Soccer Smart Players Around the World #1

Welcome to the Soccer Smart blog! This is the first installment in a new series of posts looking at where we have placed players to play football abroad across the world. We have helped hundreds of players secure their dream moves to play soccer abroad in Australia, America, Canada, Gibraltar and more countries and we continue to find the best moves for our players today.

In this first post we look at players who have played in America, Australia and Spain.

Daniel Cockerline

A former Sheffield United youth forward, Soccer Smart helped Dan move to Australia this year after four seasons of playing in National League North and the National League for the likes of Curzon Ashton, Barrow and Southport.

After getting in touch looking to play football abroad in Australia, Soccer Smart helped place Dan in the South Australia division of the second-tier of Australian football, the National Premier Leagues. The 22-year-old joined Adelaide Blue Eagles ahead the 2019 season.

It has proven to be a great decision for Dan to make the move to play football abroad in Australia as he made seven appearances, scoring once, to help his side make the South Australian playoffs. The winner of the playoffs would be crowned as champions. Unfortunately his side lost in the week one semi-finals but it has been a successful season for Dan!

Zack Hargreaves

Midfielder Zack played for the likes of Burnley and Bury growing up before playing in non-league for his local club Ramsbottom United as well as AFC Blackpool.

Then last year he decided to take a different route and with the help of Soccer Smart, secured a USA soccer scholarship to study psychology and play college soccer at South Wesleyan University in South Carolina. The university’s sports teams are called the South Wesleyan Warriors and play in NCAA Division II.

In his first season in the States, Zack was a regular for SWU, making 14 starts and contributing an assist from midfield, missing just three games all season.

The 20-year-old midfielder made such an impression in his first season that he is now studying at Indiana Wesleyan University and playing for Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats who play in the top level of college soccer, NCAA Division I. The Wildcats won the national title in 2008 and Zack has made a good start to life with the club, having picked up an assist already from his first two games.

Paul Milner

Soccer Smart USA helped Paul secure is dream move to play soccer abroad in Australia. The versatile defender played in USL League Two last year, making 14 appearances for Evergreen FC in the Mid Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.

This season however, with the help of Soccer Smart USA, he joined third-tier Australian side Wagga City Wanderers who play the National Premier Leagues 2 division. After joining at the start of the year, the 20-year-old went on to make 10 appearances for the Wanderers, scoring once, as his side recorded a respectable mid-table finish in their first season in the third-tier of Australian football.

Sean Cooney

Irish player Sean describes his best position as a box-to-box midfielder and he has been able to put that to use in the several different countries which he has played in. The 23-year-old spent time at two different colleges in America, attending establishments in Miami and Iowa. After that he joined our Spanish soccer academy in Alicante, the Soccer Smart Academy.

After impressing at our Spanish football academy, Soccer Smart helped the midfielder secure a move to play football in Australia. Sean joined Victorian Regional League side South Shepparton ahead of their 2019 season competing in the Optus Championship Division 1. It proved to be a good move for the Irishman as he played 12 games, missing just three all season, for the first team as they finished sixth in the league. He also played four times for the club’s B team in Division 2 where he scored his first goal in Australia during a 4-0 win over Spring Gully United. It’s been a season of regular football for Sean whilst also getting to experience living down under!

Sign up to our UK football trials now to kickstart your football career abroad!