Soccer teen makes mark

Source: The National

David in Auckland City Colours
Source: Auckland City FC

16 old PNG international David Browne will become the second youngest soccer player to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup later this month.

Browne plays for Auckland City who will be play in their fourth FIFA premier club tournament.

The event may be Browne’s birthday gift as the Port Moresby-born youngster turns 17 just 11 days after the club World Cup final on Dec 16.

Browne follows in the steps of another PNG international, Victor Manon, who was selected for Mexican club Pachuca in 2008 as a 16-year-old.

Auckland will play J. League winners Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Thursday at Yokohama International Stadium in Japan.

“This tournament is Auckland City’s very reason for being. We are delighted to be a part of it again and the financial implications for success are obvious,” coach Ramon Tribulietx said.

“This is a very well-balanced squad and one that I believe is capable of playing to the particular style of play that we have worked on for a long time.”

Team captain Ivan Vicelich added that it was difficult to make comparisons with past tournaments.

“The team has a very strong look to it but it is tricky to compare with teams from the past. But I am very proud to represent the club at another FIFA Club World Cup and the match with Sanfrecce Hiroshima will be tough,” he says.

Vicelich, 36, made his All Whites debut in June 1995, just six months before Browne was born.

“We make roughly a quarter of whatever prize money is secured, so you can imagine the difference between finishing seventh and fifth, as we did in Abu Dhabi in 2009,” he says.

Included the Auckland team is former Barcelona forward Manel Exposito, former Costa Rican forward Luis Corrales and former J League 2 player Takuya Iwata, who will provide an element of interest for Japanese fans. Iwata is the first Japanese player to don the navy blue of Auckland since Teruo Iwamoto starred for the club in 2006.

Daniel Koprivcic makes his fifth FIFA Club World Cup appearance, a tournament record and he is one match behind all-time club world cup appearance holder Hossam Ashour, who has played in seven tournaments.

New Zealand Football chief executive Grant McKavanagh said Auckland City’s participation was a boost for the ASB premiership, the country’s national league.

“Auckland City’s FIFA Club World Cup participation lends great credibility to the ASB Premiership and you can see from the work Ramon Tribulietx has done that it also attracts top quality players and raises the standards on and off the pitch,” he said.

The team: Ivan Vicelich (captain), Simon Arms, Takuya Iwata, Riki van Steeden, Angel Berlanga, Jason Hicks, James Pritchett, Chris Bale, Manel Exposito, Luis Corrales, Daniel Koprivcic, Alex Feneridis, Adam Dickinson, Albert Riera, Pedro Garcia, Daniel Saric, Emiliano Tade, David Browne, Andrew Milne, Jacob Spoonley (GK), Tamati Williams (GK), Liam Anderson (GK).