WELCOME FROM GM DAVID DOME Nau mai, haere mai and welcome back to Leichhardt Oval for the men’s fifth Isuzu UTE A-League match in 14 days. The ‘February Football Frenzy’ has been incredibly hectic, but the team has thrived. A fortnight ago they were bottom of the ladder and now they are threatening top spot. It shows how close the league is this season. January signings Gael Sandoval and Scott Wootton have both made an instant impact and it’s no coincidence the team are on a fivegame unbeaten run in the league since Gael made his debut. He’s scored three goals during that span and has slotted in seamlessly to the way Ufuk likes to play. It was also fantastic to see Scott score his first goal for the club on Wednesday night. He brings great experience and leadership to our
back four and we have recorded two clean sheets in the three matches he’s played for us. Having played at four different venues in our past four ‘home’ matches, hopefully playing backto-back games at Leichhardt makes it start to feel like a home away from home for the players and our Sydney-based fans.
Spark, Oppo, Chemist Warehouse, ELMO and Gazley-Skoda are the men’s biggest supporters and the team also gets great local assistance from Fraternity Club, BaiMed and Southern Classic Cars. Nothing happens on the pitch without the support of these great businesses.
It’s also handy for Ufuk and the boys as the famous rugby league ground in Sydney’s inner-west is less than a half hour bus journey from their base on the lower north shore.
This evening’s opponents Sydney FC are well rested. They’ve had a full week to prepare, with last Saturday’s draw against Western United their only match in the past fortnight.
They have made themselves at home in Chatswood and are looked after well by Football NSW at Valentine Sports Park, where they have top quality training facilities.
Sydney edged us 2-1 the week before Christmas, but we have improved greatly in the past two months and we won’t be daunted by the league heavyweights.
This wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the support of our commercial partners on both sides of the Tasman.
COYN!
PHOTOGRAPHY: Speed Media, Getty Images PRINTING: TBD Design www.tbd.co.nz COPYRIGHT: Reproduction in whole or in part by any means is prohibited. DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the publisher for any loss due to material in this magazine. All details are correct as at time of print.
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YOUR 2021/22 WELLINGTON PHOENIX SQUAD #3
DEF
#4
MID
#8
GAEL SANDOVAL
# 11
JAUSHUA SOTIRIO
MID
# 18
FWD
BEN WAINE
#6
#9
FWD
# 14
# 10
# 16
ALEX RUFER (CAPTAIN)
DEF
SAM SUTTON
MID
RENO PISCOPO
MID
# 19
DEF
TIM PAYNE
DAVID BALL
NICHOLAS PENNINGTON
DEF
CALLAN ELLIOT
MID
# 13
DEF
JAMES McGARRY
BEN OLD
FWD
# 17
#5
SCOTT WOOTTON
MATTHEW BOZINOVSKI
#7
DEF
DEF
LOUIS FENTON
# 20
GK
OLI SAIL
YOUR 2021/22 WELLINGTON PHOENIX SQUAD # 21
DEF
# 23
MID
JOSH LAWS
# 33
CLAYTON LEWIS
DEF
# 34
FINN SURMAN
# 88
# 31
MID
# 40
FWD
GEORGE OTT
GK
# 43
ALEX PAULSEN
FWD
FWD
OSKAR VAN HATTUM
12 Trent Buhagiar
FWD
14 Adam LeFondre
FWD
17 Antony Caceres
MID
19 Chris Zuvela
MID
20 Tom Heward-Belle
GK
21 Harry Van der Saag
DEF
22 Max Burgess
MID DEF
1
Andrew Redmayne
GK
23 Rhyan Grant
2
James Donachie
DEF
24 Corey Hollman
MID
3
Ben Warland
DEF
25 Callum Talbot
DEF
4
Alex Wilkinson (captain)
DEF
26 Luke Brattan
MID FWD
5
Connor O’Toole
DEF
27 Elvis Kamsoba
6
Mustafa Amini
MID
28 Calem Nieuwenhof
MID
7
Michael Zullo
DEF
30 Adam Pavlesic
GK
8
Paulo Retre
MID
32 Patrick Yazbek
MID
9
Bobo
FWD
33 Patrick Wood
FWD
MID
35 Liam McGing
DEF
FWD
Coach: Steve Corica
10 Milos Ninkovic
COACH UFUK TALAY
# 32
KURTIS MOGG
JACKSON MANUEL
GARY HOOPER
DEF
11
Kosta Barbarouses
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FEATURE:
MILESTONE MATCH FOR PHOENIX CAPTAIN Alex Rufer will play his 100th A-League match for the Wellington Phoenix this evening, eight years after making his debut for the club. The Phoenix captain didn’t always think he’d reach the milestone, particularly after making just 11 league appearances in his first four seasons. “I always had very, very big goals and big dreams and I always wanted to play as many games as possible,” Rufer said. “But after the first few years, obviously not playing many games and having a few really bad injuries, something like this was probably in the back of my mind slipping away. “Now that we’re here I’m really proud and I know my family is really proud of me as well.”
4-0 defeat to Adelaide United on New Year’s Day. I feel very blessed. I feel really proud that I’m playing 100 games”
The Phoenix are unbeaten in the league since, winning four matches and drawing one, with Rufer playing 90 minutes in each.
Rufer broke through into the Phoenix first XI in the 2018/19 season and remained a regular under Ufuk Talay, who appointed him captain on the eve of this campaign.
“Being taken off at halftime that’s obviously a kick up the bum, but I don’t think that’s what was needed.
“I feel very blessed. I feel really proud that I’m playing 100 games this weekend, but for me I want to play many more. “It’s a great milestone to tick off but hopefully there’s more to come.” The 25-year-old has arguably been in career-best form since being benched at halftime of Wellington’s
“I just looked back on some of my performances and my games and just being completely honest with myself and always wanting more.” Rufer says he wasn’t the only one in the team who did a bit of soul-searching after the defeat to Adelaide, which was the team’s fourth straight loss in the league. “As a team that was something that we did really well. We looked back on all the games and no excuses we weren’t good enough. “To be a good team and to be a successful team you have to be honest and you have to always want more and what’s been really impressive and really, really good about the group so far is that we have bounced back from those poor run of games and look at where we are now.” He feels every player in the squad has taken their game to another level.
GETTY IMAGES
SPEED MEDIA
“There was pressure earlier on and there were people writing articles, not just about me, but about the team. “What’s been really, really good is that every player’s stepped up. Even players coming off the bench, all the young ones are doing their job and they all want to play. “There’s a lot of competition for places and the confidence is high in the group which is good.” With the addition of Gael Sandoval and Scott Wootton in January, Alex Rufer believes the Phoenix have the squad to compete for the top six. “When you add a bit more experienced players and a bit of quality in the group I think it just lifts the whole level of the team.
we keep that going for as long as possible. “Because as we know in football things happen, you can play your best game and still lose.” In his 99 A-League matches for the Nix, Rufer has yet to score. He hopes to celebrate his 100th by finding the back of the net against Sydney FC. “Fingers crossed. It is something that obviously I do want to tick off. “It’s not a massive part of my game but as I’ve said before if I can add goals to my game I’ll only improve and help the team which is the most important thing.”
He is also hoping to push his case for selection in the All Whites squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers in Qatar. “100%, I’ve always wanted to be in the national team set-up. “Danny Hay’s a very, very good coach and he’s doing extremely well with the team and look I’ll always put my hand up for selection. “[However] my dad has always told me that it’s all good speaking about it, but it’s about performance and the answers are there on the pitch. “So hopefully I can keep playing well and hopefully I get selected.”
“Everyone wants to be at a top level and everyone has high standards here so when you have every player meet those standards and wants to be better every day that’s why we’ve been doing well. “It’s important now that while things are going well and we are playing well and getting good results we make sure we capitalise on that and GETTY IMAGES
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THE PHOENIX WISHES TO THANK THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES & ORGANISATIONS FOR THEIR SUPPORT THIS 2021/22 SEASON: P R I N C I P A L
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