James Holland
Personal information
Full name	James Robert Holland
Date of birth	15 May 1989 (1989-05-15) (age 20)
Place of birth	Sydney, Australia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Central Midfielder
Club information
Current club	AZ Alkmaar
Number	24
Youth career
2005–2006 2007	NSWIS AIS
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2007–2009 2009–present	Newcastle Jets AZ Alkmaar	023 00(3) 000 00(0)
National team2
2007–2009 2008 2008–	Australia U-20 Australia U-23 Australia	025 00(5) 005 00(0) 004 00(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 January 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 11:06, 30 October 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

James Holland (born 15 May 1989 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is a professional football (soccer) player who plays for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar and the Australian national football team.

Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Honours 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Club career

Holland captained the NSW Under-16 side at the 2005 Qantas National Talent Identification Championships in Parklea, a tournament the NSW team ultimately won. He was a 2007 AIS Football scholarship holder and was an influential player in their successful campaign in the Victorian Premier League..

Holland made an impressive A-League debut with the Newcastle Jets playing two games as a short term injury replacement player. He scored a goal against Wellington Phoenix in his first game, making him the youngest player to score in the A-League.^[1]

In October 2007 he signed a full time 2 year professional contract with the Newcastle Jets, despite interest from his home town club and Newcastle's rivals the Central Coast Mariners.^[2] Holland had previously made three appearances for the Mariners on a short term contract during the 2006 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup.

Holland was part of the Newcastle Jets team which won the 2008 A-League Grand Final against the Central Coast Mariners. He was involved in a controversy during second-half injury time when he handballed inside the penalty area. Referee Mark Shield failed to spot the handball and did not award a penalty.^[3] Holland later stated that he didn't feel the ball hit his arm and that it wasn't an "intentional" act.

On January 11, 2009, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar completed the signing of the highly rated Australian midfielder for $650,000 (€350,000) on a four-and-a-half year contract from the Newcastle Jets.^[4] He had earlier successfully trialled at the club.

[edit] International career

James is an Australian Under-17 and Under-20 national team representative, a striker in this squad playing alongside Marko Jesic, Holland's good friend. He made his full debut for the Socceroos against Singapore in 2008, and was named in the squad to face Ghana on 23 May 2008. He played in the World Cup qualifier against China on 22 June 2008, and was substituted for David Williams.

He has since captained the Young Socceroos AFF U19 Championship after defeating Korea Republic 3-1 on penalties.^[5] James Holland was selected for the Young Socceroos Squad for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, he was also named captain for the Young Socceroos. He scored a penalty in the first match against the Czech Republic in the 94th minute in the 2-1 loss, he had missed the first penalty but it was re-taken for infringement.

[edit] Honours

With Australia:

• AFF U19 Youth Championship: 2008
• International Cor Groenewegen Tournament (U-20): 2009
• Weifang Cup (U-18): 2007

With Newcastle Jets:

• A-League Championship: 2007-2008

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• FFA - Young Socceroos profile

v • d • e AZ Alkmaar – current squad 1 Didulica · 2 Jaliens · 3 Luirink · 4 Moreno · 5 Pocognoli · 6 Mendes da Silva · 7 Lens · 8 Schaars · 9 Ari · 10 El Hamdaoui · 11 Martens · 14 Klavan · 15 Poulsen · 16 Wernbloom · 17 Nielsen · 18 Dembélé · 19 Luyckx · 20 Elm · 21 Heijblok · 22 Romero · 23 Van der Velden · 24 Holland · 25 Moisander · 26 Vejinović · 27 Holman · 28 Swerts · 29 Pellè · Manager: Koeman