Archie Thompson facts for kids
Thompson playing for Melbourne Victory FC in 2012
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Archie Gerald Thompson | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 23 October 1978 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ōtorohanga, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker / Winger | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lithgow Rangers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Twin City Wanderers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | NSWIS | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Bathurst '75 | 16 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Gippsland Falcons | 43 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Carlton SC | 53 | (23) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Marconi Stallions | 13 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2005 | Lierse | 90 | (28) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2016 | Melbourne Victory | 224 | (90) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | → PSV (loan) | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Heidelberg United | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Murray United | 38 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Racing Murcia | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Essendon Royals | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 482 | (179) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Australia U-23 | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Australia Olympic (O.P.) | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2013 | Australia | 54 | (28) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is a famous Australian former professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal scorer. Today, he works as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC.
Archie was born in New Zealand. He started playing youth football at the New South Wales Institute of Sport. Later, he played many seasons in Australia's top football leagues, the National Soccer League and the A-League. He spent eleven seasons with Melbourne Victory, becoming a club legend.
He also played football overseas. He played for Belgian Pro League team Lierse in Belgium and for Dutch team PSV Eindhoven.
Archie Thompson played over 50 games for the Australian national team, scoring 28 goals. He was part of the team for big tournaments like the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. He also helped Australia win the 2004 OFC Nations Cup.
He holds a world record for scoring the most goals in a single international match. He scored an amazing 13 goals in a 31–0 victory against American Samoa in 2001. He is also Melbourne Victory's all-time top goal scorer.
Contents
Club Career
Early Days
Archie Thompson started his football journey as a teenager. He joined Bathurst '75 FC in 1995. Soon after, he moved to the National Soccer League and signed with the Gippsland Falcons. People quickly noticed his amazing speed and skill with the ball.
He then joined Carlton, where he became a key player and scored many goals. After Carlton, he played for Marconi for a short time. Then, he moved to Belgium to play for Lierse SK. He scored 9 goals in his first season there. In his fourth season, he was the top scorer for his club, with 14 goals.
Playing for Melbourne Victory
Because he was playing so well, Archie was asked to come back to Australia. He joined Melbourne Victory in 2005, which was the first season of the new A-League. He scored the team's very first goal in the regular season.
In 2006, he went on a short loan to the Dutch team PSV Eindhoven. This was to help him stay fit and ready for the World Cup with the Australian national team. He played two games for PSV before returning to Melbourne Victory.
Back with Melbourne Victory, Archie formed a strong attacking team with his teammate Danny Allsopp. They were helped by the Brazilian midfielder Fred. Their great teamwork led Melbourne Victory to win both the A-League championship and the premiership in the 2006–07 season.
Archie was the star of the 2007 A-League Grand Final. He scored an incredible 5 goals, helping Melbourne Victory win 6–0 against Adelaide United. This was a record for the most goals scored by one player in an A-League match. He also won the Joe Marston Medal as the best player in that game.
In the 2009–2010 A-League Grand Final, Archie got a serious knee injury. This meant he was out of action for almost a year. But he came back strong! He later helped Melbourne Victory win the 2014–15 A-League and the 2015 FFA Cup.
After 11 seasons with Melbourne Victory, Archie left the club in 2016. He had scored 90 goals for them, which was a club record at the time. He is now a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory.
Later Career
After leaving Melbourne Victory, Archie played a few games for Heidelberg United in 2016.
In 2017, he joined Murray United FC for a full season. This was special because the club is based in Wodonga, where his parents live.
In 2019, Archie signed with Racing Murcia, a team in Spain's fifth division. He played one game for them before returning to Australia.
International Career
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Archie Thompson first played for the Australian national team in 2001. His coach, Frank Farina, picked him for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.
On 9 April 2001, he scored his first international goal in Australia's 22–0 win against Tonga. This game broke the world record for the biggest win in an international match.
Breaking Records
Just two days later, Archie made history in a match against American Samoa. Australia won the game 31–0, breaking their own world record for the biggest win. In this game, Archie Thompson scored an incredible 13 goals! This broke the world record for the most goals scored by one player in an international match. American Samoa had a very young team, which made the score so high.
A month later, Archie was part of Australia's team for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Australia finished third in that tournament. In 2001, Archie played seven international games and scored 16 goals in total.
He continued to play for Australia, even though he was often a substitute. He was part of the team that qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was one of only three players from the A-League in the World Cup squad. Although he didn't play in the tournament, it was a huge achievement.
In 2007, Archie played in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. In 2008, he was part of Australia's under-23 team for the 2008 Olympics.
Archie returned to the national team in 2012. He scored his first international goal in six years against Lebanon. He also scored a winning goal against Iraq in a very important World Cup qualifier.
In December 2012, he scored one of the fastest hat-tricks (three goals in a game) in history. He came on as a substitute and scored three goals in just seven minutes against Guam in a 9–0 win. This brought his total international goals to 28.
His record of 13 goals in one game broke the previous record of 7 goals, which was held by other players. Some older records from the early 1900s also mentioned 10 goals, but those games were played by amateur players. Archie's record is for a fully recognized senior international match.
About Archie
Archie Thompson was born in Ōtorohanga, New Zealand. His father is from the Māori community in New Zealand, and his mother is from Papua New Guinea. He has three brothers and two sisters.
Archie has two children, Isabella and Axel. He has their names tattooed on his forearms.
He was the official ambassador for the video game FIFA 08 in Australia and New Zealand. Archie is also a fan of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League.
In 2010, Archie released a book about his life called What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger.
Honours and Achievements
Melbourne Victory
- A-League Championship: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2014–15
Australia
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 3rd place, 2001
- OFC Nations Cup: 2004
Individual Awards
- A-League Golden Boot: 2005–06 (top goal scorer in the A-League)
- Joe Marston Medal: 2007 (best player in the A-League Grand Final)
- Victory Medal: 2007–08, 2009–10 (Melbourne Victory's best player)
- A-League PFA Team of the Season: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13
- A-League PFA Team of the Decade: 2005–2015
Records
- Most goals in an international match: 13 goals
- Most goals in an A-League match: 5 goals
- Most Melbourne Victory appearances: 261 games
- Most Melbourne Victory goals: 97 goals
See also
In Spanish: Archie Thompson para niños
- List of Melbourne Victory FC players
- List of foreign football players in the Netherlands
