.jpg) Brown in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Timothy Brown | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-03-06)6 March 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Congleton, England | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2000 | Miramar Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2004 | Cincinnati Bearcats | ||
| 2004–2006 | Richmond Kickers | 32 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Newcastle Jets | 10 | (1) |
| 2007–2012 | Wellington Phoenix | 112 | (23) |
| Total | 154 | (25) | |
| International career | |||
| New Zealand U20 | |||
| New Zealand U23 | |||
| 2004–2012 | New Zealand | 30 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Tim Brown (born 6 March 1981) is a New Zealand former professionalfootballer and businessman. He is the co-founder of footwear companyAllbirds. Brown was one of seven foundation players of theWellington Phoenix, being signed in 2007 for the club's inaugural season in theA-League. Brown was known for his high work rate as a box-to-box midfielder, often making trademark late runs into the penalty box where he scored most of his goals.
Brown studied design at theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, graduating in 2005Cum Laude.[1]
Brown's senior career began withMiramar Rangers before moving to the United States where he played for theUniversity of Cincinnati and laterRichmond Kickers in theUSL Second Division.
In 2006 Brown moved to Australia to joinNewcastle Jets in theA-League after being noticed by the club in a standout performance for the national team, theAll Whites, in a 1–1 draw againstPremier League sideCharlton Athletic in August 2006. He made hisA-League debut on 8 October 2006, starting in a 2–0 loss toMelbourne Victory. His first goal for the Jets came on 4 November 2006 againstSydney FC. Brown's late equaliser earned the Jets a 1–1 draw at home.
At the end of the 2006–07 season, Brown was granted a release by theNewcastle Jets to sign a two-year deal with new A-League franchiseWellington Phoenix, where he was named asvice-captain.
Brown signed for theWellington Phoenix for their inaugural season by head coachRicki Herbert who was also the coach of the national side, theAll Whites. Brown made his first team debut in the2007 Pre-Season Cup fixture againstCentral Coast Mariners which Wellington went on to lose 2–0. HisA-League debut came on 30 September 2007 in the round 6 clash at home againstPerth Glory, a game which Wellington went on to win 4–1.
Brown had to wait until his second season with the Phoenix for his first goal for the club, which came in the form of a 76th-minute winner againstSydney FC in round 6 of the 2008–09 season athome on 28 September 2008. He scored two more goals that season.
The 2009–10 season was a very successful one for Brown and the Phoenix, with Brown playing a pivotal role in the Phoenix's successful playoffs charge, (the first by a New Zealand club in the A-League) making 26 appearances, all of which he started and scoring 8 goals including an equaliser against former clubNewcastle Jets in their home minor semi-final, a game the Phoenix won 3–1.
On 26 March 2012, Brown announced his retirement from football following the conclusion of the 2011–12 A-League season, to pursue a master's degree in management at either the London School of Economics or Cambridge University.[2]
Brown's last game for the Phoenix was a disappointing 3–2 loss to thePerth Glory in the playoffs at the end of the 2011–12 season.[3]
Brown represented New Zealand atUnder-20 andUnder-23 level before making his fullAll Whites debut in a 3–0 win overSolomon Islands on 31 May 2004.[4][5]
Brown was included in the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad in South Africa where he captained the side.[6][7]
Seen as a future All Whites captain, Brown has played all but three of the 14 national team matches since Ricki Herbert took charge in 2005. Brown was a standout in the 1–1 draw at English premier leaguers Charlton Athletic in August 2006, a performance that eventually led to an A-League contract with the Newcastle Jets in Australia.
Brown was handed the captain's arm-band for the credible 2–2 draw in Wales in late 2007 May due to the unavailability of regular captain Danny Hay. Given the responsibility of leading his country for the first time against Wales, Brown put on a masterful display in Wrexham with a whole-hearted effort and supplied the ball for Shane Smeltz's second goal. Brown retained the All Whites captaincy for the beginning of2010 FIFA World Cup qualification but was sent off against Vanuatu in Wellington on 21 November 2007.The red card earned Brown a suspension for the World Cup qualifier againstNew Caledonia and withRyan Nelsen returning after a four-year absence, Brown relinquished the captaincy to theBlackburn Rovers skipper but retained a leadership role in the team as vice-captain.
In 2009, another injury-enforced absence ofRyan Nelsen provided another opportunity for Brown to once again assume the captaincy, leading the All Whites in their thirdConfederations Cup campaign and also earning their first-ever point in a senior men's FIFA tournament in a 0–0 draw withIraq.
On 14 November 2009, Brown and the All Whites beatBahrain 1–0 to qualify for the2010 FIFA World Cup.
On 10 May 2010, Brown was named in New Zealand's final 23-man squad of which he is vice-captain to compete at the2010 FIFA World Cup.[8] However Brown sustained a fracturedhumerus after landing on it awkwardly in a tackle withVince Grella during a friendly match againstAustralia on 24 May 2010. Brown had surgery on 27 May in which three screws were inserted to strengthen and support the broken bone.[9] The surgery was a success, but a considerable loss of match fitness during his recovery period coupled with consistent good performances by teammatesIvan Vicelich andSimon Elliott prevented Brown from making an appearance in New Zealand's historic World Cup 2010 finals campaign.
On 27 March 2012, Brown announced his intention to retire from the professional game in order to commence a master's degree in management at either theLondon School of Economics orCambridge University.[10]
In March 2016, Brown and his co-founder Joey Zwillinger[11] officially launchedAllbirds, a company built on the premise of creating environmentally-friendly and sustainable shoes.[12]
| Club | Season | League | Play-offs[a] | Asia | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newcastle Jets | 2006–07 | A-League | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2007–08 | A-League | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 17 | 3 | 17 | 3 | ||||||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 8 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 6 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 106 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 111 | 23 | ||||
| Career total | 116 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 121 | 24 | ||||
New Zealand squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
