Michael Burgess talks with Steve Corica, the coach of the new Auckland A-League franchise, about bringing Kiwis home and finding the best talent. Video / NZ Herald
Auckland is one of the great cultural melting pot cities of the world, therefore it’s only right that its football team mirrors that.
A trio of international signings were announced today ahead of Auckland FC’s inaugural season with just over a month until their first A-Leathe Men’s match.
Luis Felipe Gallegos, 32, a highly-decorated Chilean centre midfielder, Louis Verstraete, a 25-year-old Belgium U21 international that came through the Gent academy and Uruguayan striker Guillermo May, 26, were unveiled as the side’s three new additions in downtown Tāmaki Makaurau.
All three had been strongly linked to the club in recent weeks via the A-League rumour mill and coach Steve Corica said he was delighted to introduce his three new players.
“Luis is an incredibly experienced number six. He’s played almost 400 professional games, won a heap of silverware, has a great range of passing both short and long, and I’m delighted we were able to bring a player of his calibre to the club,” says Corica.
“Louis is a bit younger but he’s a similar player. A very intelligent midfielder, very organised and a natural leader. Another great addition to our team.
“And then there is Guillermo. He’s a very technical, creative striker with great movement. He will be looking to link up with the midfield, to drop back if needed and make those clever runs that get the ball into the opposition box and create goal-scoring chances - either for him or his teammates.”
Caption: (Left to right) Luis Felipe Gallegos, Guillermo May and Louis Verstraete were unveiled as Auckland FC’s new signings, pictured in the club’s first away kit.
Also revealed was Auckland FC’s first home kit, to be worn during the 2024/25 A-League Men’s season. Go Media have signed on as a kit sponsor for the away shirt after becoming a foundation media partner.
The kit is inspired by Auckland’s iconic volcanic landscape. “With over 50 dormant volcanoes shaping the city’s terrain, the kit reflects the natural beauty and power that defines the city,” the club said.
The three players announced are the club’s 23rd, 24th and 25th signings and add, along with Japanese import Hiroki Sakai, some flair from abroad to the local and Australian players signed so far.
Gallegos comes to Auckland and adds a wealth of experience to midfield that only a 400-match professional career can provide. No stranger to silverware, the Chilean has won three Campeonato Chileno titles, one Mexican Super Cup, one Mexican Cup and one Copa Sudamericana.
Auckland FC marks Verstraete’s first venture into football outside his home country of Belgium. Another addition to the squad who is capped at international age-level, he played in the Europa League during his time at Royal Antwerp FC.
The defensive midfielder told the Herald that the furthest he’d travelled to play football previously was 40 minutes within Belgium so signing for a club in New Zealand was well and truly new territory.
“I was thrown in the deep end, but sometimes it’s better like this.”
May will take on a share of the goalscoring duties as a centre forward and can play out wide or slightly deeper as a number 10, allowing coach Corica some freedom of versatility in his forward line.
Auckland FC CEO Nick Becker shared the sentiment that the city’s football team ought to reflect the diversity of the people who live in it.
“Just like Auckland this is a diverse team that mixes local talent with some international stars. We now have in place a team of players we can all get behind, to celebrate and cheer on come October.”
Auckland FC’s first A-League Men’s match is on October 19 against Brisbane Roar at Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart.
Will Toogood is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He enjoys watching people chase a ball around on a grass surface so much he decided to make a living out of it.
