Kris Bright

Kris Bright (born 5 September 1986) is a retired New Zealand footballer and coach who is the current manager of New Zealand club Central United, as well as the youth team manager of Auckland City.[1]

Kris Bright
Personal information
Full name Kris William Bright
Date of birth (1986-09-05) 5 September 1986
Place of birth Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Central United (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Waitakere City 22 (30)
2005–2006 New Zealand Knights 11 (1)
2006–2007 Fortuna Sittard 11 (1)
2007–2008 Kristiansund 24 (28)
2009 Panserraikos 7 (1)
2009–2010 Shrewsbury Town 27 (3)
2011 Budapest Honvéd 10 (2)
2011 Balzan Youths 11 (5)
2012 Bryne FK 12 (4)
2012–2013 FC Haka 13 (3)
2013 IFK Mariehamn 23 (9)
2014 Lincoln City 7 (2)
2015 Bharat F.C. 17 (6)
2015–2016 Bidvest Wits 3 (1)
2016–2017 Linfield 6 (0)
2017–2018 Auckland City 5 (1)
2018 Central United
National team
New Zealand U-17 7 (6)
New Zealand U-20 5 (4)
2008–2013 New Zealand 5 (1)
Teams managed
2019– Central United
2019– Auckland City (youth manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:49, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

Career

Born in South Auckland, New Zealand, the son of New Zealand 1982 World Cup representative Dave Bright.[2] Bright started as a Semi-Professional with Waitakere City in 2004. Whilst with Waitakere, Bright was the 2004 top scorer in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier as a 17-year-old, and played in the club's 0–1 loss to Miramar Rangers in the final of the 2004 Chatham Cup.[3] Over one and half seasons with Waitakere City, Bright scored a total of 29 goals.[4]

In mid-2005, Bright was named as one of three players in the New Zealand Knights' apprenticeship scheme. Shortly after the start of the season, though, Knights player Neil Emblen was forced onto the injured list, which would allow the club to sign Bright as a replacement for four weeks.[5] Bright was rushed into the squad to play the Central Coast Mariners at North Harbour Stadium,[6] and produced a Man of the Match performance as he played the full 90 minutes on debut as the New Zealand side went down 1–3.[7] Bright's performance in his first match earned praise from Knights manager John Adshead, and he was rewarded with a starting place in the following match against the Newcastle United Jets.[8] Bright appeared in the Knights's following four games up until Emblen's return from injury, but had done enough to retain his position in the squad, having signed another short-term contract, this time to cover for Joshua Rose.[9] By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bright had made a total of 12 appearances, three from the substitutes bench.[10] In mid-2006, Bright was asked to trial at Scottish side Kilmarnock, where he was for a month, playing three games and scoring two goals. Although he was not signed by Kilmarnock, Dutch Eerste Divisie club Fortuna Sittard,[4] invited Bright to a trial match against FC Geleen-Zuid where he scored one goal.[11] Bright subsequently landed a one-year contract with the club, with the option of a further year.[11][12]

Bright managed to gain a spot in the starting line-up for the struggling Dutch side. He played in eleven league games, in which he scored one goal, against HFC Haarlem. After interest from Norway, he signed a six-month contract until the end of the Norwegian season with Norwegian club Kristiansund BK. There he scored an amazing 11 goals in eight games until his season was ended prematurely. With two games remaining in the season and several Norwegian Tippeligaen & Adeccoligaen clubs following his progress, Bright suffered a broken leg. Bright then renewed his contract with Kristiansund BK until January 2009.

After six months of recovery, Bright then made his return in the 2008 season opener against Strindheim. He continued his goal scoring form with two goals including a 25-metre free-kick to help Kristiansund to a 3–1 win. After playing 12 games, he was top goal-scorer in the league with 10 goals. Also, in the 3rd round of the Norwegian Cup, Bright scored KBK's only goal against Tippeligaen club & close rivals Molde F.K. in a 2–1 extra-time loss.

After a season full of goals again in Norway, Bright had done enough to sign a ​1 1⁄2-year contract with Greek Super League side Panserraikos F.C., he was given the number 32 shirt. He left the Club in July 2009 by mutual consent with a year remaining on his contract due to unpaid wages, and joined English League Two side Shrewsbury Town on 3 August 2009.[13]

In November 2009, Bright scored the winner in a 2–1 win over AFC Telford United in the Shropshire Senior Cup final.[14] He scored his first Football League goal against Lincoln City,[15] then scored another on the final day of the season against Port Vale. He made a total of 26 league appearances in the 2009–10 season, including 22 from the bench, scoring three goals.

After interest from Hungary earlier in the year, and with a new manager arriving at Shrewsbury Town, Bright then found himself signing a ​2 1⁄2-year deal with former Hungarian giants Honved Budapest on a free transfer. Unfortunately at the end of the first season at the club, and with the club having huge financial difficulties and unable to pay full wages, Bright was to find a new club.

On 3 October 2011 Bright joined Maltese club Balzan Youths on a short-term deal. Bright linked up Balzan until December before he made the move to Bryne FK in Norway in January. Bright accepted the offer of joining Balzan so that he could maintain his match fitness prior to the move to Bryne. The move was a success helping the recently promoted side to a top six finish scoring five crucial goals in 10 starts for the club. The 25-year-old had agreed a pre-contract with Bryne and joined up on 1 January 2012.[16]

After half a season in Bryne, Bright then found himself playing in an unaccustomed midfield role. With the team struggling in the league, limited opportunities as a striker, and offers from other teams, Bright signed a short-term deal on 2 August with FC Haka in the Finland Premier League. Bright cited his reasons for leaving were "to get regular playing time as a striker to score goals". In March 2013 Bright signed a deal with IFK Mariehamn in the Finland Premier Leageue for the whole season 2013.

On 8 March 2014, it was announced Bright had signed for Lincoln City for the rest of the season.

On 10 November 2014, he signed for newly formed club Bharat FC of I-League.[17] On 27 January 2015, he scored the first goal for his club, netting a 14th-minute goal against Royal Wahingdoh.[18]

On 10 July 2015, he signed for Bidvest Wits of the ABSA Premiership in South Africa. He scored and bagged an assist on debut for Bidvest Wits.

On 23 August 2016, Bright signed for Northern Irish club Linfield on a one-year contract.[19] After being sparingly used, he returned to New Zealand on 21 September 2017, signing for Auckland City.[20]

International career

Bright has represented New Zealand at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-20 levels.[3] He played in all of New Zealand's matches during their failed qualifying campaign for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick in a 13–0 win over Tonga.[21] In 2005, Bright was selected for the under-20 squad to compete in the OFC qualifying tournament for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship,[10] but again the country were unable to make the finals, finishing third in their group behind the Solomon Islands and Fiji.[22] His senior international debut for the All whites was a substitute appearance in 2008 for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Fiji,[23] and his first senior international goal was against Thailand on 28 March 2009.[23] He was included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, making a single appearance as a substitute against European champions, Spain.[24][25] He missed out on the final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but was named as one of seven non-travelling reserves.[26]

International goals
# Date Opponent Final Result Result Competition
128 March 2009 Thailand3–1LossFriendly
Last updated 7 April 2010
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References
  1. http://www.aucklandcityfc.com/news/1017/12/Producing-players-is-our-aim-Kris-Bright-/
  2. Smith, Tony (31 August 2013). "Kris Bright's perseverance finally gets rewarded". Stuff.co.nz.
  3. "Knights confirm apprenticeship scheme and finalise squad of 20". 21 June 2005. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  4. "Twee spitsen vanaf maandag op proef" (in Dutch). 20 August 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  5. "Bright gets big chance as Emblen ruled out". 27 October 2005. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  6. Maddaford, Terry (29 October 2005). "Knights look on the Bright side". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  7. "Match Summary: New Zealand Knights FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC". 29 October 2005. Archived from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  8. "Knights build Kiwi contingent". One Sport. 3 November 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  9. "Emblen back to face Sydney". 29 December 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  10. "New Zealand squad named to play in Oceania qualifiers" (PDF). NZ Soccer. Archived from the original (pdf) on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  11. "Kris Bright voor één jaar Fortunees" (in Dutch). 31 August 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  12. "Fortuna Sittard land Kiwi striker Bright". Tribal Football. 31 August 2006. Archived from the original on 19 September 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  13. "Shrewsbury secure double signing". BBC Sport. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  14. "Shrews triumphant in Senior Cup". BBC Sport. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  15. "Shrewsbury 1-0 Lincoln City". BBC Sport. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  16. "Bright makes Malta move". Sky Sports News. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  17. Mitra, Atanu. "Kalyani Group rope in Kris Bright". Goal.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  18. "Kashyap's side continue their perfect run". Goal. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  19. "Linfield sign New Zealand striker Kris Bright on one-year contract". BBC. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  20. "Former All White Kris Bright joins Auckland City after a decade on the road". I Stuff. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  21. "Oceania Preliminary Competition for the U-17 World Cup 2003". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  22. "Oceania U-20 World Cup 2005 Qualifiers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  23. "A-International Line-ups - 2000-". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  24. "New Zealand - All Whites name Confederations Cup squad". Oceania Football confederation. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009.
  25. "2009 Confederations Cup - New Zealand squad". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  26. "All Whites' standby list full of talent". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
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