Alex Arthur Rufer (born 12 June 1996) is a New Zealand professional footballer who captains and plays as a defensive midfielder for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.
 Rufer playing for the Wellington Phoenix in 2024. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Arthur Rufer[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 June 1996[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Geneva, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Wellington Phoenix | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2013 | YoungHeart Manawatu | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Wairarapa United | 1 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2022 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 28 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013– | Wellington Phoenix | 147 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | New Zealand U17 | 13 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | New Zealand U20 | 1 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2020 | New Zealand U23 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | New Zealand | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal life
editRufer is the son of former international New Zealand player Shane Rufer, and the nephew of Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer. He also attended Palmerston North Boys' High School.[2]
Club career
editRufer started his career with YoungHeart Manawatu.
In February 2013, Rufer joined Wairarapa United.[3]
In August 2013, ahead of the A-League season, Rufer signed a three-year contract with Wellington Phoenix.[4] Rufer made his debut for the Wellington Phoenix in the 3–2 away win against Newcastle Jets on 9 February 2014.[5]
In a 2–1 loss against Brisbane Roar on 12 March 2022, Rufer suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. He was expected to return from injury 12 months later.[6]
International career
editRufer made his international debut for the All Whites in a friendly match against Myanmar on 7 September 2015, coming on for Jeremy Brockie in the 72nd minute.[7]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played on 29 April 2023[8]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| YoungHeart Manawatu | 2012–13 | NZFC | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2013–14 | A-League | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | A-League Men | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 28 | 3 | ||
| 2024–25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 118 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 128 | 2 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 2014–15 | NZFC | 13 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | National League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 152 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 162 | 5 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearance in the A-League final series
Honours
edit- New Zealand
- Individual
References
edit- ^ a b c "FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 30 May 2015. p. 14. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Worthington, Sam (5 August 2013). "Young Alex Rufer hopes to keep name in lights". Stuff.co.nz.
- ^ Caffell, Gary (21 February 2013). "Rufer to join United". Wairarapa Times-Age.
- ^ "Rufer signs three-year deal with Phoenix". The New Zealand Herald. 2 August 2013.
- ^ Barclay, Chris (9 February 2014). "Hicks the man for Phoenix in win over Newcastle". Stuff. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (15 March 2022). "Wellington Phoenix captain Alex Rufer out for a year with ACL injury". Stuff. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Myanmar fight back earns draw". nzfootball.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Alex Rufer at Soccerway
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (16 May 2024). "Wellington Phoenix dominate PFA A-League Men team of the season". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
External links
edit- Alex Rufer – FIFA competition record (archived)
 | This biographical article related to New Zealand association football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |