Bill Poni Tuiloma (born 27 March 1995) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Charlotte FC in Major League Soccer.[3]
 Tuiloma with the Portland Timbers in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bill Poni Tuiloma[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Beach Haven, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Charlotte FC | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011 | Birkenhead United | ||
| 2011 | Asia–Pacific FA | ||
| 2011–2012 | Waitakere United | ||
| 2012–2013 | Birkenhead United | ||
| 2013–2015 | Marseille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Waitakere United | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Marseille B | 35 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | Marseille | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Strasbourg (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Strasbourg B (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2017–2022 | Portland Timbers | 107 | (10) |
| 2017–2020 | Portland Timbers 2 | 21 | (4) |
| 2023– | Charlotte FC | 17 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | New Zealand U17 | 6 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | New Zealand U20 | 9 | (1) |
| 2015 | New Zealand U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2013– | New Zealand | 31 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 August 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 March 2022 | |||
Tuiloma has represented New Zealand internationally since 2013, and was the first New Zealander to play in Ligue 1, the highest division of French football.
Early life edit
Born in Beach Haven, New Zealand, Tuiloma is of Samoan descent.[4] He attended Birkenhead College and Lincoln High School. He was part of the first intake of players to be invited to the Asia Pacific Football Academy which worked with Chelsea FC.
Club career edit
Marseille edit
Following trials with LA Galaxy and Queens Park Rangers, Tuiloma signed a deal with French side Olympique de Marseille in July 2013.[5][6] In a 2013 interview, he was questioned about his journey from relative football obscurity to his eventual move to Marseille.
I went to QPR and trialed there for a week and somehow, I think they have a connection with Marseille, because Joey Barton was with Marseille for a little while, so I think that’s where they have the connection… So I went there for a week, trialed, played a game as well, came back and got some good feedback from them, and then a few months later they wanted to sign me. I was over the moon, I was speechless, it was really good news for me.
To be honest, I only knew Joey Barton played there, that was pretty much it, I didn’t know much about Marseille or who played for them, I had a little bit of info there but that was pretty much it.
He also admitted that Queens Park Rangers and Wellington Phoenix were also interested in signing him if the Marseille deal fell through.[7]
Tuiloma made his first-team debut for the club on 7 February 2015, when he came on as a late substitute for Florian Thauvin in a 2–2 draw with Rennes.[8] Upon making his debut he became the first New Zealander ever to play in Ligue 1.[9] It was one of only two senior appearances he made, however, before signing on loan for Strasbourg for the 2015–16 season, and then permanently for Portland Timbers in 2017.[10][11]
Portland Timbers edit
On 25 July 2017, Tuiloma officially signed with MLS side Portland Timbers.[11] He made three appearances with Portland Timbers 2 in 2017, and made his first-team debut on 24 March 2018, in a 1–1 draw with FC Dallas.[12] The Timbers resigned Tuiloma on 24 January 2018.[12]
International career edit
Tuiloma represented New Zealand under-17 at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup and New Zealand under-20, for whom he was also the captain, at the 2013 and 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cups.[4]
He made his senior international debut for New Zealand on 15 October 2013, at the age of 18, when he came on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain.[13][14]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Waitakere United | 2011–12 | Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Marseille | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Strasbourg (loan) | 2015–16 | Championnat National | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Portland Timbers | 2017 | MLS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||||
| 2019 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 38 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 50 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 2 | ||
International edit
- As of match played 30 March 2022.[16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 3 | |
| Total | 31 | 4 | |
International goals edit
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 October 2021 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain |  Curaçao | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 24 March 2022 | Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  New Caledonia | 5–1 | 7–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 30 March 2022 | Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Solomon Islands | 1–0 | 5–0 | |
| 4. | 4–0 |
Honours edit
Waitakere United
Strasbourg[3]
Portland Timbers
New Zealand[3]
References edit
- ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
- ^ "Bill Tuiloma". Portland Timbers. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Bill Tuiloma at Soccerway
- ^ a b Harvey, Sarah (31 May 2015). "Junior All Whites captain Bill Tuiloma gets back to his roots during U-20 World Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ Kilgallon, Steve (27 July 2013). "Oui, oui: Kiwi teen Tuiloma signs for Marseille". Stuff. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Approaches align for Tuiloma". New Zealand Football. 18 November 2014. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ Giordani, Enzo (29 December 2013). "An interview with Bill Tuiloma". In the Back of the Net. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Tuiloma makes Marseille debut". New Zealand Football. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ West, Aaron (15 June 2017). "5 things to know about New Zealand at the Confederations Cup". FOX Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Official: Bill Tuiloma joins Strasbourg on loan". Get French Football News. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ a b Stejskal, Sam (26 July 2017). "Portland Timbers sign New Zealand international Bill Tuiloma". MLS. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Bill Tuiloma". Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ Smith, Tony (16 October 2013). "Tuiloma impresses on debut; earns playoff spot". Stuff. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "FIFA Confederations Cup Russia: Player Profile – Bill Tuiloma". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Bill Tuiloma". Portland Timbers. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ Bill Tuiloma at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Dario Zuparic goal clinches MLS Back is Tournament for Portland Timbers". The Guardian. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
External links edit
- Bill Tuiloma – FIFA competition record (archived)