Brian Turner (footballer, born 1949)

Brian Alfred Turner (born 31 July 1949 in England) is a New Zealand football former player, who was a prominent squad member during the country's first successful campaign to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, in 1982. He was assistant coach[2] for the New Zealand national team that played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

For other people named Brian Turner, see Brian Turner (disambiguation).

Brian Turner
Personal information
Full name Brian Alfred Turner[1]
Date of birth (1949-07-31) 31 July 1949
Place of birth East Ham, England[1]
Position(s) Midfielder/Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1966 Ponsonby 2 (3)
1967 Eden 15 (10)
1968–1969 Chelsea 0 (0)
1969–1970 Portsmouth 4 (0)
1970–1972 Brentford 92 (7)
1972–1980 Mount Wellington 155 (62)
1981 Blacktown City 11 (2)
1981 Wollongong Wolves 7 (0)
1982 Gisborne City 19 (1)
1983 Papatoetoe 21 (4)
1984–1985 Mount Wellington 40 (?)
1986–1988 Bay Olympic
International career
1967–1982 New Zealand 59 (21)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Clubs coached

Turner has served on the coaching staffs of Wellington Phoenix FC, Auckland Manukau United, Onehunga Sports, and Fencibles AFC 2013.

Club career

Turner was born in England and moved to New Zealand at an early age. He began his senior playing career in New Zealand with Ponsonby and Eden before returning to England in 1968 where he joined Chelsea FC for a season, but failed to make a 1st team appearance. He then moved to Portsmouth FC for a short stint and ultimately to Brentford FC where he spent 2 and a half seasons. Turner returned to New Zealand in 1972 where he spent 8 seasons with Mt Wellington. In 1981 Turner moved to Australia, playing first with Blacktown City then Wollongong Wolves[3] before once again returning to his adopted country to play for Gisborne City, Papatoetoe and Mt Wellington again.[4]

International career

He made his A-International debut in a 3–5 loss against trans-Tasman rival Australia on 5 November 1967 in the 1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup[5] and went on to earn 59 A-international caps in which he scored a credible 21 goals.[6][7] His international career spanned a then national record 102 appearances in the All White strip including unofficial matches.[8]

Turner was an integral member of the New Zealand side that qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, playing in all but 3 qualifying matches. However, his only appearance at the finals was as a late substitute in the 0–4 loss to Brazil. It was to be his last game for his adopted country, Turner announcing his international retirement after their elimination following group stage losses against Scotland, USSR and Brazil.[8]

Turner continued to play domestically in New Zealand through his thirties before continuing his football involvement in coaching roles.[8] Brian's achievements earned him three Player of the Year titles, and in 1995 he was inducted into the New Zealand Soccer Hall of Fame[9]

Administration career

In 2013, Turner founded the independent group Friends of Football[10]

Honours

Individual
  • New Zealand Player of the Year: 1974, 1979, 1980
  • NZSMA Hall of Fame: 1995
  • Friends of Football Medal of Excellence 2015[11]

Club

Mt Wellington

Brentford

References
  1. "Brian Turner". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  2. World Cup squad announced Archived 30 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  3. "Australian Player Database". OzFootball. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  4. "New Zealand Players' Careers". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  5. Stephen, Craig (12 June 2020). "Bombs and boots - when New Zealand played football in a war zone". RNZ.
  6. "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  7. "A-International Scorers - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  8. "NZ 1982 World Cup". New Zealand Football. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  9. "Honours List". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  10. Friends of Football Committee Archived 1 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Friends of Football. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  11. "Medal of Excellence". Friends of Football Website. 14 November 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  12. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 391. ISBN 0951526200.
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