Rebecca Smith (footballer)

Rebecca Smith
Personal information
Full nameRebecca Katie Smith
Date of birth17 June 1981
Place of birthLos Angeles, California, United States
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
VfL Wolfsburg
Youth career
Palos Verdes Breakers
South Bay Gunners
Fram-CQ Soccer Club
1995–1999Chadwick School
1999–2003Duke University
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2003–2004Ajax America Women
20041. FFC Frankfurt
2005FSV Frankfurt
2005–2008Sunnanå SK
2008Newcastle United Jets
2009–2013VfL Wolfsburg
National team‡
2003–2013New Zealand74(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2013

Rebecca Katie Smith (born 17 June 1981 in Los Angeles, California)[1] is a former New Zealand soccer player who has represented her country at international level.[2]

Early life

Rebecca attended high school at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, California and played soccer there during her freshman year.[3] She graduated in 1999.[4]

Career

A natural leader, Rebecca captained Duke University side before landing a professional contract in Europe.

Smith played for the Newcastle United Jets in the W-League and Sunnanå SK before being signed by VfL Wolfsburg.[5] on 2 February 2009.[6] Smith formerly trained with and had played friendlies for the club.

In 2013 she ended her career due to knee problems.[7]

International

Smith made her Football Ferns debut in a 15-0 victory over Samoa on 7 April 2003, and captained New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China,[8] where they lost to Brazil 0-5, Denmark (0-2) and China (0-2).

Smith was also included in the New Zealand squad for the 2008 Summer Olympic games where they drew with Japan (2-2) before losing to Norway(0-1) and USA (0-4).[9] Smith's solid performances in New Zealand's rearguard earned her a FIFA Women's World Player of the Year nomination in 2007 and New Zealand Player of the Year in 2007.[10]

Smith played her 50th international in a friendly against Australia on 12 May 2011.[11]

She was part of the New Zealand team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

On September 18, 2013, Smith announced her retirement from football.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Rebecca Smith". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  2. ↑ "Caps 'n' Goals, New Zealand Women's national representatives". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "Compass Fall 2011". Content.yudu.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Rebecca "Bex" Smith '99 Leads New Zealand Women's World Cup Team". Chadwickschool.org. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bundesliga: Rebecca Smith wechselt zum VfL Wolfsburg". FOCUS Online. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Frauenfuball 1. Bundesliga 2. Bundesligen Nord und Sd Wechselbersicht Winterpause 2009". Fansoccer.de. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Rebecca Smith und Eve Chandraratne verlassen Wolfsburg". Womensoccer.de. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "New Zealand Squad List, 2007 Women's World Cup". FIFA. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  9. ↑ "Olympic Football Squads Named". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Hearn gets Football Ferns' greenlight". Stuff.co.nz. NZPA. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Football Ferns drop first Aussie test". NZ Football. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Rebecca Smith announces retirement". NZ Football. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rebecca Smith (footballer).