Kris Bright

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Kris Bright
Personal information
Full nameKris William Bright
Date of birth (1986-09-05) 5 September 1986
Place of birthManukau, Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current clubIFK Mariehamn
Number23
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2004–2005Waitakere City22(30)
2005–2006New Zealand Knights12(10)
2006–2007Fortuna Sittard11(1)
2007–2008Kristiansund21(24)
2009Panserraikos26(12)
2009–2010Shrewsbury Town27(3)
2011Budapest Honvéd19(10)
2011Balzan Youths21(11)
2012Bryne FK21(10)
2012FC Haka23(13)
2013–IFK Mariehamn23(11)
National team‡
New Zealand U-177(6)
New Zealand U-205(4)
2008–New Zealand6(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 November 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 November 2013

Kris Bright (born 5 September 1986) is a New Zealand footballer who plays for IFK Mariehamn in Finland as a striker. Bright has represented New Zealand at U15, U16, U-17, U-20, and All Whites level.

Career

Born in South Auckland, New Zealand, the son of New Zealand 1982 World Cup representative Dave Bright. Bright started as a Semi-Professional with Waitakere City in 2004. Whilst with Waitakere, Bright was the 2004 top scorer in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier as a 17-year-old, and played in the club's 0-1 loss to Miramar Rangers in the final of the 2004 Chatham Cup.[1] Over one and half seasons with Waitakere City, Bright scored a total of 29 goals.[2]

In mid-2005, Bright was named as one of three players in the New Zealand Knights' apprenticeship scheme. Shortly after the start of the season, though, Knights player Neil Emblen was forced onto the injured list, which would allow the club to sign Bright as a replacement for four weeks.[3] Bright was rushed into the squad to play the Central Coast Mariners at North Harbour Stadium,[4] and produced a Man of the Match performance as he played the full 90 minutes on debut as the New Zealand side went down 1-3.[5] 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.[6] Bright appeared in the Knights'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.[7] By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bright had made a total of 12 appearances, three from the substitutes bench.[8] In mid-2006, Bright was asked to trial at Scottish side Kilmarnock, where he was for a month, playing three games & scoring 2 goals. Although he was not signed by Kilmarnock, Dutch Eerste Divisie club Fortuna Sittard,[2] invited Bright to a trial match against FC Geleen-Zuid where he scored 1 goal.[9] Bright subsequently landed a one-year contract with the club, with the option of a further year.[9][10]

Bright managed to gain a spot in the starting line-up for the struggling Dutch side. He played in eleven league games, in which he scored one goal, against HFC Haarlem. After interest from Norway, he signed a six-month contract until the end of the Norwegian season with Norwegian club Kristiansund BK. There he scored an amazing 11 goals in 8 games until his season was ended prematurely . With two games remaining in the season and several Norwegian Tippeligaen & Adeccoligaen clubs following his progress, Bright suffered a broken leg. Bright then renewed his contract with Kristiansund BK until January 2009.

After 6 months of recovery, Bright then made his return in the 2008 season opener against Strindheim. He continued his goal scoring form with 2 goals including a 25 metre free-kick to help Kristiansund to a 3-1 win. After playing 12 games, he was top goal-scorer in the league with 10 goals. Also, in the 3rd round of the Norwegian Cup, Bright scored KBK's only goal against Tippeligaen club & close rivals Molde F.K. in a 2-1 extra-time loss.

After a season full of goals again in Norway, Bright had done enough to sign a 1 and a 1/2 year contract with Greek Super League side Panserraikos F.C., he was given the #32 shirt. He left the Club in July 2009 by mutual consent with a year remaining on his contract due to unpaid wages, and joined English League Two side Shrewsbury Town on 3 August 2009.[11]

In November 2009 Bright scored the winner in a 2-1 win over AFC Telford United in the Shropshire Senior Cup final.[12] He scored his first Football League goal against Lincoln City,[13] then scored another on the final day of the season against Port Vale. He made a total of 26 league appearances in the 2009-10 season, including 22 from the bench, scoring three goals.

After interest from Hungary earlier in the year, and with a new manager arriving at Shrewsbury Town, Bright then found himself signing a 2.5 year deal with former Hungarian giants Honved Budapest on a free transfer. Unfortunately at the end of the first season at the club, and with the club having huge financial difficulties and unable to pay full wages, Bright was to find a new club.

On 3 October 2011 Bright joined Maltese club Balzan Youths on a short-term deal. Bright linked up Balzan until December before he made the move to Bryne FK in Norway in January. Bright accepted the offer of joining Balzan so that he could maintain his match fitness prior to the move to Bryne. The move was a success helping the recently promoted side to a top 6 finish scoring 5 crucial goals in 10 starts for the club. The 25-year-old had agreed a pre-contract with Bryne and joined up on 1.1.2012.[14]

After half a season in Bryne, Bright then found himself playing in an accustomed midfield role. With the team struggling in the league, limited opportunities as a striker, and offers from other teams, Bright signed a short term deal on August 2 with FC Haka in the Finland Premier League. Bright cited his reasons for leaving were "to get regular playing time as a striker to score goals". On March 2013 Bright signed a deal with IFK Mariehamn in the Finland Premier Leageue for the whole season 2013.

International career

Bright has represented New Zealand at U15, U16, U17 and U20 levels.[1] 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,[8] but again the country were unable to make the finals, finishing third in their group behind the Solomon Islands and Fiji.[16] His senior international debut for the All whites was a substitute appearance in 2008 for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Fiji,[17] and his first senior international goal was against Thailand on 28 March 2009.[17] He was included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, making a single appearance as a substitute against European champions, Spain.[18][19] He missed out on the final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but was named as one of seven non-travelling reserves.[20]

International goals
# Date Opponent Final Result Result Competition
1 28 March 2009  Thailand 3-1 Loss Friendly
Last updated 7 April 2010

Football League Statistics

Football League Club Performances
Club Season England Football League Two FA Cup FA Trophy League Cup Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
(Football League Two)		 2009–10 26 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 29 0
2010–11
Club Total 26 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 29 2
Career totals 26 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 29 2
Last updated 19 August 2010

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Knights confirm apprenticeship scheme and finalise squad of 20". 21 June 2005. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Twee spitsen vanaf maandag op proef" (in Dutch). 20 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  3. ↑ "Bright gets big chance as Emblen ruled out". 27 October 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  4. ↑ Maddaford, Terry (29 October 2005). "Knights look on the Bright side". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  5. ↑ "Match Summary: New Zealand Knights FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC". 29 October 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  6. ↑ "Knights build Kiwi contingent". One Sport. 3 November 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  7. ↑ "Emblen back to face Sydney". 29 December 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "New Zealand squad named to play in Oceania qualifiers" (pdf). NZ Soccer. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Kris Bright voor één jaar Fortunees" (in Dutch). 31 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  10. ↑ "Fortuna Sittard land Kiwi striker Bright". Tribal Football. 31 August 2006. Archived from the original on 19 September 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  11. ↑ "Shrewsbury secure double signing". BBC Sport. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
  12. ↑ "Shrews triumphant in Senior Cup". BBC Sport. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 
  13. ↑ "Shrewsbury 1-0 Lincoln City". BBC Sport. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 
  14. ↑ "Bright makes Malta move". Sky Sports News. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
  15. ↑ "Oceania Preliminary Competition for the U-17 World Cup 2003". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  16. ↑ "Oceania U-20 World Cup 2005 Qualifiers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 October 2006. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "A-International Line-ups - 2000-". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
  18. ↑ "New Zealand - All Whites name Confederations Cup squad". Oceania Football confederation. 7 May 2009. 
  19. ↑ "2009 Confederations Cup - New Zealand squad". FIFA.com. Retrieved 9 June 2009. 
  20. ↑ "All Whites' standby list full of talent". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 

External links

IFK Mariehamn – current squad
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