New Zealand Football: Ryan Nelsen

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Ryan Nelsen

Date of birth: 18/10/1977
Place of birth: Christchurch
Position: Defender
Current club: Queens Park Rangers (ENG)
Previous clubs: Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), Blackburn Rovers (ENG), DC United (USA), Stanford University (USA), Greensboro College (USA), Christchurch United

‘A’ internationals (Goals): 49 (6)
‘A’ international debut: 19 Jun, 1999 vs Poland

U-23 internationals: 8 (Overage Player)

FIFA Tournaments: Olympic Games 2008, FIFA World Cup 2010, 2012 Olympic Games

Biography

Northland born and raised, Abby Erceg first started playing for Whangarei Rovers as a five year old. A qualified personal trainer, Erceg enjoys tennis and free running in her limited spare time.

One of the youngest players to reach 50 caps, Erceg did so at great pace setting a record for 37 consecutive starting appearances from her debut in late 2006 until injury in 2009 ruled her out of a friendly in Japan. Remarkably, the only other ‘A’ international Erceg has missed since her debut was a World Cup qualifier in 2010 for which she was rested.

Of Maori (Ngapuhi) heritage, Erceg’s favourite opponents to play are New Zealand’s Trans-Tasman rivals Australia while her most memorable moment , alongside playing at the 2008 Olympic Games, is scoring New Zealand’s first ever goal at an U-20 World Cup (against hosts Russia in 2006).