Onehunga Sports. I was 4, so very early. I loved it, even though everyone was just chasing the ball.

First pair of boots

Mitre or Gola, bought from The Warehouse. That’s where we started. Eventually, over the years, as we got older, our parents splashed out on other boots that were the more desirable ones.

Can you remember your first pay cheque for football and what did you spend it on?

It was at West Bromwich Albion, after I signed my first deal. It was nice to know that you’re getting paid for something you love. It was scholarship wages, £95 ($220) a week, so enough to get by. But luckily, I had my mum taking care of everything off the field, so I could spend that money on whatever I wanted.

With that first cheque, I bought clothing or a pair of trainers. I remember it well because English clothing and fashion culture was very different. I had turned up in my clothes from New Zealand and got the piss taken out of me quite a lot. So, I ended up buying some English gear.

Finn Surman

Age: 22. Caps: 21. Debut: November 2023

First team

Selwyn United, 10th grade. I played football at school but not seriously until I was 10. Before that it was hockey – a lot of hockey. Also cricket, a bit of athletics, volleyball, swimming.

First boots

I got pink Nike Mercurials from Rebel Sport, same as a schoolmate.

Your first pay cheque

I joined up with the Phoenix first team in November 2021. There were four or five academy boys that went over to Australia during Covid. We got a living allowance, around $250 a week.

It was great; I was still in the reserves but getting paid to be in the first team and I was in Sydney. I went straight to Uniqlo – which is my favourite shop – and bought a couple of T-shirts and a pair of shorts.

Callan Elliot

Age: 26. Caps: 12. Debut: March 2023

First boots

They were black Nikes, fake leather ones. I just remember them having Ronaldinho on them, so I was buzzing.

First club

Annan Athletic in Scotland, then Nelson City when we came to New Zealand. We were called the Stingers.

First pay cheque

I remember it well. I went out and bought a PlayStation 4 that same day. It seemed a lot then, but it wasn’t if I look back now.

Michael Woud

Age: 27 Caps: 6 Debut: June 2018.

First team

Bucklands Beach. Then Fencibles. I also played for Eastern Suburbs, Papakura, Waitakere and Bay Olympic when I was young.

First boots

Lotto and then Asics. Now Asics, they sponsor me, so it’s pretty cool. But the most memorable thing was my parents getting me Reusch gloves; they sacrificed a lot to buy me good goalkeeping gloves.

First pay cheque?

I was on a scholarship at Sunderland. We got £135 ($315) a week and it felt pretty cool. I remember getting in trouble with my mum because I bought a Louis Vuitton wash bag thinking I was the bee’s knees. I paid £600 ($1400). She told me to go back and return it, but I kept it. I still use it now, so that’s cool.

Nando Pijnaker

Age: 27. Caps: 25. Debut: November 2019.

First team

Kaharoa School in Rotorua. My first club was Ngongotahā, which I joined when I was 8.

First boots

I have a New Balance contract, so I don’t know if I can say, but I had some other branded boots.

Your first pay cheque

At Western Suburbs in Wellington. We got $80 per game, and it was amazing. At the time I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve made it’.

I probably just bought groceries or petrol for the car. I didn’t do anything special. But the first time I signed a professional contract, I bought the latest iPhone. That was my big purchase.

Francis de Vries

Age: 31. Caps: 20. Debut: November 2021

First team

The under-sixes at Cashmere Wanderers. It was my glory days. Playing left wing, getting forward. We were at the local park down the road. I am pretty sure there were no nets in the goals.

First boots

Lottos – that was the big boots back then. My parents always made me look after them. We had these water tins, off the garage roof to collect the rainwater. After training, they’d give you a brush and we’d get out there and clean the boots. That taught us discipline.

Your first pay cheque

It was at Vancouver Whitecaps. I was 22, after finishing college. It was a good feeling but I quickly realised that money wasn’t the driving force. I’m not going to lie, everyone plays for that and tries to get good contracts but I wasn’t earning much back then, so it obviously wasn’t a massive tangible difference in my life.

What I got, I spent on rent. Vancouver wasn’t cheap.

Marko Stamenic

Age: 24. Caps: 41. Debut: October 2021

First club?

Stokes Valley. From memory, we were called the Thunderstorms.

First pair of boots?

I remember it well because I was hustling my dad for a long time. I wanted the Nike Mercurial Vapours. I loved watching Ronaldo. I was a big fan when I was younger (still am), and they were his boots.

So, I was asking dad for many years: “Oh, can I please have them?” But they were hard to source in New Zealand, especially back then. When we visited my grandparents in Melbourne, we found a Nike outlet. That was my first proper pair of boots. I was 9.

First pay cheque?

We got a few dollars at Team Wellington but that was just petrol money. My first proper contract was when I moved to Denmark. That was a surreal feeling. I had relied on mum and dad for money throughout my youth, so it was great to finally be independent and then start to pay them back in some way

I remember buying something for my mum, dad and sister because it was just before Christmas. Getting a present for them was the first thing I wanted to do.

Logan Rogerson

Age: 28: Caps: 18. Debut: November 2015.

I played for Hamilton North club and Horotiu Primary. I started around 10 at the club. So, relatively late.

First boots

The cheapest pair, probably Mitre. As dad played rugby league, they were probably league boots. I’ve told this story a few times, when he took me to my first-ever league training. I got tackled, started crying, and he’s like: “I’m never bringing you back here.” So it was football.

First pay cheque

I had signed a three-year scholarship deal at the Wellington Phoenix. We got around $3000, maybe $4000 a month. It was a nice feeling. I bought a designer toilet bag, because that’s what Premier League players had. I spent almost my whole cheque on a stupid little Gucci bag. It lasted a long time – so it was worth it – but it cost like $2000, so it was a bit silly, looking back now.

Max Crocombe

Age: 32. Caps: 26. Debut: March 2018.

First team

Great Linford FC. I was 6 or 7, and they were just up the road from me.

First boots

I had Paul Gascoigne’s boots, they were Diadoras. Black with a green logo.

First pay cheque?

In the youth team at Oxford United. It was incredible to be paid to play football. I remember buying a bus pass – that was all I could afford – to get myself to training. From my digs, it was a 10-minute drive but an hour on the bus. I couldn’t drive so we had to bus. We got £30 a week and the bus pass was £36 quid a month. I’ll never forget it – the 653 bus from Risinghurst.

Libby Cacace

Age: 25. Caps: 39. Debut: June 2018.

First team

Island Bay. I was 7 years old. We were called the Sharks. Before that, I was always playing in the backyard with my brother and his mates.

First boots

I don’t know about the first pair, but I remember dad brought back some boots from Italy. They were Nike – yellow – and the first pair of coloured boots I had owned because before that, dad had always insisted on black ones.

First pay cheque

I signed my first contract when I was in Hong Kong, playing in a tournament for the Phoenix. I don’t know if I bought anything but I was given a credit card by mum and dad around that time because they were always controlling my money. With that first one, it was probably going to the school tuck shop or putting fuel in my car. I wasn’t that impulsive back then.

Elijah Just

Age: 26. Caps: 46. Debut: November 2019.

First team

It was indoor football. My mum took me down to watch one of my friends, and then someone was sick, or wasn’t there and I joined in. That was where my love of the game started. I was 5 years old. Later, my parents signed me up for the local club in Palmerston North.

First pair of boots

White Adidas Predators, with a golden tongue and gold three stripes. I was 7 or 8.

First pay cheque

I was at Helsingor, in Denmark. I don’t remember what I spent it on, but I was self-sufficient. I was living, playing football and although there wasn’t much money to save or to spend on something fancy, I was stoked to call myself a fulltime footballer. It’s always a big jump when you go from earning nothing to earning something. It was enough to eat, enough to live with my host family and be fully focused on football.

Sarpreet Singh

Age: 27. Caps: 30. Debut: March 2018.

First team

Papatoetoe AFC. I was 4 years old.

First pair of boots

I remember these Adidas ones, where you pull the tongue over and tuck it in. I don’t know what they were called.

First paycheque

I was 16, in the Phoenix Scholarship Academy. We didn’t get much and that was covering our rent. We got $300/week and our home stay was $260 a week so we had $40 left over. When I got my first pro contract at 18, I bought a Louis Vuitton wash bag. It’s quite typical, a footballer’s thing. When you’re younger, you always want one.

Ryan Thomas

Age: 31. Caps: 27. Debut: March 2014.

First team

Three Kings United. I never made any special squads. I was probably in the second or third team for my age.

First boots

Red Lottos. They were cheap hand-me-downs from my brother.

First pay cheque

It was a big moment and a nice taste of what can happen in football. I went to Holland with almost nothing in my bank account and that was big difference … the first time I got a decent amount of money for myself. I bought a PlayStation – my first big purchase.

Joe Bell

Age: 27. Caps: 34. Debut: November 2019.

First team

I played at Ferrymead Bays in Christchurch. Dad was coach. I have great memories of that time.

First pair of boots

My favourite ones were the old Adidas Predators, with the grip on the inside. They were quite iconic.

First paycheque

I got something special. A new surfboard, I think.

Jesse Randall

Age: 23. Caps: 13. Debut: June 2024.First team

Hataitai School was my first team. My primary school team.

First pair of boots

I can’t remember the first pair, but I love the Messi ones, the 15.1s. I always got Messi boots at college because he was my favourite player.

First pay cheque

I was at Charleston (US). I spent it on groceries, since it was my first time living away from home.

Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.

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