| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianni Ryan Stensness[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-02-07)7 February 1999 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Brisbane,Queensland, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder,Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Viking | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pittwater RSL | |||
| Collaroy Cromer Strikers | |||
| 2016–2017 | North Shore Mariners | ||
| 2017 | Central Coast Mariners | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | North Shore Mariners | 10 | (0) |
| 2017 | CCM Academy | 26 | (2) |
| 2018 | Manly United | 7 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 12 | (1) |
| 2019 | Wellington Phoenix | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Central Coast Mariners | 48 | (1) |
| 2021– | Viking | 66 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Australia U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | New Zealand U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | New Zealand U23 | 13 | (0) |
| 2022– | Australia | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 March 2022 | |||
Gianni Ryan Stensness (born 7 February 1999) is an Australian professionalsoccer player who plays as acentre-back for NorwegianEliteserien clubViking FK. A former youth international for New Zealand, Stensness plays for theAustralia national team.
In March 2019, Stensness was promoted to theWellington Phoenix first team from their reserves. On 9 March 2019, he played his first professional game for the club. He came on as a substitute forMandi in an 8–2 win over his former side,Central Coast Mariners.[3][4] In June 2019, he left Wellington Phoenix to explore opportunities in Europe.[5]
Stensness returned from Europe and was offered a contract with Wellington Phoenix, but decided to sign a one-year contract withCentral Coast Mariners in August 2019 as a midfielder.[6] After a strong start to the 2019–20 season, Stensness signed a two-year extension on his contract, through to 2022. His performances in the 2019–20 season earned him the CCM Goal of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards. Stensness also had the most tackles in the A-league in the 2019–20 season and gained the highest OPTA score of any player in the team. Stensness showed himself to be one of the strongest and most commanding defensive midfielders in the A-league in season 20/21.[citation needed]
On 9 August 2021, he signed a three-year contract with Norwegian clubViking FK.[7] He made his debut for the club on 29 August 2021, in a 2–1 win againstRosenborg.[8]
Eligible for both Australia and New Zealand (Australia via birth, New Zealand viapaternal birth),[9] 17-year old Stensness was named byUfuk Talay in anAustralian under-20 national team training camp on 31 January 2017.[10] In August 2017, Stensness was part of the under-20 team who played in a Tri Series against theWestern Australia state team and against theSingapore national under-19 football team.[11]
On 11 February 2019, Stensness was invited byNew Zealand under-20 national team coachDes Buckingham to a talent identification camp inAuckland.[12] On 23 March 2019 he declared his desire to represent New Zealand.[13]
On 28 May 2019, Stensness scored his first goal forNew Zealand at theU-20 World Cup againstNorway, helping his team advance to theround of 16.[14]
In September 2021, Stensness decided to representAustralia internationally.[9] He debuted with Australia in a 2–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification loss toJapan on 24 March 2022.[15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| North Shore Mariners | 2016[18] | National Premier Leagues NSW 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Central Coast Mariners Academy | 2017[19] | National Premier Leagues NSW 2 | 26 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| Manly United | 2018[20] | National Premier Leagues NSW | 7 | 0 | 1[21] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 2018–19 | New Zealand Football Championship | 12 | 1 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2018–19 | A-League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| Central Coast Mariners | 2019–20 | A-League | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | A-League | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| Total | 48 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 50 | 1 | |||
| Viking | 2021 | Eliteserien | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Eliteserien | 18 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2023 | Eliteserien | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | Eliteserien | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | ||
| Total | 66 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 173 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 187 | 9 | ||
Meanwhile, Gianni Stensness has rejected an upgraded contract and will be moving on from the club after one season to explore opportunities in Europe.
