Thomas Deng

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Thomas Deng
Personal information
Full name Thomas Jok Deng[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Nairobi, Kenya
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2][3]
Position(s)
right-back[4][5]
Team information
Current team
 Albirex Niigata
Number 3
Youth career
Adelaide Blue Eagles
Playford City
2011–2013
Western Eagles
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013
Western Eagles
 15 (2)
2014 Green Gully 13 (0)
2015–2016
Melbourne Victory NPL
 10 (0)
2015–2020 Melbourne Victory 71 (2)
2016–2017 → Jong PSV (loan) 5 (0)
2020–2021 Urawa Red Diamonds 21 (1)
2022– Albirex Niigata 41 (0)
International career‡
2015–2016
Australia U20
 10 (0)
2016–2021
Australia U23
 15 (1)
2018– Australia 3 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Australia
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Third place 2020 Thailand
U-23 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 March 2024

Thomas Jok Deng (born 20 March 1997) is a professional

Australia national team
.

Personal life

Deng was born into a family of South Sudanese refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. He and his family were fleeing the conflict in South Sudan, eventually settling in Adelaide, South Australia,[6] in 2003, when Deng was six years old.[7][8] His father remained in Kenya to serve as a doctor with Save the Children, and passed away in 2007.[9] His family moved to Melbourne, Victoria in 2011.[10]

Deng has four older siblings as well as a half-brother who lives in Uganda.[11] His older brother, Peter Deng, has represented South Sudan at senior level.[12] Deng's first club, along with his good friend and fellow refugee Awer Mabil, was Adelaide Blue Eagles.[13]

Club career

Deng made his senior football debut as a 16 year old in 2013 at

Victorian State League Division 3.[14][15]
The following season, the youngster moved to nearby Green Gully SC, where manager Bob Stojcevski recruited Deng to play for the club's u20 side. He was eventually promoted to the senior team and made 13 first team appearances in the NPL Victoria in 2014.[6]

Following his impressive performances at Gully, Melbourne Victory National Youth League coach Darren Davies rewarded Deng with a youth contract. Deng debuted for the senior team for

town rivals, Melbourne City
, where he was selected as Man of the Match by supporters and social media.

In June 2016, Deng moved to Jong PSV on a one-year loan deal.[16][17] After making five appearances, he returned to Melbourne Victory at the end of the season.[18]

In January 2020, Deng left Melbourne Victory to join Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds following his performance at the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship.[19]

International career

He was part of the main squad of the

Olyroos at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship and put on an extremely impressive display throughout the tournament, garnering high praise from respected Australian pundits: Geoff Fullgrabe, Alan Vucenik, and Craig Foster
.

A

South Sudanese national at birth, he is eligible to play for Australia, Kenya and South Sudan
.

In October 2018, Deng was named in the Socceroos squad for their training camp in the UAE and their friendly against Kuwait. In the friendly he made his debut, together with fellow South Sudanese refugee and boyhood friend Awer Mabil.[20]

On 22 July 2021, Deng captained Australia in a historic 2–0 win over Argentina in the first group game of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, also winning the Player of the Match award.[21][22]

He was included in the Australian squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup but did not play.

Honours

Melbourne Victory

Albirex Niigata

References

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "T. Deng". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Thomas Deng". Melbourne Victory FC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Meet the youth team players named in MVFC's A-League squad". Melbourne Victory FC. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  5. ^ Windon, Jacob (May 2019). "NAB Young Footballer of the Year nominee – Thomas Deng (Melbourne Victory)". Melbourne Victory FC. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b Kulas, Damir. "The rise and rise of Thomas Deng". The Corner Flag. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Thomas Deng". Perth African Nations Sports Association. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  8. ^ Lewis, Samantha (5 November 2022). "'It's not about the colour of your skin anymore': Socceroo Thomas Deng on the power of representation". ABC News. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  9. Socceroos
    . Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Journey to Victory: Thomas Deng". Melbourne Victory. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  11. ^ Davutovic, David. "Victory star Thomas Deng revisits fork in the road on visit to youth justice centre". Herald Sun. News Corp. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Peter Deng's journey to South Sudanese debut – The Corner Flag". cornerflag.com.au. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  13. ^ Migliaccio, Val (7 December 2018). "Thomas Deng's road to becoming a professional has been far from easy — just like his good mate Awer Mabil". Adelaide Now. The Advertiser. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Deng on how he made it to Olyroos level".
  15. ^ John Punshon "http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/States/VIC/2013SD4WR.html"
  16. ^ "PSV huurt Australische verdediger Deng (19)" (in Dutch). PSV Eindhoven. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Thomas Deng joins PSV Eindhoven on loan". Melbourne Victory. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  18. ^ Tito, Clement (15 May 2017). "Deng could strengthen Victory's defence..." FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  19. ^ Lynch, Michael (28 January 2020). "Deng quits Victory to join J-League giants Urawa". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  20. ^ "'A dream come true': refugees Deng and Mabil make Socceroos debuts together". The Guardian. 16 October 2018.
  21. ^ "'Olympics 2021: All the Olyroos action from Tokyo; match report'". The Australian. 23 July 2021.
  22. Socceroos
    . 24 July 2021.
  23. Socceroos
    . 28 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

Further reading

External links

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