Matthew Garbett - NAC Breda (Dutch Eerste Divisie)

Every now and then the wide world of football throws up something beyond ordinary mortal comprehension... like NAC Breda getting promoted to the Eredivisie the way they just did. Across three two-legged ties, they experienced pretty much everything that modern footy has to offer. Red cards, penalties, late goals, early goals, own goals, great goals, comebacks, throwaways... and through it all they kept advancing. A team that had only won one of its last eight league games, and only qualified for the playoffs by three goal difference points, then slashed, crashed, and ultimately stumbled their way into the top division of Dutch soccer.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Two weeks ago you got the story of how they got past Roda JC. Last week came the tale of their triumph against FC Emmen. This week we’ve got the playoff finals against Excelsior to get through - the sixteenth-placed team in the Eredivisie whose spot everybody was competing for - before getting to the celebrations.

Throughout this playoff run, NAC have defied the odds with a combination of good fortune and dynamic and direct attacking football. The first leg against Excelsior was pretty much the culmination of both of those things. With a typically raucous home crowd, they needed to come out strong and they did that as Aime Omgba headed in from a flick-on after 12 minutes... though Excelsior were soon level thanks to a dinky finish from Lance Duijvestijn on 25’. Luckily that same bloke would later experience an emotional u-turn when he was sent off for a goal-line handball late in the half. Dominik Janosek scored the spot kick... then Jan van den Bergh swiftly scored a third for NAC nodding home from a corner.

This was dream stuff... until their keeper rushed out late and sent an Excelsior striker into a somersault deep into first-half stoppages, allowing Troy Parrott to pull one back from the penalty spot. Would that prove to be a critical mistake? Nah, not really. It looked as though it could be when Arthur Zagre ripped a long shot off the crossbar. But then, fortune poking its head above the crowd once more, Zagre picked up a second yellow for a stomping challenge and Excelsior had to play the last twenty with nine men.

That happened about five minutes after Garbett had been subbed on. Garbs would get a few moments of his own but first a long throw and a deflected shot from Martin Koscelnik made it 4-2 on 74’. Less than five minutes later, van den Bergh made a run to the byline and his chipped cross was headed in by Elias Mar Omarsson (who scored 45 goals in 97 games for Excelsior back in the day) for 5-2. Then, with the final whistle looming, Omarsson made it 6-2 via a grasscutter from just outside the area, set up by Matt Garbett shifting the ball quickly. Garbs almost made it seven with a chest-and-half-volley that flew narrowly over the top in the sixth minute of added time. Final score 6-2. Three goals scored after the second red card. Utter madness.

But they still had to survive the second leg against an Excelsior team with absolutely nothing left to lose and who, despite potential relegation, had been free scorers throughout their own campaign. Away from home. Easier said than done. It certainly didn’t get any easier when, after a tense first twenty minutes, Excelsior striker Troy Parrott latched onto a through ball and excellently finished past the keeper from a tricky angle to get the proverbial ball rolling.

That was alright. That was okay. No need to panic, still up 6-3 overall. But then with 32 minutes gone a cheeky trip in the area was spotted by VAR (after the referee initially said to play on) and a penalty was awarded which Parrott also dispatched confidently. Around that time we got Matt Garbett’s earliest introduction of the playoffs when Fredrik Jensen limped off while the VAR stuff was happening. Roughly 35 minutes gone and there was work to be done. Even more work when Garbett’s close-out couldn’t prevent a cross from wide left which swerved and dipped and then some messiness between defender and goalkeeper in the six-yard box led to a Boy Kemper own goal and, yikes, that made it 3-0 on the day and 6-5 on aggregate with 45 minutes still remaining.

This was getting sweaty as hell... and it only took five minutes of the second half for Troy Parrott to complete his hat-trick and tie the tie up, tracking for extra time. Until, that is, Garbett closed down a bloke on the sideline near halfway who then played a sloppy pass infield that was intercepted by Casper Starling and NAC Breda were on the attack. First cross was cut out, yet Starling himself rushed up and won the second ball just inside the penalty box and picked out the bottom near post. NAC back were in front despite being 4-1 down. From there they were only ever going to knuckle down and defend... which they did surprisingly well. NAC held on for the 4-1 defeat that earns them promotion. You’d better believe that scenes did ensue.

Even the club website was out of order, leading to one of the all-time great match recaps...

This one takes the cake though...

What a champ. That moment in that atmosphere and he takes the opportunity to hype up a mate. That’s what they mean when they talk about ‘using your platform for positivity’.

Having played in the Swedish top flight as a teenager, then hovered around the Italian top division for a couple of years, it was a wee bit surprising when Matt Garbett signed permanently (on a loan-to-buy deal) with a club in the Dutch second tier. He needed the game-time for sure, and NAC are a hugely well-supported club with a prestigious history (as you can gather from the massive street party)... but it was a drop down from where he’d been aiming prior. Clearly that’s no longer the case. On the other side of the ledger, Breda saw him as an investment player who’d develop for a couple of years then get sold for a profit. To that end, there was some frustration during the season as Garbett was not perceived to have progressed as much as hoped. Admittedly that was partly due to injuries and also the dysfunction of the team around him at that stage. It’s notable that he played all six playoff games as a substitute and it’s still the case that they haven’t won a game with him in the starting eleven since January.

But everything’s golden after promotion. The mission has been accomplished and Garbs shapes as one dude who should be able to step it up nicely at the higher level thanks to his international experience. The faster-paced game ought to suit his style. Garbett has one more year on his current contract, plus there’s a club option for an additional season.

To date there have been six New Zealanders to have played in the Eredivisie. Fred de Jong got things going with Fortuna Sittard back in the early 90s, scoring six times in 53 appearances. Ivan Vicelich played for both Roda JC and RKC Waalwijk, making 148 apps overall (14 goals). Ryan Thomas is the main man with his 163 games spread out over two stints with PEC Zwolle and his time with PSV Eindhoven. Would be more but for injuries – he had his latest knee surgery at the start of this year so maybe he’ll be back next season, who knows. There was also Marco Rojas’ stint with SC Heerenveen which accounted for three goals from 23 games. And don’t forget Michael Woud (5 games) and James McGarry (6 games) working through those Willem II ranks together a few years back.

Up Next: Bit of Olympic football, maybe even Oceania Nations Cup too, we shall see

Alex Paulsen – AFC Bournemouth (English Premier League)

Surely you’ve already heard the news...

All sources seem to agree that Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Alex Paulsen is on the brink of a move to the English Premier League. Liverpool and Chelsea made overtures, and there was interest from a club in Belgium, but Bournemouth are the ones who went out of their way to chase a deal. Sounds like they’ve been tracking him for quite a while (they always say that, to be fair)... with the fee apparently to be worth around £850k with the potential of rising up to two milly with add-ons. Double that figure to get the rough NZ dollar estimate. Huge business. Potentially a record transfer sale for the Welly Nix.

At this point, we’re only waiting for the paperwork to get signed. That could take a few days as Paulsen might have to fly over and do that in person. Pose for some photos with a scarf too. You know the drill. This one is significant enough to get its own article spotlight so expect that as soon as Bournemouth put up the official confirmation.

Up Next: Very much watch this space

Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)

But wait there’s more. Word on the streets is that Marko Stamenic has been bought by Coventry City in the English Championship, with a fee of around €5million having been accepted on top of a 10% sell-on clause. Stamenic was under contract until 2027 with Red Star and according to the Serbian sources he wavered on whether he would accept the deal. Ultimately he’s done so.

Like with Paulsen, we’ll await the actual confirmation but it seems like this is going ahead. For Red Star, it was simply too good of a deal to turn down for a player they signed for free one year ago and who was an important player but not an integral one in their League and Cup double this past season. For Stamenic, it’ll mean no Champions League football next season though it should mean a payrise befitting that fee (lots of money in the English game) as well as the chance to play in one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

That fee, by the way, would make him the second most expensive kiwi footballer ever, surpassing the £3.8m fee that West Ham paid for Winston Reid once upon a time (that works out to around €4.5m based on the current conversion rates). You can have three guesses as to who number one is and if you guess Chris Wood three times then you’re correct - he’s gone for at least triple this fee on three separate occasions. Leeds to Burnley (£15m), Burnley to Newcastle (£25m), and Newcastle to Nottingham Forest (£15m). That Premier League money is wild, mate.

Stamenic played 35 times for Crvena zvezda across all competitions, with two goals and one assist. Coventry were ninth in the Champo last season but them getting in quickly with a relatively expensive deal like this suggests they’re not intending on going backwards. If Stamenic can win another league and cup double in another different country for the third season in a row then we’re moving beyond special and into the mythological realms.

Up Next: Refresh the feed, refresh the feed

Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)

Mr Consistent over here. Michael Boxall has played every minute of every MLS game for Minnesota United so far. He’s one of 17 remaining everpresent players in 2024 (teams have played between 14-17 games) and ten of those are goalkeepers. As he nears his 36th birthday, Boxy is performing as well as he ever has. He’s the oldest outfielder on that ever-present list, beating Maya Yoshida by six days, and second oldest overall thanks to some bloke called Hugo Lloris who’s in goal for LAFC these days.

The latest of those games was a 3-1 win against Sporting Kansas City. Goals were scored by Tani Oluwaseyi (33’), Robin Lod (67’), and Kervin Arriaga (83’) before SKC pulled back a late consolation to spoil the clean sheet. Great way for the Loons to rebound after a 2-0 loss against LAFC last time out. The Loons sit third in the Western Conference but would go first if they win their games in hand.

Boxall had a typically impressive performance against SKC. You could tell he was up for the challenge when he was flagged offside in the fifth minute – you don’t see that very often from centre-backs, especially so early in the game. He also had an attacking influence on their first goal. The back three is giving Boxy more opportunity to step into the midfield and that’s what he did before shifting the ball to the right side leading to Oluwaseyi’s headed goal. Happy to see it. Very happy to see it.

MNUFC.com: “The play of Michael Boxall was all-around superb tonight, with the captain making enterprising runs into the midfield with authority and playing the role of creator on top of his usual defensive solidity.”

The other reason this was an important win is it was their first game since selling star player Emanuel Reynoso... who has been spectacular for them on the pitch but away from it his erratic behaviour has been an annoying distraction. Most recently he was filmed waving a bag full of money besides a gun-toting buddy back in Cordoba. Not his first incident either. He’s gone AWOL multiple times during his time with Minnesota. He served 10-days in prison for pistol-whipping a teenager in 2021. Didn’t turn up to his Green Card appointment earlier this year. Eventually it was all too much so they’ve offloaded him to Club Tijuana in Mexico where he’s sure to be on his best behaviour. Like a good captain, Michael Boxall has been a bit of a spokesperson for the Minnesota United team during these dramas, making it pretty clear that the Loons were over having to deal with the silliness.

Michael Boxall: “I think we’ve all kind of moved on. I don’t even know if anyone actually knows what the situation is. I think he’s made decisions that kind of shows everyone around here that he doesn’t care too much about the club.”

Up Next: 12.30pm on Sunday it’s Minnesota Utd vs FC Dallas (NZT)

Erin Nayler – Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)

The farewells have been spoken. Erin Nayler’s stint at Bayern Munich is confirmed to be at an end after one season. She showed up. They won the Bundesliga. She left. Can’t fault the influence.

Nayler did spent the overwhelming bulk of the season as the third-choice keeper. Extended benches meant she was able to hang about in the matchday squad for a few Champions League games but she was usually on the outside looking in for domestic games. Fair enough, that was her role. She was signed to provide experienced depth and to aid the development of their 22-year-old starter Maria-Luisa Grohs (for a comparison, think of Jack Duncan at the Wellington Phoenix last season). Everyone seemed to know what the arrangement was going in so no dramas whatsoever.

But she did make one appearance. With the league title already sorted, Nayler was included on the bench for the final home game of the Bundesliga season. It was a 4-0 win over Nürnberg. Same game as they made the departing player presentations in beforehand (hence why she’s got the bib on in the pic)... and with ten minutes to go she was subbed on in place of Grohs. Didn’t need to make a save. Did get a couple of touches with her feet. A winning debut for Nayler and now it’s off to the next stop.

Up Next: That’s a question best referred to her agent

Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)

Viking continue to grind out results and Joe Bell continues to excel. They conceded after only seven minutes away to Molde this week but were able to flip that around to take a 2-1 lead soon after half-time. A pair of own goals did the trick there. The first of those began with Joe Bell chipping a ball towards the left wing with the low cross from Zlatko Tripic being either deflected or sliced onto the post before cannoning back into a defender’s shins with no escape. 1-1 after 20 minutes. Not much else happened in the first half but within two minutes of the second getting underway, Tripic made more things happen with another cross from wide. This one was aerial and was met by the head of Patrick Yazkek. The header hit the crossbar and dropped down onto the goalkeeper, bouncing back up onto the crossbar again and then dropping over the line. Two ridiculous own goals. The joys of football.

Unfortunately they did concede again with quarter of an hour left so it ended up as a 2-2 draw. Probably fair enough given that Molde did technically supply all four goals in this match. Viking only had one shot on target and it came from Joe Bell with a direct free kick in the fifth minute stoppage time, right at the end, that went straight into the keeper’s grasp. Molde actually thought they’d won it ten minute earlier after a goalie error allowed Aaron Olanare to run around and tap into an empty net but the VAR spotted that he’d been marginally offside from the initial through ball. Guts to that man – he did a somersault to celebrate and then the goal didn’t count.

Bell completed 53/56 passes though mostly had to operate deeper than he’d have preferred given the match-up. Molde remain two points ahead of fifth-placed Viking with this result, though VFK do have a game in hand. Also, this was from last week, but check out the bro speaking Norwegian now in his post-game chats...

Up Next: This was the last game before the summer break, which lasts about a month, so we’ll next see VFK in competitive action against Rosenborg on 1 July (NZT)

Dalton Wilkins - Sønderjyske (Danish Division 1)

Matt Garbett ain’t the only brother on the promotion train this week. Dalton Wilkins has known this one was coming for several weeks with Sønderjyske cruising towards the Division 1 title. They wrapped the thing up a fortnight ago. Even three consecutive draws to end the season, with closest rivals Aalborg winning in all three of those rounds, didn’t make a difference.

Wilkins missed both of the last two matches due to a minor injury which prevented him from taking on his old club Kolding, who ended up finishing third. They drew 1-1 in the final weekend. Not a bad effort from Kolding fresh after promotion but third place won’t get them into the Superliga, whereas Sonders are going up, up, up. Second straight promotion season for Wilkins and with two different teams. At the time of that transfer, it seemed he’d probably be a backup for his new club but he ended up playing quite regularly, making nine appearances including six straight starts prior to the minor injury that ended his campaign. All of them as a left-back/left-wingback whereas he’d been playing a lot on the right side for Kolding. DW is a natural leftie but it does help to have that variation. Sonders were undefeated with Wilkins in the starting eleven. He also made 16 appearances with two goals for Kolding prior to the move. Bodes well for the jump up next season.

Up Next: The Danish Superliga awaits

Elijah Just - AC Horsens (Danish Division 1)

Meanwhile, further down the Danish Division 1 ladder, there was no sight of Elijah Just for Horsens as they concluded their season with a 1-1 draw against HB Køge. He was an unused substitute... which could spell the end of his time at the club.

You probably recall that Just spent some time away from the team after the winter break when it seemed he was on the verge of transferring to IFK Göteborg in the top division of Sweden, except that Horsens refused the deal as they wouldn’t have been able to bring in a replacement for their relegation battle given the different transfer windows. Thus Just hung around... but seemed to have less of a presence after that – only starting 5/15 games after the division resumed. No more goals or assists. We’ll see what happens. He does have two more years on his current contract with ACH though.

Up Next: Patience

Oscar Obel-Hall - Esbjerg fB (Danish Division 2)

And another one... Oscar Obel-Hall has been at Esbjerg for several years now, the 20-year-old scoring goals in their academy while the first team sunk down the divisions. He signed a first team deal prior to this season and went on to make his senior debut in a cup game back in September. OOH played eight times all combined for the first team this season while also scoring three times in five games for the reserves and five times in 13 games for the U19s.

Solid work from the young striker. Good enough to get him a medal, as Esbjerg cruised to the Division 2 title finishing nine points clear of Aarhus Fremad. They’ve been promoted as champs. Sweet as. That means we had a kiwi in the Division 1 champs (Dalton Wilkins), the Division 2 champs (Oscar Obel-Hall), and the Danish Cup champs (Callum McCowatt). Malia Steinmetz and her FC Nordsjælland team are in the hunt for both the Women’s top division and national cup titles too. Trophies everywhere.

Up Next: Promotion party

Jana Niedermayr - SKN St. Pölten (Austrian Frauenliga)

There in the blue #23 is Jana Niedermayr being thanked by and saying farewell to the SKN frauen family before their final game of the season. The NZ youth international (also known for her exploits with Central Football in the National League) has been with the Austrian club for the past 18 months, although she’s predominantly been hanging out with the reserve team. Two goals in 20 appearances for the ressies... 8 goals in 35 if you count friendly matches. She never actually played for the first team but she usually got big minutes for SKN II. Niedermayr has some Austrian heritage so that’s largely how this opportunity came about.

St. Pölten’s reserves finished sixth in the Future League this season. They were third last time. However, their top team is the undisputed best in the nation and with a 2-0 win over Neulengbach in this final match of 2023-24 they were able to cap another league championship. Their ninth in a row. SKN finished ten points clear of First Vienna and Altach/FFC who were tied for second. Can’t really count these last two as Niedermayr championships, she wasn’t amongst those who got medals in the presentation, but she was at least amongst that winning environment. Prior to this last game she’d played an hour for the reserves in a 4-1 win over the same club. Despite their sixth-place finish, SKN II had the best record in the Future League across the second half of the campaign. Their final four fixtures were all wins in which they scored four times.

Up Next: Another European opportunity? Something in the A-League? NZ National League?

Kiara Bercelli - Sampdoria (Italian Serie A)

Speaking of kiwi youth internationals playing in countries with familial heritage, Kiara Bercelli signed a two-year deal with Sampdoria last March upon her 18th birthday (no pro deals overseas prior to that, via what’s known in these parts as The Milly Clegg Rule).

Bercelli featured for Sampdoria’s U19s towards the end of last season then spent this campaign out on loan with Chievo in the second-tier of Italian football. There she made 16 Serie B appearances, with three of them being starts, as the team finished fifth. One assist in there as well as winning a couple of penalties earned (they’re in the clip – one was a handball off her cross, one was a trip from behind). Plus there was a Coppa Italia tie against the mighty Juventus in which she played the second half. They lost 6-0 but still.

Great experience. Great development. Here’s hoping there’s a shot at first team football next term... Sampdoria finished eighth in Serie A Femminile which was a few spots below Katie Bowen’s Inter Milan (fifth).

Up Next: Continue on this righteous path

Andre De Jong – Stellenbosch (South African Premier Soccer League)

Remember how the Stellies had that remarkable 25-game unbeaten streak across all competitions? A club record stretch with Andre De Jong proving a key player throughout? Yeah that was awesome. Then they lost 2-1 to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup semi-final... which was fine because Sundowns are the best team in South Africa. Except they followed it with a 0-0 draw vs AmaZulu, a 2-0 loss to Swallows, a 1-0 loss to Sundowns again, then a 2-1 loss to Richards Bay. After 25 games undefeated they did not win again in their final five outings. Didn’t have the legs. So it goes.

Sadly that caused Stellenbosch to drop to third on the ladder. Level on points with Orlando Pirates but with a worse goal differential by three. Pirates took one point from their last three fixtures, Stellies took zero points from their last three fixtures. Not an ideal way to miss out on Champions League qualification. They beaten in the final round by a Richards Bay side that needed to win to avoid a relegation playoff and were thus that little bit more desperate.

At least there’s still the consolation prize of the CAF Confederation Cup. ADJ made 34 appearances across four different competitions this season with seven goals and three assists to his name. Not sure on his status for next season but he only joined the Stellies 18 months ago so you’d assume he’s still under contract.

Up Next: Was his great form in 2024 enough for an All Whites recall?

Jay Herdman & Finn Linder - Vancouver Whitecaps II (American MLS NEXT Pro)

One Jay Herdman goal...

Two Jay Herdman goals...

Yeah, he had one of those games, scoring twice in the last half hour to help his Whitecaps academy team go from 1-0 down after 11 minutes to winning 3-1 against The Town FC (the San Jose Earthquakes reserve team). Also got a yellow card for good measure... bit of a harsh decision as he slid in and seemed to win a loose ball. Nevertheless, Herdman ended up being the game-winner. He now has three goals and two assists from 11 matches this season. Don’t forget an MLS debut in there too. Both he and Finn Linder had full games in this Town FC match, by the way.

Up Next: Monday at 1pm against LAFC II (NZT)

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