Kris Bright
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kris Bright | ||
 |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 5, 1986 | |
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | |
| Height | 1.88m | |
| Position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Fortuna Sittard | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 2005 2005–06 2005–06 2006–present |
Canterbury United Waitakere City New Zealand Knights Fortuna Sittard |
?? ?? 12 (0) ?? |
| National team** | ||
| 2001 2002 2003 2005 |
New Zealand U15 New Zealand U16 New Zealand U17 New Zealand U20 |
?? ?? ?? ?? |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Kris Bright (born September 5, 1986) is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Bright has represented New Zealand at U15, U16, U17 and U20 levels.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Born in South Auckland, New Zealand, the son of New Zealand 1982 World Cup representative Dave Bright, Kris Bright started his football career with Manurewa AFC in his home city.[1] Bright then played for several clubs throughout New Zealand, including a stint with North Shore United in 2003, before joining Waitakere City in 2004. Whilst with Waitakere, Bright was the 2004 top scorer in the Northern Premier League, and played in the club's 0-1 loss to Miramar Rangers in the final of the 2004 Chatham Cup.[2] Over two seasons, as a semi-professional with Waitakere City, Bright scored a total of 29 goals before heading to England to trial for Gillingham FC.[3] The trial was unsuccessful, and Bright returned home to play for both Christchurch Technical in the Mainland Premier League and Canterbury United in the New Zealand Football Championship during 2005.[4]
In mid-2005, Bright was named as one of three players (alongside Sam Jasper and Jeremy Christie) in the New Zealand Knights' apprenticeship scheme through the Charlton Athletic Youth Academy.[2] He did not join the full-time squad of the A-League club, and in the meantime had transferred to Waitakere United for the 2005–06 NZFC season.[5] Shortly after the start of the season, though, Knights player Neil Emblen suffered a knee injury and was forced onto the injured list, which would allow the club to sign Bright as a replacement for four weeks.[6] Bright was rushed into the squad to play the Central Coast Mariners at North Harbour Stadium,[7] and played the full 90 minutes on debut as New Zealand went down 1-3.[8] Bright's performance in his first match earned praise from Knights manager John Adshead, and he was rewarded with a starting place in the following match against the Newcastle United Jets.[9] Again Bright played the full match, and received an early yellow card in the 2-4 loss.[10] Bright appeared in New Zealand's following four games up until Emblen's return from injury, but had done enough to retain his position in the squad, having signed another short-term contract, this time to cover for Joshua Rose.[11] By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bright had made a total of 12 appearances, three from the interchange bench, but failed to score a goal.
In mid-2006, Bright left for England again, this time to trial at Scottish side Kilmarnock, where he was for a month, playing three games & scoring 2 goals.After leaving Kilmarnock he played a trial game for Wycombe Wanderers.[12] Although he was not signed by Wycombe, Bright remained in Europe, and in late August began trialling with Dutch Eerste Divisie club Fortuna Sittard,[3] including a match against FC Geleen-Zuid scoring 1 goal.[13] Bright subsequently landed a one year contract with the club, with the option of a further year; despite earlier reports, the deal was only finalised as the transfer window closed.[13][14]
Bright has managed to gain a spot in the starting line-up for the struggling Dutch side. So far, he played in five league games, in which he scored one goal, against HFC Haarlem. He also played part in Fortuna's dramatic Cup loss to non-league Rijnsburgse Boys.
[edit] International career
Bright has represented New Zealand at U15, U16, U17 and U20 levels.[2] He played in all of New Zealand's matches during their failed qualifying campaign for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick in a 13-0 win over Tonga.[15] In 2005, Bright was selected for the under-20 squad to compete in the OFC qualifying tournament for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship,[4] but again the country were unable to make the finals, finishing third in their group behind the Solomon Islands and Fiji.[16]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ 2005 NZ U20 Profiles. NZ Soccer. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ a b c Knights confirm apprenticeship scheme and finalise squad of 20 (June 21, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ a b Twee spitsen vanaf maandag op proef (Dutch) (August 20, 2006). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ a b New Zealand squad named to play in Oceania qualifiers (pdf). NZ Soccer. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ New Zealand – National League preview. Oceania Football Confederation (October 22, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Bright gets big chance as Emblen ruled out (October 27, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Maddaford, Terry (October 29, 2005). Knights look on the Bright side. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Match Summary: New Zealand Knights FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC (October 29, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Knights build Kiwi contingent. One Sport (November 3, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Match Summary: New Zealand Knights FC vs Newcastle Jets FC (November 4, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Emblen back to face Sydney (December 29, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Final pre-season friendly. Chairboys.co.uk (August 1, 2006). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ a b Kris Bright voor één jaar Fortunees (Dutch) (August 31, 2006). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Fortuna Sittard land Kiwi striker Bright. Tribal Football (August 31, 2006). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Oceania Preliminary Competition for the U-17 World Cup 2003. RSSSF. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Oceania U-20 World Cup 2005 Qualifiers. RSSSF. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
[edit] References
- Waikatere United – Player Profile: Kris Bright. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- Knights confirm apprenticeship scheme and finalise squad of 20 (June 21, 2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- 2005 NZ U20 Profiles. NZ Soccer. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
