David Williams (Australian soccer) facts for kids
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Williams with North Queensland Fury in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Joel Williams | ||
| Date of birth | 26 February 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Perth Glory | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pine Hills | |||
| Westside | |||
| 2002–2003 | Mitchelton | ||
| 2004–2005 | QAS | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Queensland Roar | 2 | (0) |
| 2006–2010 | Brøndby | 34 | (4) |
| 2009–2010 | → North Queensland Fury (loan) | 21 | (3) |
| 2010–2011 | North Queensland Fury | 28 | (5) |
| 2011 | → Sydney FC (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2011–2016 | Melbourne City | 101 | (21) |
| 2016–2018 | Haladás | 66 | (20) |
| 2018–2019 | Wellington Phoenix | 25 | (11) |
| 2019–2020 | ATK | 18 | (7) |
| 2020–2022 | Mohun Bagan | 37 | (10) |
| 2022– | Perth Glory | 43 | (10) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2004–2005 | Australia U17 | 14 | (11) |
| 2005–2006 | Australia U20 | 12 | (10) |
| 2007–2008 | Australia U23 | 11 | (7) |
| 2008–2010 | Australia | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2010 |
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David Joel Williams (born on February 26, 1988) is an Australian professional football player. He plays as a forward for Perth Glory. David is special because he was the first Indigenous Australian player to play for the A-League club Melbourne City. He also played for Australia's national team twice.
David was born in Brisbane, Australia. He started his youth football journey at the Queensland Academy of Sport. Later, he made his first professional appearance for Queensland Roar. David has played for many A-League clubs in Australia and New Zealand. These include Queensland Roar, North Queensland Fury, Sydney FC, Melbourne City, and Wellington Phoenix.
He also played football in Europe. He played for the Danish Superliga club Brøndby in Denmark. Later, he joined the Hungarian NB I club Haladás in Hungary. David is also a member of the Indigenous Football Australia Council. This group helps support young Indigenous football players through the John Moriarty Football program.
Contents
David Williams' Football Journey
Starting Young: Youth Career
David Williams began his football journey in Brisbane, Australia. He played for local clubs like Westside and Pine Hills. After that, he moved to play youth football for Mitchelton FC. While attending Northside Christian College, he was also part of the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) team.
He even spent time training with big European clubs. He trained with Belgian club Club Brugge and English Premier League club Liverpool. In January 2006, he signed with the Australian A-League team Queensland Roar. The coach, Miron Bleiberg, thought David was a very talented young player. He was seen as one of Australia's best young strikers. After playing two games for Roar, he moved to Denmark in May 2006 to play for Brøndby IF.
Playing in Europe: Brøndby IF
At Brøndby, David first played for the reserve team. He scored 12 goals in just five reserve matches! This quickly led to his first team debut on August 5, 2006. On November 11, he scored his first goal in the Superliga, which is Denmark's top league. He also played in the European UEFA Cup tournament.
David continued to play well. In December 2006, he was officially moved to the Brøndby first team squad. He played 19 games and scored one goal in the 2006–07 Superliga season. In the next season, 2007–08, he played 10 games and scored three goals. David started the 2008–09 season well too. He played in five of Brøndby's first six Superliga games and scored a goal in the UEFA Cup. He extended his contract with Brøndby until 2011. However, he later got injured and found it hard to get playing time.
Back to the A-League
North Queensland Fury
In 2009, David joined North Queensland Fury FC on a one-year loan. This was for the 2009–10 A-League season. He played so well that he signed a permanent contract with the Fury in January 2010.
Sydney FC (Loan)
On February 16, 2011, Sydney FC signed David Williams for a short time. He joined them for their AFC Champions League 2011 games. He played 4 matches for Sydney FC during this period.
Melbourne City
On June 22, 2011, David signed a three-year deal with A-League club Melbourne Heart. This club later became Melbourne City FC. He played many games for them and even signed another two-year contract in 2014.
In August 2014, David played in the 2014 A-League All Stars Game. He came on as a substitute for the famous player Alessandro Del Piero. David left Melbourne City in January 2016.
Playing in Hungary: Haladás
On January 25, 2016, David signed with the Hungarian club Haladás. He hoped this move would help him get back into the Australian national team. He played for Haladás until June 2018.
Return to the A-League: Wellington Phoenix
On July 23, 2018, it was announced that David Williams would return to the A-League. He signed a one-year deal with Wellington Phoenix. He left the club in June 2019.
Playing in India: Indian Super League
ATK
On June 28, 2019, David joined the Indian Super League club ATK. He signed a one-year contract after leaving Wellington Phoenix. David scored his first goal for ATK in a big 5–0 win. He finished the season with 7 goals and 5 assists. His team, ATK, also won the Indian Super League title that season.
Mohun Bagan
On September 8, 2020, Mohun Bagan announced they had signed David Williams for one year. On December 21, 2020, he scored the first goal for his new club in a 1-0 win against Bengaluru FC.
Back to Australia: Perth Glory
David Williams returned to Australia in August 2022. He signed with the A-League Men team Perth Glory.
Representing Australia: International Career
David Williams was chosen for Australia's national youth teams. He was picked for both the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship (Under-20) and the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship (Under-17). Because the U-20 tournament happened first, he was not allowed to play in the U-17 World Championship.
He was also selected for Australia's senior national team. He played in a World Cup qualifier against China on June 22, 2008. He came on as a substitute in that game.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Queensland Roar | 2005–06 | A-League | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Brøndby | 2006–07 | Danish Superliga | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Total | 34 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 6 | ||
| North Queensland Fury (loan) | 2009–10 | A-League | 21 | 3 | — | — | 21 | 3 | ||
| North Queensland Fury | 2010–11 | A-League | 28 | 5 | — | — | 28 | 5 | ||
| Sydney FC (loan) | 2010–11 | A-League | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Melbourne City | 2011–12 | A-League | 15 | 1 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 24 | 5 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 26 | 12 | — | — | 26 | 12 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2015–16 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 101 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 107 | 21 | ||
| Haladás | 2015–16 | NB I | 14 | 2 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | 25 | 11 | — | — | 25 | 11 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 27 | 7 | — | — | 27 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 66 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 20 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2018–19 | A-League | 27 | 11 | — | — | 27 | 11 | ||
| ATK | 2019–20 | Indian Super League | 18 | 7 | — | — | 18 | 7 | ||
| Mohun Bagan | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 20 | 6 | — | — | 20 | 6 | ||
| 2021–22 | 17 | 4 | — | 9 | 6 | 26 | 10 | |||
| Total | 37 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 46 | 16 | ||
| Perth Glory | 2022–23 | A-League Men | 18 | 5 | — | — | 18 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 352 | 86 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 375 | 94 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Awards and Achievements
ATK
- Indian Super League: 2019–20
Mohun Bagan
- Indian Super League runner-up: 2020–21
Australia U20
- OFC U-20 Championship: 2005
Individual
- A-League All Star: 2013, 2014
- PFA A-League Team of the Year: 2013–14
- Melbourne City Player of the Season: 2013–14
- ATK Player of the Month: October 2019
