Bill Tuiloma

Bill Tuiloma

New Zealand All Whites defender Bill Tuiloma playing in their 2014 World Cup Qualification match against Mexico in November 2013
Personal information
Full name Bill Poni Tuiloma
Date of birth (1995-03-27) 27 March 1995
Place of birth Otahuhu, New Zealand
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Full back, defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Marseille
Number 25
Youth career
2011 Birkenhead United
2011 Asia–Pacific FA
2011–2012 Waitakere United
2012–2013 Birkenhead United
2012–2013 LA Galaxy
2013–2015 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Waitakere United 1 (0)
2013– Marseille B 30 (3)
2015– Marseille 2 (0)
2015–2016 → Strasbourg (loan) 9 (0)
National team‡
2011 New Zealand U17 6 (1)
2013–2015 New Zealand U20 9 (1)
2015 New Zealand U23 3 (1)
2013– New Zealand 13 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2016

Bill Poni Tuiloma is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left or right fullback or defensive midfielder for Marseille.[1] Tuiloma has represented New Zealand since 2013 and is the first New Zealander to play in the top division of French football.[2] His preferred position is defensive midfielder.

Early life

Tuiloma is of Samoan descent. He attended Lincoln High School.

Club career

He has trialled with the LA Galaxy and Queens Park Rangers, as well as spending time with the Asia–Pacific Football Academy in Christchurch.

Marseille

Tuiloma signed a deal with Marseille in July 2013.[3] In a 2013 interview[4] Tuiloma was questioned about his journey from somewhat football obscurity to his eventual move to Olympique de Marseille. He stated: "I went to QPR and trialled there for a week and somehow, I think they have a connection with Marseille, because Joey Barton was with Marseille for a little while, so I think that’s where they have the connection… So I went there for a week, trialled, played a game as well, came back and got some good feedback from them, and then a few months later they wanted to sign me. I was over the moon, I was speechless, it was really good news for me". He also admitted that he had little knowledge about the club before signing, stating: "To be honest, I only knew Joey Barton played there, that was pretty much it, I didn’t know much about Marseille or who played for them, I had a little bit of info there but that was pretty much it". He also admitted that Queens Park Rangers and Wellington Phoenix were also interested in signing him if the Marseille deal fell through.

Tuiloma made his first-team debut for Marseille on February 7, 2015, when he came on as a late substitute against Rennes.[5]

International career

Tuiloma represented New Zealand under-17 at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup and New Zealand under-20 at the 2013 and 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cups.

Tuiloma made his senior international debut on October 15, 2013 as a substitute against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain.[6]

Honours

Club

Strasbourg[7]

Country

New Zealand[8]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.