Rebecca Smith (footballer)
![]() | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rebecca Katie Smith | ||
Date of birth | 17 June 1981 | ||
Place of birth | Los Angeles, California, United States[1] | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
Fram-CQ Soccer Club | |||
1995–1999 | Chadwick School | ||
1999–2003 | Duke Blue Devils | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2003–2004 | Ajax America Women | ||
2004 | 1. FFC Frankfurt | ||
2005 | FSV Frankfurt | ||
2005–2008 | Sunnanå SK | ||
2008 | Newcastle Jets | ||
2009–2013 | VfL Wolfsburg | ||
National team‡ | |||
2003–2013 | New Zealand | 74 | (6) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2013 |
Rebecca Katie Smith (born 17 June 1981) is an international footballer who played for New Zealand.
Smith was a World Cup and Olympic footballer captaining the New Zealand women's national football team,[2] and culminating her club career winning The Triple with VfL Wolfsburg as UEFA Champions League, German League, and German Cup Winners up until her retirement in 2013.
Early life[]
Smith was born in Los Angeles, California to New Zealand parents and attended high school at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, California and played soccer there during her first year.[3] She lettered in basketball, waterpolo and softball all years at Chadwick. She graduated in 1999 with the highest honor in her class, The Headmaster's Award.[4]
Football career[]
Smith captained NCAA Div 1 Duke University side and graduated with an Economics and Spanish degree before deciding to pursue her football career abroad, landing a professional contract in Germany with then European Champions, FFC Frankfurt.
Smith then played for the Sunnanå SK in Sweden and then Newcastle Jets in the inaugural W-League in Australia, before being signed by VfL Wolfsburg[5] on 2 February 2009.[6] While at VfL Wolfsburg, Smith helped the club win the coveted Treble (Triple), the Frauen-Bundesliga in 2012–2013, the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2012–2013 with a 1–0 win over Lyon in the finals, and the DFB Pokal as well as the Ladies First Cup in 2013 with a 2–0 win over Barcelona in the finals.
In 2013, she ended her career due to knee problems.[7]
International[]
Smith made her Football Ferns debut in a 15–0 victory over Samoa on 7 April 2003, and captained New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China,[8] where they lost to Brazil 0–5, Denmark (0-2) and China (0-2).
Smith was also included in the New Zealand squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics where they drew with Japan (2-2) before losing to Norway(0-1) and USA (0-4).[9] Smith's solid performances in New Zealand's rearguard earned her a FIFA Women's World Player of the Year nomination in 2007 and New Zealand Player of the Year in 2007.[10] She was also named Oceania's Player of the Year twice in both 2011 and 2013.
Smith played her 50th international in a friendly against Australia on 12 May 2011.[11]
Smith captained New Zealand for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in Germany.[12]
Smith again captained the New Zealand team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[13]
On 18 September 2013, Smith announced her retirement from football.[14]
Professional life[]
FIFA[]
When Smith retired from football, she transitioned into working at FIFA, managing their women's competitions.[15]
COPA90[]
Smith joined COPA90, in December 2018 as the Global Executive Director of Women's Game for COPA90.[16]
The Players Podcast[]
COPA90 launched The Players Podcast, with BBC, which Smith hosts and sits down with some of the biggest players and personalities in the sport and beyond to talk about topics through the lens of football but that go way beyond football.[16][17][18]
Honours[]
- Individual
- IFFHS OFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020[19]
References[]
- ^ "Rebecca Smith". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ "Caps 'n' Goals, New Zealand Women's national representatives". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^ "Compass Fall 2011". Content.yudu.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Rebecca "Bex" Smith '99 Leads New Zealand Women's World Cup Team". Chadwickschool.org. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Bundesliga: Rebecca Smith wechselt zum VfL Wolfsburg". FOCUS Online. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Frauenfuball 1. Bundesliga 2. Bundesligen Nord und Sd Wechselbersicht Winterpause 2009". Fansoccer.de. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Rebecca Smith und Eve Chandraratne verlassen Wolfsburg". Womensoccer.de. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "New Zealand Squad List, 2007 Women's World Cup". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 July 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^ "Olympic Football Squads Named". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ "Hearn gets Football Ferns' greenlight". Stuff.co.nz. NZPA. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ "Football Ferns drop first Aussie test". NZ Football. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "New Zealand [Women] - Squad Women World Cup 2011 Germany". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "Women". New Zealand Olympic Team. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "Rebecca Smith announces retirement". NZ Football. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Soccer: Football Ferns captain announces retirement". NZ Herald. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (12 December 2020). "Football Ferns legend Rebecca Smith goes behind the scenes with the biggest names in the women's game". Stuff. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Burhan, Asif. "BBC And Copa90 Aim To 'Flip The Switch' On Women's Soccer With New Podcast 'The Players'". Forbes. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "COPA90 appoint New Zealand legend Rebecca Smith as Global Executive Director of the Women's Game". Women in Football. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "IFFHS WOMAN TEAM - OFC - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 31 January 2021.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rebecca Smith (footballer). |
- Rebecca Smith – FIFA competition record (archived)
- NZ-Soccer Profile
- Interview *German*
- Rebecca Smith at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived)
- 1981 births
- Living people
- American people of New Zealand descent
- Damallsvenskan players
- Duke Blue Devils women's soccer players
- Expatriate women's footballers in Germany
- Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden
- Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Newcastle Jets FC (A-League Women) players
- New Zealand expatriate association footballers
- New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia
- New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
- New Zealand women's international footballers
- New Zealand women's association footballers
- Olympic association footballers of New Zealand
- Soccer players from Los Angeles
- Sunnanå SK players
- VfL Wolfsburg (women) players
- Women's association football defenders
- 1. FFC Frankfurt players
- 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players
- 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players
- Ajax America Women players