James Holland (footballer)
Encyclopedia
James Holland is a professional football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player who plays for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar and the Socceroos.

Club career

Holland captained the NSW Under-16 side at the 2005 Qantas National Talent Identification Championships in Parklea, a tournament the NSW team ultimately won. He was a 2007 AIS Football
Australian Institute of Sport - Football (soccer)
The Australian Institute of Sport Football Program is an association football talent identification and player development program run by the Australian Institute of Sport, in Canberra...

 scholarship holder and was an influential player in their successful campaign in the Victorian Premier League
Victorian Premier League
The Victorian Premier League is the highest State level association football competition in Victoria, Australia, and second highest nationally after the A-League...

..

Newcastle Jets

Holland made an impressive A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 debut with the Newcastle Jets playing two games as a short term injury replacement player. He scored a goal against Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix FC
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club competes in the Football Federation of Australia A-League. Ricki Herbert has been the coach since the club's inception to the A-League in July 2007. The current club captain is...

 in his first game, making him the youngest player to score in the A-League.

In October 2007 he signed a full time 2 year professional contract with the Newcastle Jets, despite interest from his home town club and Newcastle's rivals the Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners FC
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is a professional football club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. They participate in the A-League and are one of three teams from the state of New South Wales playing in the competition...

. Holland had previously made three appearances for the Mariners on a short term contract during the 2006 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
2006 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The 2006 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup was a series in the Australian A-League football competition held in July and August in the lead up to the start of the main season. The opening round was 15 July 2006. The competition featured a group stage, with three regular rounds and a bonus round,...

.

Holland was part of the Newcastle Jets team which won the 2008 A-League Grand Final
A-League Grand Final 2008
The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by the FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the...

 against the Central Coast Mariners. He was involved in a controversy during second-half injury time when he handballed inside the penalty area. Referee Mark Shield
Mark Shield
Mark Shield is a former Australian Football referee. He most recently refereed in Australia's A-League. He first played soccer for the Innisfail Tigers at the age of six. Not showing much promise as a player, he began refereeing at age 12, and by 16 was officiating adult matches in Townsville...

 failed to spot the handball and did not award a penalty. Holland later stated that he didn't feel the ball hit his arm and that it wasn't an "intentional" act.

AZ Alkmaar

On January 11, 2009, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar completed the signing of the highly rated Australian midfielder for $650,000 (€350,000) on a four-and-a-half year contract from the Newcastle Jets. He had earlier successfully trialled at the club.

Sparta Rotterdam

On 19 January 2011 it was announced that Holland will be playing for Dutch first division club Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....

 for the rest of the season.

International career

James is an Australian Under-20 and Under-23 national team representative, a striker in this squad playing alongside Marko Jesic
Marko Jesic
Marko Jesic is a football striker who currently plays for A-League outfit the Newcastle United Jets.-Club career:...

, Holland's good friend. He made his full debut for the Socceroos against Singapore
Singapore national football team
The Singapore national football team is the national association football team of Singapore. The team comes under the organization of the Football Association of Singapore...

 in 2008, and was named in the squad to face Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...

 on 23 May 2008. He played in the World Cup qualifier
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament...

 against China
China national football team
The China PR national football team is the national association football team of the People's Republic of China and is governed by the Chinese Football Association...

 on 22 June 2008, and was substituted for David Williams
David Williams (footballer)
David Williams is an Indigenous Australian professional football player who is currently playing for Hyundai A-League club Melbourne Heart.-Youth career:...

.

He has since captained the Young Socceroos AFF U19 Championship after defeating Korea Republic 3–1 on penalties. James Holland was selected for the Young Socceroos Squad for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, was the 17th U-20 tournament, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October, in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Suez and Ismaïlia...

 in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, he was also named captain for the Young Socceroos. He scored a penalty in the first match against the Czech Republic
Czech Republic national football team
The Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...

 in the 94th minute in the 2–1 loss, he had missed the first penalty but it was re-taken for infringement.

Honours

With Australia
Australia national football (soccer) team
The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...

:
  • AFF U19 Youth Championship
    AFF U19 Youth Championship
    The AFF U-19 Youth Championship is an annual international football competition contested by the national teams of the members of the ASEAN Football Federation and occasionally invited nations from the rest of Asia...

    : 2008
    AFF U19 Youth Championship 2008
    The 2008 AFF U-19 Youth Championship took place from 5 October to 11 October 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. This is the first edition of tournament as an under-19 competition as it was previously for players under-20...

  • International Cor Groenewegen Tournament (U-20): 2009
  • Weifang Cup (U-18): 2007

With Newcastle Jets: A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 Championship: 2007–2008
A-League 2007-08
The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...


External links

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