to be pushing for first team duties to elevate his case, but just a nice tidbit of information for you all.

That's awesome news about Seo Ram Lee. I was wondering about him a couple of weeks ago. Hope he can kick on and make the first team. Stoked he's more than happy to declare where his allegiances l.

From Huracán Trelew 5th Division (Bottom end of Argentina) population 100,000, to Club Atlético Belgrano Cordoba 1st division club upper region of Argentina with a population of 1.6 million in the city and approximately 3.2 million for the province.  
After a week of successful trials in Belgrano, Jamie was selected to join the Pirates.

Jamie is very grateful for the opportunity provided by the Huracán club in Trelew. ♟️

Cordoba a big student city, that I think is in the Pampas region. I found it a bit boring, but it did has some good museums, including an extensive one of the "Dirty War" period, when they military junta regime murdered thousands of left wing students.

Remember going to a local cheap and cheerful restaurant and the guy knew all about Emiliano Tade being at Auckland City. Also a walking tour in Ingles where doing the maths, the young female student guide would have pocketed $US300 (30 tourists at $10 each) for the 2 hours walking around. Crazy money for anyone in Argentina, let alone an early 20s one.

Belgrano play out of a 28,000 capacity stadium, and are currently 11th in the Argentinian Primera Liga, which has 28 teams! Boca are 8th, and River Plate 9th.
Belgrano's big Cordoba derby rival is Talleres (currently 6th).
https://homefans.net/cordoba-football-culture/

https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2024/08/26/argentina/primera-division/ca-belgrano-de-cordoba/gimnasia-y-esgrima-la-plata/4295246/

https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2024/08/26/argentina/primera-division/ca-belgrano-de-cordoba/gimnasia-y-esgrima-la-plata/4295246/

Young Jamie is trying a brave, and very different pro football path. Even if he never "makes it", he'll have some great future yarns. He can always try bilingual tour guiding as a back up plan.

This actually happened last weekend but since Donkers has not been talked about on the forum in a while, I thought it would be important to mention. Came off the bench for Venlo in the first round of the U21 KNVB Beker against Feyenoord.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/feyenoord-u21_vvv-venlo-u21/index/spielbericht/4437952

Donkers actually does have his own thread but because it hasn't been updated in ages, it's quite a way back now and still has him listed as being at Nijmegen (something for the mods to change). I was debating whether to post on that thread or here before deciding on the latter.

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Also, I can't seem to find out how he's doing in the U21 Divisie since joining Venlo. I can find the results for the team just by searching through Google, but it doesn't show who scored or the lineups. Venlo's latest game was actually today against Alexandria '66, easily winning 4-1. Is there anyone with a close connection to Donkers who may be able to give us an update on that front?

One more thing, Donkers will be turning 20 in 11 days.

Looks like Venlo post match reports for the U21 team on their club website.

https://www.vvv-venlo.nl/nieuws/vvv-venlo-o21-na-strafschoppen-onderuit-tegen-feyenoord-in-beker

coochiee

Looks like Venlo post match reports for the U21 team on their club website.

https://www.vvv-venlo.nl/nieuws/vvv-venlo-o21-na-strafschoppen-onderuit-tegen-feyenoord-in-beker

Cheers for that. I did some digging through the youth news section and out of all the U21 match reports I saw from this year, I found four between April-May, where Donkers is mentioned, came off the bench in all of them.

https://www.vvv-venlo.nl/nieuws/vvv-venlo-o21-rekent-af-met-leeftijdsgenoten-van-excelsior

https://www.vvv-venlo.nl/nieuws/vvv-venlo-o21-niet-opgewassen-tegen-koninklijke-hfc

https://www.vvv-venlo.nl/nieuws/vvv-venlo-o21-met-ruime-cijfers-onderuit-tegen-fc-eindhoven

https://www.vvv-venlo.nl/nieuws/vvv-venlo-o21-komt-niet-verder-dan-gelijkspel-tegen-fc-emmen

James Bulkeley made his first team debut for Gulf United overnight in the UAE First Division (2nd tier).

Full 90 in a 1-1 draw with Al Dhaid.

Steven Taylor coached Gulf United to back to back promotions - 4th tier to 2nd tier, then left. Now coaching Al Qabila FC in the UAE 4th tier.

Not sure if this has already been reported but Auckland-born midfielder Michael Manuel (2008) represented the U16 Philippines side in the ASEAN U-16 Champs back in June. Only managed to get on the pitch for a minute in a 3-0 loss to Laos, but always interesting to see dual-nat kiwis pop up in random countries. 
https://www.transfermarkt.com/michael-manuel/nationalmannschaft/spieler/1274510

Alex Lee, who scored for the Victory in the Cup, was born in NZ.

13yo keeper Marc James at Benfica.

https://www.playmakerstats.com/player/marc-james/1375996

Why can't it be a striker or a AM.

Enough with the goal keepers already NZ, there are other positions!

Not as young as the players usually mentioned here but according to fbref, former Mariners academy striker Ben Duncan (2002) who plays for Ehime FC in the J2 League was born in New Zealand. 3 goals in 18 games this year mostly coming off the bench. 
https://fbref.com/en/players/a4dcb188/Ben-Duncan

Shabang

Not as young as the players usually mentioned here but according to fbref, former Mariners academy striker Ben Duncan (2002) who plays for Ehime FC in the J2 League was born in New Zealand. 3 goals in 18 games this year mostly coming off the bench. 
https://fbref.com/en/players/a4dcb188/Ben-Duncan

I sent Ben a message on Instagram to check whether this is true.

Turns out it’s an error from FBRef, he was born in Australia. He said that his dad is eligible for NZ citizenship, but he doesn’t believe that he is as well.

According to Soccerway and a few other websites, 18-year-old Al Sadd (Qatar) midfielder Yamaan Jarrar was born in New Zealand and holds NZ citizenship. Listed as a first-team member on that site as well as Sofascore and ESPN but isn't listed on Al Sadd's website nor appears to be on Transfermrkt.

https://int.soccerway.com/players/yamaan-jarrar/992797/

Missed this last week, but Emmett Connolly (GK) made it to the bench for Lion City Sailors in their 3-1 AFC Champions League Two win over Port FC (Thailand).

Didn't get on the pitch, but would have been a good experience for the 17 year old, who was playing for Eastern Suburbs age grade sides before signing up in Singapore earlier this year.

Should also note that he has 3 caps at age grade level for the Cook Islands after the U19 qualifiers earlier this year.  

Found another young dual-nat on transfermrkt, Swiss-Kiwi midfielder Mathieu Vonnez (2007). Was in the academy at top-tier Lausanne Sport but joined fifth-tier US Terre Sainte in July where he appears to be playing regularly. Has a linked-in profile which confirms he has a kiwi passport

https://www.transfermarkt.com/mathieu-vonnez/profil/spieler/1136222
https://ch.linkedin.com/in/mathieu-vonnez-a8468731b

Nice find. 👍

I see Kaj Dennis (🇳🇿🇩🇰) is currently doing the same residential programme as Bronson Sammut did last year with 2.Bundesliga club 1.FC Köln.

Lad is a striker, and has been QLD based up until recently.

From the Olé academy Instagram last night - Flynn Cave (Western Suburbs) is on trial in Sweden with Västerås SK. 

Västerås were in the top flight Allsvenskan this term having been promoted in 2023, but have since been relegated straight back to the Superettan for 2025.

Can't say I know much about the lad, but it looks a very good opportunity for him if he can pick something up. Think he's only 17 or 18 years old, but he played a decent number of games in the Central & National Leagues this season too. 

Good luck to him.

A couple of brothers are heading to the Barcelona Academy this year. I don't know the full story, but they (8 and 10yo) impressed at the NZ Barca camp, then at the Australian Barca camp, so now they are linking up with the full academy. 

YH gets the scoop.
First 'Kiwi' to play in Luxembourg?

Hopefully he bangs in a few, and with time gets to a better league. The more Kiwi strikers out there in  pro football the better. Probably worth of his own thread now.

With 29 goals across 26 games for Napier City Rovers in the 2024 Central & National Leagues + Chatham Cup - Oscar Faulds finds himself swapping the Hawkes Bay for South-Western 🇱🇺 in 2025.

Deal signed with BGL Ligue club (1st tier - 🇱🇺) Union Titus Pétange.

Announcement 🔜 pic.twitter.com/JRRvpLt630

— Hamish 🐦‍🔥 (@YoungHeartHM) January 30, 2025

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/540787/meet-the-auckland-schoolboy-carving-a-footballing-career-in-the-land-of-lionel-messi

Twin brothers Kalani Vieira Gall and Makaha Vieira Gall are currently on a 3 month trial with Czech First League club FK Dukla Praha. They've both been in Spain up until recently, before being scouted by this club in Czechia.

Coming up 20 this year, Kalani is predominantly a LWB/LW, and Makaha is a DM/CM. Both of them out of Tauranga Boys College, and they played some age grade stuff with Melville before moving overseas to pursue footballing opportunities.

Seems they have got strong Futsal backgrounds. Some Latino heritage?
Read somewhere that Tauranga Boys has a strong football programme these days, and nearly all of the Tauranga City squad now in the Northern League, have come through the school.

Always thought of the Western BOP area as a potential football sleeping giant, in a NZ context given it's fast growing popn.

coochiee

Seems they have got strong Futsal backgrounds. Some Latino heritage?
Read somewhere that Tauranga Boys has a strong football programme these days, and nearly all of the Tauranga City squad now in the Northern League, have come through the school.

Always thought of the BOP area as a potential football sleeping giant, in NZ context given it's fast growing popn.

Both the rents are Brazilian. great find YH!

mrsmiis

coochiee

Seems they have got strong Futsal backgrounds. Some Latino heritage?
Read somewhere that Tauranga Boys has a strong football programme these days, and nearly all of the Tauranga City squad now in the Northern League, have come through the school.

Always thought of the BOP area as a potential football sleeping giant, in NZ context given it's fast growing popn.

Both the rents are Brazilian. great find YH!

Nothing a bit of digging and casual conversation can't uncover. 🫡

Both super nice lads too. Very driven to do well. I hope it works out for them. 🤞

A little bit old, but seems that Victor Barbosa (AM - Auckland United & NZ U17's, 2007) has been in Belgium recently trialling with RWD Molenbeek (2nd tier)

👶 | Parmis les 2 testeurs, Victor Barbosa 🇳🇿 est resté. Sfiso Timba 🇿🇦, lui, est retourné en Afrique du Sud.

Pour rappel, les tests sont externes au mercato et concernent la future équipe U23.

🖤🤍❤️

🥇 (@MikeyDelbeke) https://t.co/xTncFpl2lP

— 𝐑𝐖𝐃𝐌 𝐅𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 🇾🇪 (@RWDM_Fidels) January 10, 2025

Potential signing for their U23 setup by the look of it.