Sam Brotherton

Sam Brotherton
Personal information
Full name	Samuel Edward Brotherton
Date of birth	29 October 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Central defender
Youth career
	Westlake Boys High School
College career
Years	Team
2015–2016	Wisconsin Badgers
Senior career*
Years	Team
2014–2015	Wanderers SC
2016	Des Moines Menace
2017–2019	Sunderland
2018	→ Blyth Spartans (loan)
2019–2020	North Carolina FC
2021–2022	Auckland City FC
2023	Forward Madison FC
International career‡
2015	New Zealand U20
2015–	New Zealand U23
2015–2023	New Zealand
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 October 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 January 2019

Samuel Edward Brotherton (born 29 October 1996) is a former New Zealand professional footballer who played as a defender. Brotherton also played with the New Zealand national team.

Club career

Brotherton started his career in the ASB Premiership with Wanderers SC and made his debut in the opening of the 2014–15 ASB Premiership against Waitakere United in the 3–2 loss.^[2] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over Canterbury United in round 8.^[3]

In 2015, he moved to the United States and signed for University of Wisconsin. Playing in the Big Ten Conference during his freshman year, Brotherton would go on to make 17 appearances in 19 games for Wisconsin.^[4]

Sunderland

On 1 February 2017, Brotherton completed a deal with English Premier League side Sunderland until the summer of 2019.^[5]

North Carolina FC

On 29 January 2019, Brotherton joined USL Championship side North Carolina FC.^[6]

Auckland City FC

Brotherton signed with Auckland City FC of the New Zealand Football Championship on 22 January 2021.^[7]

Forward Madison FC

Brotherton signed with Forward Madison FC of USL League One on 16 January 2023.^[8]

Brotherton announced his retirement from professional football after the 2023 season.^[9]

International career

Brotherton has represented New Zealand at several levels with his first representation being with the touring New Zealand under-19 schoolboys national team in England and Ireland in which he was vice captain. The team would go on to score wins against the U18 and U19 national teams of Ireland and Wales and draws against Scotland and England.^[4]

Brotherton was then announced in the New Zealand national under-20 football team for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup which was to be held in New Zealand.^[10] Brotherton would go on to score his first international goal for New Zealand in the tournament in their 5–1 victory over Myanmar at Wellington Regional Stadium.^[11]

Brotherton was part of the New Zealand national under-23 football team that participated in the 2015 Pacific Games, which doubled as qualification for the Football at the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[12]

Brotherton's first senior international appearance would also arrive in 2015. He was called up to the squad to face South Korea in March,^[13] however did not make an appearance. He would however be recalled for New Zealand's friendly against Oman in Seeb, Oman. Brotherton played the whole 90 minutes in which New Zealand won 1–0.^[14]

References

^ "Sam Brotherton". Auckland City FC. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ "Waitakere Utd fight back to pip Wanderers". Stuff.co.nz. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ Egan, Brendan (1 December 2014). "Canterbury Dragons stumble to lowly Wanderers". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Sam Brotherton Biography UWB". University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Brotherton signs for Sunderland". safc.com - SAFC. February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
^ "New Zealand's Brotherton Bolsters NCFC's Defense". 29 January 2019.
^ "Brotherton and Vincent join Navy Blues". AucklandCityFC.com. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
^ Warwick, Evan (16 January 2023). "Sam Brotherton Signs With Forward Madison FC". ForwardMadisonFC.com. Forward Madison FC. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
^ Brotherton, Sam [@sambrothertonz] (10 January 2024). "Grateful for everything that this game has given me. The highs, the lows, the wins, the losses, the lessons, the places and most importantly, the people. Thankful for everyone who has been a part of the journey. Proud to say that I lived out my childhood dream of being a professional footballer and had the privilege of representing my country. Time to hang up the boots and turn the page for a new chapter and challenge. Thank you ⚽️". Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via Instagram.
^ "Bazeley names U-20s squad". New Zealand Football. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ Danielson, Richard (5 June 2015). "U-20 FIFA World Cup: New Zealand make history in Wellington". NZ Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Hudson names All Whites U23 squad". 3news.co.nz. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Hudson refreshes All Whites squad". New Zealand Football. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "All Whites secure first victory under coach Anthony Hudson in Oman". Stuff.co.nz. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.

External links

University of Wisconsin Badgers - Sam Brotherton profile at the University of Wisconsin.
Sam Brotherton at National-Football-Teams.com
Sam Brotherton – FIFA competition record (archived)