Shane Smeltz
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shane Edward Smeltz | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wellington Phoenix | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 September 2008 | |||
Shane Smeltz (born in Göppingen, Germany on 29 September 1981) is a New Zealand football player. He plays as a striker for A-League team Wellington Phoenix,[1] but will be joining A-League newcomers Gold Coast United for the 2009 season.[2]
Club career
Before signing for English side Halifax Town, Shane Smeltz played in 61 competitive matches for AFC Wimbledon, including 11 as a substitute, and scored 26 goals. Smeltz played for a variety of professional Australian clubs before trying his luck in England with Mansfield Town in 2005.
Smeltz returned to New Zealand in 2007 signing a two-year deal with the Wellington Phoenix, where he finished second in the Golden Boot race with nine goals from 19 appearances. In the 2008-09 season, Smeltz has scored 9 of his team's fourteen goals this season, and is currently leading the A-League Golden Boot standings over Central Coast's Matt Simon with 8.
On 4 November 2008 the Phoenix website announced it had lost its battle to retain Smeltz for the 2009 season as he had signed a three-year deal with Hyundai A-League expansion club Gold Coast United[2]
International career
Smeltz has played for the under 20, 23 and full New Zealand national team.[3] In May 2007, he was the scorer of both New Zealand's goals in an impressive 2-2 draw against Wales.
He also became the first AFC Wimbledon player to win international honours, and the first to became an international goalscorer (on April 25 2006), when he netted in an away friendly against Chile.
Following his impressive goal scoring form with the Phoenix in the A-League as well as consistent performances for the All Whites, Smeltz was voted New Zealand footballer of the year on 19th November 2007, ahead of English premier league star Ryan Nelsen and Celtic F.C. striker Chris Killen.[4]
After the Oceania Football Confederation had apparently taken away the Oceania Player of the year, Smeltz was also named the Oceania player of the year 2007, in December, 2008.
Shane Smeltz has currently 8 goals for New Zealand in the 2010 World Cup Qualifying Rounds.
International goals
- Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first.
A-League Career Statistics
(Correct as of 6 October 2008)
| Club | Season | League | Finals | Asia | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2007–08 | 19 | 9 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19 | 9 | 2 |
| 2008–09 | 12 | 9 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 18 | 3 | |
Honours
Personal Honours:
- NZF Men’s Player of the Year: 2007
- Wellington Phoenix Player of the Year: 2007-2008
- Wellington Phoenix Player's Player of the Year: 2007-2008
- Wellington Phoenix Media Player of the Year: 2007-2008
References
- ^ "Australian Player Database". OzFootball. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ a b "Smeltz signs with Gold Coast". 04 November 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "No regrets for departing Phoenix star". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
External links
- Shane Smeltz – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Wellington Phoenix profile
- Oz Football profile
- NZF - All White profile
- Shane Smeltz at Soccerbase
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{{subst:#if:Smeltz, Shane|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1981}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1981 births
}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}
|| LIVING = | MISSING = | UNKNOWN = | #default =
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- Living people
- Deaths
- Football (soccer) strikers
- New Zealand soccer players
- New Zealand international footballers
- 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- Brisbane Strikers players
- Adelaide City players
- Adelaide United players
- Mansfield Town F.C. players
- AFC Wimbledon players
- Halifax Town A.F.C. players
- New Zealanders of German descent
- Wellington Phoenix players
- A-League players
- German-born footballers who played for other national teams