Dean Furman

Dean Furman (born 22 June 1988) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for English side Warrington Rylands 1906. He has previously played for Scottish Premiership side Rangers, English League Two side Bradford City, League One sides Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers, and South African Premier Soccer League side SuperSport United.

Dean Furman
Furman playing for Oldham Athletic in 2012
Personal information
Full name Dean Furman[1]
Date of birth (1988-06-22) 22 June 1988
Place of birth Cape Town, South Africa
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Warrington Rylands 1906
Youth career
Radlett Rangers
2003–2006 Chelsea
2006–2008 Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Rangers 1 (0)
2008–2009 → Bradford City (loan) 31 (5)
2009–2013 Oldham Athletic 131 (8)
2013 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 8 (0)
2013–2015 Doncaster Rovers 50 (3)
2015–2020 SuperSport United 101 (3)
2020–2021 Carlisle United 17 (0)
2021–2022 Altrincham 9 (0)
2022– Warrington Rylands 1906 12 (1)
International career‡
2012– South Africa 58 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:06, 13 July 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2020

He made his debut for the South Africa national team in 2012, representing the nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and as of August 2020 had captained the team and won 56 caps, scoring four goals.

Club career

Chelsea

Furman began his footballing career at nine years of age as a youth team player at Premier League club Chelsea, leaving at 18 years of age.[3][4]

Rangers

He signed for Scottish Premiership side Rangers on 10 May 2006.[5] Furman was a regular in the reserve side and captained the Under-19 team to the Scottish Youth Cup final in 2007, where they beat Old Firm rivals Celtic.[6]

He signed a new two-year contract on 24 October 2007.[7] Furman made his professional debut in a 3–1 Scottish Premier League win at Ibrox against Dundee United on 10 May 2008, as a 52nd-minute substitute for Kevin Thomson.[8] He played for three years for Rangers.[4]

Bradford City

On 27 August 2008, he joined English League Two side Bradford City, managed by former Rangers midfielder Stuart McCall, on loan until January.[9][10] He made his debut for Bradford City as a late substitute in a 3–2 defeat away to Aldershot Town three days after his signing before he made his first start in a Football League Trophy game with Leeds United and first league start at Shrewsbury Town, all of which ended in defeats for Bradford.[11][12] After playing 12 league games for Bradford, he pulled his hamstring, which kept him out for more than a month before he returned to action in a reserve game against Hartlepool United on 16 December.[13] His first game back in the first team was as a late substitute in a 0–0 draw with Lincoln City ten days later.[14] Having returned to fitness, Furman also extended his loan spell with Bradford to the end of the season.[15] His first goal for Bradford came later the same month when he scored Bradford's first equaliser in a 3–3 league draw with Luton Town.[16]

Oldham Athletic

Furman returned to Rangers at the end of the season and was offered a new one-year deal at Ibrox,[17] as well as an offer from Bradford City.[18]

Instead, Furman returned to England with English League One side Oldham Athletic, joining them on 29 June 2009, on a three-year contract.[19] Furman won the Football League Goal of the Year 2011 for his effort against Notts County on 14 August 2010.[20] Furman was appointed captain of Oldham Athletic for the 2011–12 season, at 23 years of age.[4][21] In four seasons with Oldham he scored nine goals in 147 appearances across all competitions.[22]

Doncaster Rovers

Though still club captain of Oldham, English League One side Doncaster Rovers signed him on loan on 14 March 2013 for the remainder of the 2012–13 season.[23] Doncaster Rovers were promoted on the last day of the league season, and Furman helped them to the League One title in the 2012–13 season.[24] At the end of the season Furman joined Doncaster permanently, signing a two-year contract.[25] On 18 May 2015, after two years, 82 games, and three goals scored with the side, he was one of six players released by the club.[26][27]

SuperSport United

After rejecting a contract extension from Doncaster Rovers, on 18 August 2015 Furman signed for South African Premier Soccer League side SuperSport United on a two-year deal, with an option of a further year.[28] With SuperSport United, in five years and 101 games he won two MTN 8 trophies and two Nedbank Cups, and a runners-up medal in the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup.[29][30] SuperSport chief executive Stanley Matthews described Furman as "one of our all-time great midfielders and captains."[27]

Carlisle United

On 28 August 2020, Furman returned to English football as he wished to return with his newborn to his parents and his wife's parents in England, joining League Two club Carlisle United on a one-year deal until the end of the 2020/21 campaign.[21][31][32][33] Cumbrians manager Chris Beech said: "He’s such an intelligent footballer, with the ability to dictate a game – his retain and regain of the ball is exceptional ...."[34]

Non-league career

After a short spell at National League side Altrincham, he signed for Warrington Rylands 1906 in January 2022.[35] Furman played 12 times for Warrington in the 2021–22 season.[36]

International career

Furman received his first international call-up for South Africa for a friendly on 19 August 2008 against Australia.[37] He was an unused substitute in that match. Furman earned his first cap for South Africa in a friendly against Brazil on 8 September 2012.[38] Furman earned his first man of the match award in the country's 2–0 defeat of Mozambique on 11 September 2012.[39]

Furman was selected for the final squad of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament hosted by his home country.[40] In the second group match of the tournament, the Bafana Bafana convincingly defeated Angola 2–0 and Furman was named as Man of the Match.[41] Furman played the full 90 in South Africa's final group game, a 2–2 draw with Morocco, that secured Bafana Bafana top spot in the group and ensured their first passage to the quarter-finals of the competition since 2002.[42] The quarter-final game against Mali on 2 February ended 1–1 after extra time and Furman had his penalty kick saved by Soumaila Diakité, as Mali won 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out.[43]

Furman was named captain of Bafana Bafana ahead of 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sudan in Durban on 15 November 2014. He replaced former captain Senzo Meyiwa, who died earlier after being shot at his girlfriend's home.[44] He played every minute of the finals in Equatorial Guinea, a group stage exit. He won his 50th cap for South Africa on 24 March 2019 during a 2–1 win over Libya which secured the nation's qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[45] Fans nicknamed him "mlungu" (white person).[46]

As of 2020 he had represented South Africa winning 56 caps, and scoring four goals.[22]

Personal life

Furman is Jewish and of English descent.[47][48][49][50] He said in 2020: "I would love to see more Jewish players.... I hope parents and young Jewish players are looking up to me, Joe Jacobson and Nicky Blackman."[51] He was born in the Camps Bay suburb of the city of Cape Town, South Africa, to South African parents Ronnie and Carol Furman.[52][53][3] His family relocated to England when Furman was five years old.[54] He grew up in Edgware in North London, and attended JFS Jewish mixed comprehensive school, where he was a classmate of footballer Josh Kennet, and later lived in Manchester.[55][56][57][58] His younger brother Jake has represented Maccabi GB at two Maccabiah Games, and he hopes to represent Maccabi GB at a future Maccabiah Games alongside his brother.[59][60] His uncle is former Hellenic left back Marc Reingold.[61]

Furman has a four-year degree in sports science from Manchester Metropolitan University.[62][54] His wife Natasha (Tash) Howarth is from Manchester, England, and the couple, who married at a synagogue in England in June 2018, has a daughter born in June 2020.[63][64][65][53][66]

Career statistics

International
As of matches played on 16 November 2020
South Africa
YearAppsGoals
201250
2013121
201470
201591
201651
201760
201850
201971
202020
Total584

International goals
Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first.[67]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 September 2013Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa Botswana2–04–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
214 January 2015Stade Omar Bongo, Libreville, Gabon Mali2–03–0Friendly
38 October 2016Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Burkina Faso1–01–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
413 October 2019Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Mali1–02–1Friendly

Honours

Doncaster Rovers

SuperSport United

Warrington Rylands 1906

  • Northern Premier League West: 2021–22

In 2013 he was named Maccabi GB Sportsperson of the Year.[55] In 2018 he was appointed as a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation ambassador.[68] In 2019 he received the SAA Voyager Art, Sports, Science and Culture Award.[52] In August 2021 Dean was named club ambassador to Manchester Maccabi Community and Sports club.

See also

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Carlisle United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 18. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  2. "ESPNFC: Soccer Dean Furman". m.espn.com.
  3. Milner, Jack (10 May 2007). "Captain Dean's double vision" (PDF). Jewish Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  4. Fridlington, Mark (23 August 2020). "REPORT: Carlisle United Want Ex-Doncaster Rovers Midfielder Dean Furman".
  5. "Le Guen signs up Chelsea teenager" BBC Sport website (10 May 2006)
  6. "Rangers romp to SFA Youth Cup win" BBC Sport website (27 April 2007)
  7. "Contract Thrillers". Rangers F.C. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007.
  8. "Rangers 3–1 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008.
  9. Parker, Simon (27 August 2008). "City sign Rangers superstar on loan". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  10. "Bradford City take Furman on loan" BBC Sport Website (28 August 2008)
  11. "Games played by Dean Furman in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  12. Parker, Simon (2 October 2008). "Furman out to nail down starting spot". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  13. Parker, Simon (16 December 2008). "Injured City pair back in action". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  14. Parker, Simon (26 December 2008). "City firing blanks again". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
  15. Parker, Simon (1 January 2009). "City end Moncur's loan spell". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  16. "Furman scores for Bradford". Kick Off. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  17. MacPherson, Graeme (20 July 2009). "Furman backs Rangers talent despite decision to leave". The Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  18. Despite not scoring in his first year at Boundary Park, he started his second season with an array of goals, including two 30-yard (27 m) volleys in consecutive matches.Parker, Simon (22 June 2009). "Furman set to shun City pursuit". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  19. "Latics land Furman". Sky Sports. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  20. "Dean Furman strike for Oldham wins Goal of the Year". BBC. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  21. "Bafana's Dean Furman opens up on decision to leave SA". 25 April 2020.
  22. "Carlisle United sign international midfielder". VAVEL. 28 August 2020.
  23. "Rovers Sign Latic's Furman". DRFC official site. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  24. "Carlisle sign South Africa international Dean Furman on one-year deal". www.newschain.uk. 28 August 2020.
  25. "Dean Furman: Doncaster Rovers sign ex-Oldham Athletic captain". BBC Sport. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
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  27. "International midfielder understood to be latest Carlisle Utd trialist". News and Star.
  28. "SuperSport United sign Bafana star Dean Furman". Eyewitness News. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  29. "International midfielder completes move to Carlisle Utd". News and Star.
  30. "Bafana Bafana midfielder undergoing trial with English club". 17 August 2020.
  31. "Bafana midfielder Dean Furman signs for a new club as SuperSport United identify his replacement". Soccer Laduma. 28 August 2020.
  32. "CONTRACT: South African international in for the season". Carlisle United F.C. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  33. "Bafana star joins Carlisle United". 1 September 2020.
  34. "Intelligent footballer Dean Furman is an excellent signing for Carlisle United". www.iol.co.za. 28 August 2020.
  35. Gordon, James (31 January 2022). "Warrington Rylands Secure Exciting Swoop For Trio". Northern Premier League. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  36. "Dean Furman". Football Web Pages.
  37. "McCarthy returns for South Africa" Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine The World Game (14 August 2008)
  38. Etherington, Tom (7 September 2011). "FT: Brazil 1–0 South Africa (International Friendly, São Paulo)". sambafoot.com. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  39. "Furman stars for South Africa". Oldham Athletic AFC. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  40. "Gordon Igesund dips into Kaizer Chiefs squad for key 2013 Afcon players". Goal. 31 December 2012.
  41. "Dean Furman enjoying his first AFCON tournament". SAFA. 24 January 2013.
  42. "Hosts South Africa finished top of Group A after their dramatic 2–2 draw with Morocco in Durban knocked the North Africans out of the tournament". BBC Sport. 27 January 2013.
  43. Wilson, Jonathan (2 February 2013). "Mali shoot down hosts South Africa with Soumaila Diakité a hero again". The Guardian. London.
  44. May, Edward (15 November 2014). "Dean Furman to captain Bafana Bafana". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  45. Said, Nick (24 March 2019). "Percy Tau scores two goals as Bafana Bafana qualify for Afcon". Times Live. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  46. "Issue 518". The South African. 11 June 2013.
  47. Bar-On, Tamir (2014). The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442234741 – via Google Books.
  48. Stanford, Peter (22 September 2013). "Why are there so few British-born Jewish players in England's top flight?". The Independent. London.
  49. Zach Pontz (29 January 2013). "Jewish International Soccer Star Dean Furman Wins Over South Africa Playing for National Team". Algemeiner.
  50. Geoff Sifrin (19 November 2014). "The triumph of Dean Furman". South African Jewish Report. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  51. "'I Would Love to See More Jewish Players,' South African Soccer Star Dean Furman Says". Algemeiner. 6 July 2020.
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  53. Steinberg, Jacob (6 July 2020). "Dean Furman: 'I'd love to see more Jewish footballers. We're few and far between'". The Guardian.
  54. "In Conversation with: Dean Furman". TheRudySamuel on YouTube. 20 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  55. "Furman wins top Maccabi GB award," The Jewish Chronicle, 25 November 2013.
  56. Craig Silver (25 April 2008). "Furman's Flying for Smith and McCoist". The Jewish Chronicle.
  57. Danny Caro. "Furman ready to rub shoulders with Premier League stars at Africa Cup of Nations," The Jewish Chronicle.
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  59. "Pollacks boosts Maccabiah football squad," The Jewish Chronicle, 4 April 2013.
  60. "Over 70 people join an exclusive 'evening in' with two professional footballers". Maccabi GB. 11 August 2020.
  61. "Furman returns home with SuperSport". www.iol.co.za. 20 November 2013.
  62. "Preparing For A Future After Football – Dean Furman Tells His Story". GetSmarter. 13 October 2017.
  63. "Soccer star pops up at Shabbos". South African Jewish Report. 5 July 2018.
  64. "SuperSport captain marries the 'girl of his dreams'". The Citizen. 30 May 2018.
  65. Githuri, Job (5 October 2019). "Dean Furman: a football legend with a never-ending happiness". Briefly.
  66. "SuperSport confirm immediate exit for Furman". supersport.com. 19 May 2020.
  67. Dean Furman at National-Football-Teams.com
  68. "Bafana Bafana midfielder Dean Furman announced as Laureus Ambassador". laureus.co.za. 1 April 2019.
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