Alex Rufer

Alex Arthur Rufer (born 12 June 1996) is a New Zealand professional footballer who captains and plays as a defensive midfielder for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.

Alex Rufer
Personal information
Full name Alex Arthur Rufer[1]
Date of birth (1996-06-12) 12 June 1996[1]
Place of birth Geneva, Switzerland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Wellington Phoenix
Number 14
Youth career
0000–2013 YoungHeart Manawatu
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 YoungHeart Manawatu 5 (0)
2013 Wairarapa United 1 (1)
2014– Wellington Phoenix Reserves 28 (3)
2013– Wellington Phoenix 118 (2)
International career‡
2013–2014 New Zealand U17 13 (3)
2015 New Zealand U20 1 (1)
2015–2020 New Zealand U23 4 (1)
2015– New Zealand 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:39, 5 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 May 2018

Personal life

Rufer is the son of former international New Zealand player Shane Rufer, and the nephew of Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer. He also attended Palmerston North Boys High School.[2]

Club career

Rufer started his career with YoungHeart Manawatu.

In February 2013, Rufer joined Wairarapa United.[3]

In August 2013, ahead of the A-League season, Rufer signed a three-year contract with Wellington Phoenix.[4] Rufer made his debut for the Wellington Phoenix in the 3–2 away win against Newcastle Jets on 9 February 2014.[5]

In a 2–1 loss against Brisbane Roar on 12 March 2022, Rufer suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. He was expected to return from injury 12 months later.[6]

Career statistics
As of match played on 29 April 2023[7]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
YoungHeart Manawatu 2012–13 New Zealand Football Championship 5000—50
Total 50000050
Wellington Phoenix 2013–14 A-League 1000—10
2014–15 A-League 3000—30
2015–16 A-League 4010—50
2016–17 A-League 3000—30
2017–18 A-League 11010—120
2018–19 A-League 240101[lower-alpha 1]0260
2019–20 A-League 190101[lower-alpha 1]0210
2020–21 A-League 21000—210
2021–22 A-League 14030—170
2022–23 A-League 182001[lower-alpha 1]0192
Total 118270301282
Wellington Phoenix Reserves 2014–15 New Zealand Football Championship 13100—131
2015–16 New Zealand Football Championship 2000—20
2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship 7100—71
2017–18 New Zealand Football Championship 4100—41
2019–20 New Zealand Football Championship 1000—10
2020–21 New Zealand Football Championship 1000—10
Total 2830000283
Career totals 151570301615
  1. Appearance in the 2018–19 A-League Final Series

International career

Rufer made his international debut for the All Whites in a friendly match against Myanmar on 7 September 2015, coming on for Jeremy Brockie in the 72nd minute.[8]

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 30 May 2015. p. 14. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  2. Worthington, Sam (5 August 2013). "Young Alex Rufer hopes to keep name in lights". Stuff.co.nz.
  3. Caffell, Gary (21 February 2013). "Rufer to join United". Wairarapa Times-Age.
  4. "Rufer signs three-year deal with Phoenix". The New Zealand Herald. 2 August 2013.
  5. Barclay, Chris (9 February 2014). "Hicks the man for Phoenix in win over Newcastle". Stuff. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. Rollo, Phillip (15 March 2022). "Wellington Phoenix captain Alex Rufer out for a year with ACL injury". Stuff. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  7. Alex Rufer at Soccerway
  8. "Myanmar fight back earns draw". nzfootball.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
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