Grant John Turner (7 October 1958 – 28 February 2023) was a New Zealand

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who represented the

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42 times in A-internationals from 1980 to 1988, scoring 15 goals. Turner was a member of the first successful All Whites campaign to qualify for the World Cup, in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

in Spain, where they played three group games against

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and

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, but he did not play in the finals due to an injury sustained soon after arrival in Spain.

Club career

Turner started his senior career in 1973, playing for Petone in the local

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leagues in Wellington, though he only making 2 appearances from the bench. He got his first start for the club the next season as well as getting his first senior goal in a 3–0 win over Christian Youth. He ended the season at Petone with five appearances and the two goals from that game. In 1976, Turner made his national debut with

Stop Out Stop Out Sports Club, commonly known as Stop Out, is an association football club in Lower Hutt, New Zealand is based at Hutt Park, Moera in Lower Hutt. History The Stop Out organisation started in 1919 with the aim of providing recreation to T ...

in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

. Turner was the top goal scorer and voted Player of the Year in 1981 while playing with

Gisborne City Gisborne City AFC was an association football club in Gisborne, New Zealand. Founded in 1939 as Eastern Union, the club changed its name to Gisborne City after winning the Central Districts League at the first attempt in 1967. As Eastern Union, ...

. He twice made the finals of the Chatham Cup, New Zealand premier knockout competition, also with the club. First losing to Mt Wellington in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, in which they drew the first game before losing 0–2 in the replay. That was followed by a loss in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

final, this time to Manurewa. Turner would win the national league with Gisborne City in

. Then in 1985, he won the NZFA Challenge Trophy, a pre-season trophy contested between the winners of the previous season's Chatham Cup and National League competitions. This time beating Manurewa 1–0. He won the Player of the Year a second time in 1986.

International career

Turner made his international debut for

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in a 4–0 win over

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, acknowledged as the start of New Zealand's 1982 World Cup campaign. Turner scored in New Zealand's 2–0 win over

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in one of their most important trans-tasman wins in All Whites history, that put New Zealand through to the

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of qualification. Turner retired from international football in 1988 after getting concussed in a match against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

. He continued to play club football until 2002.

Personal life and death

Turner was born in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

on 7 October 1958. Turner revealed in 2021 he was facing a battle with cancer. Turner was inducted into the Sports Legends of Wellington in 2022 for his contribution to football. Turner died in Tauranga on 28 February 2023, at the age of 64.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Grant 1958 births 2023 deaths New Zealand association footballers 1982 FIFA World Cup players New Zealand international footballers Gisborne City AFC players South Melbourne FC players Stop Out players Miramar Rangers AFC players Wellington United players Association football midfielders Expatriate sportspeople in Australia