James Robert McGarry (born 9 April 1998) is a New Zealand professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Club career

McGarry was scouted to attend the APFA academy in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

from Dunedin in 2011. McGarry would have professional trials with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. When the academy relocated to Wellington to come under the banner of the Wellington Phoenix Academy Director Jess Ibrom recruited McGarry to be part of the Wellington Phoenix Academy. McGarry recently signed for Scotland side Aberdeen F.C. on a 3-year deal.

Wellington Phoenix

On 10 September 2015, McGarry joined

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

together with his countryman Logan Rogerson. On 10 May 2016,

released McGarry from his contract so he could gain game time at

Wellington United Wellington United AFC is an association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand, that competes in the Central League. History Wellington Diamond United Wellington Diamond United was the result of the merger of Diamond and Zealandia/Well ...

during the winter. He then returned to play for the Wellington Phoenix, mainly appearing in their reserve team.

Willem II

Following the expiration of McGarry's contract at Wellington Phoenix, McGarry signed for

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club Willem II on a two-year contract, alongside fellow New Zealander Michael Woud. He was named in the starting eleven for the first game of the Eredivisie season against

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, followin ...

, playing 63 minutes before being substituted.

Wellington Phoenix

McGarry returned to Wellington Phoenix on 23 October 2020, following his departure from Willem II in May that year.

Newcastle Jets

McGarry joined

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...

on a two-year deal in July 2022. McGarry scored against his former side, Wellington Phoenix, in his first match against them. McGarry made 11 appearances across all competitions for Newcastle, before leaving the club mid-way through his first season.

Central Coast Mariners

McGarry's departure from Newcastle came via a swap deal with the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...

, which saw McGarry join the Mariners in exchange for Thomas Aquilina heading to Newcastle. The Mariners and Jets share a fierce rivalry, the

F3 Derby The F3 Derby is an association football rivalry between Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets. It is the longest standing derby in the A-League Men. The rivalry originated due to the team's relative geographical proximity, with the Mariner ...

, with player movement between the two clubs rare and often controversial. McGarry scored his first goal for the Mariners against his first A-League club,

, just as he had done for Newcastle. After impressing in his first 4 appearances for the Mariners, McGarry signed a two-year contract extension to stay at the club beyond that season. McGarry was part of the 2022-23 A-League Championship winning team for the Mariners, in his first season at the club.

Aberdeen

McGarry joined

Aberdeen Football Club Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...

on the 11th of August 2023 for an undisclosed fee.

International career

McGarry represented New Zealand at both the

2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the sixteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in Chile from 17 October to 8 November 2015. Host selection The following four countries bid to host the tournament: * * * * Venues Along with proposin ...

and the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 ...

. He made his debut for

New Zealand national football team The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football ...

on 17 November 2019 in a friendly against Lithuania.

Honours

Central Coast Mariners *

A-League Men A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

Championship: 2022–23

Personal life

He is the son of former New Zealand football and international player

Michael McGarry Michael McGarry (born 17 May 1965) was a successful association footballer who frequently represented New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990s. Club career His senior career began with Dunedin City and later Mosgiel, before he moved to Australia to ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGarry, James Living people 1998 births Men's association football midfielders New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand men's international footballers Wellington Phoenix FC players Wellington United players Willem II (football club) players Newcastle Jets FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Aberdeen F.C. players A-League Men players Eredivisie players New Zealand Football Championship players New Zealand expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands