Nathan Burns (born 7 May 1988) is a retired

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

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 last played for

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 ...

in the

A-League 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 competiti ...

and the Australian national team.

Club career

Adelaide United

He formerly played for

Parramatta Eagles Parramatta Football Club, commonly known as Parramatta Melita Eagles or just Melita, are a semi-professional Australian soccer club based in South Granville, New South Wales. The club was established by Maltese migrants in 1956 and played sev ...

and trained at the

AIS AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

. After a few substitute appearances for

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

, Burns finally got his first start against Sydney FC scoring his first

goal in the 4–1 loss. On 21 January 2007 Burns scored Adelaide United's first ever hat trick during a match against

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

, giving his side a 2nd-place finish on the league table to close out the 2nd

season. After his great season with Adelaide United, Norwegian champions

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...

invited Burns for a 10-day trial where he would train with fellow

Socceroo The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated wi ...

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AEK Athens

On 10 June 2008, he signed with

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

on a four-year contract. He wore the number 24 shirt. Burns made his Greek Super League debut for AEK Athens on 28 February 2009, as 65th-minute substitute against

Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace and plays at Xanthi FC Arena. The club resigned from the Super League 2 due to financial issues. Founded in 1967, Xa ...

at the Spyros Louis Olympic Stadium in Athens. Burns scored the winner against Rangers in the final game of the 2010 Sydney Festival of Football. He scored his first league goal on 27 February 2011, in a 3–2 away win against

Ergotelis The Gymnastics Club «Ergotelis» Heraklion Crete ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος «O Εργοτέλης» Ηρακλείου Κρήτης, Γ.Σ. Εργοτέλης), commonly known simply as Ergotelis ( el, Εργοτέλης), ...

. In August 2009, he was loaned out to

Beta Ethniki The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...

side

Kerkyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

on a one-year loan deal. Although he was brought from Australia as a promising youngster, he never fulfilled his potential. On 19 January 2012 he terminated his contract with AEK.

Incheon United

He joined

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

club

Incheon United Incheon United FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the city ...

on 25 January 2012. Burns was on loan with Australian side

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 Australia ...

in the

from 25 July 2013 until 11 January 2014, playing 12 games and scoring a brace.

Wellington Phoenix

On 25 June 2014 it was announced that he had signed a 2-year deal to join New Zealand team

in the A-League beginning with the 2014/15 season. On 18 October 2014, he scored his debut goal for the club against

. Burns made history in the Round 8 clash against Melbourne City, becoming the first Phoenix player to score a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in their 5–1 victory. On 6 December he scored his 8th goal of the season in a 3–1 come from behind victory over

at Hunter Stadium. On 21 December he scored two goals in a 2–0 away win over Sydney FC, making him the fastest A-league player to ever reach 10 goals in a season, and did not return to New Zealand as he got his international recall for Australia ahead of the Asian Cup.

FC Tokyo

In July Burns left the

for

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

club FC Tokyo.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Following speculation of Burns returning to the

following the end of his contract at FC Tokyo, he stayed in Japan, joining

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

on 13 July 2017.

Return to Wellington Phoenix

On 30 December 2017 it was announced that Nathan Burns would be returning to

on a two-year contract. Burns was not offered a contract renewal and was released by the club following the conclusion of the

2018–19 A-League The 2018–19 A-League was the 42nd season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 14th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The regular season commenced on 19 October 2018 and concluded on 28 April 2019. The play-offs began o ...

season.

International career

Youth

He competed for the

Joeys The Australia national under-17 soccer team represents Australia in men's international under-17 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for Football in Australia, Football Federation Australia (FFA), which is currently a membe ...

at 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. He scored his first goal for the Young Socceroos in the AFC Youth Cup in a 3–1 win over Thailand.

Senior

He made his debut for the

Socceroos The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...

with a brief appearance in the 3–0 win over

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

on 30 June 2007. Burns came on as a substitute in the opening game in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, and was twice denied a goal, the first when his shot hit the crossbar, and the second when the goalkeeper made a brilliant save. On 17 January 2015, Burns made his first start for the Socceroos since 2011, when he lined up for the final group game of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup for Australia against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. On 3 September 2015, Burns scored his first goal for Australia, eight years after his senior debut, scoring in a 5–0 defeat of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Career statistics

Club

International

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International Goals

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.'' {, class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%;" ! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition , - , 1. , , 3 September 2015 , ,

Perth Oval Perth Oval, currently branded HBF Park (under a sponsorship agreement with HBF Health Fund) and called Perth Rectangular Stadium for international football matches, is a sports stadium in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western A ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, , , , align=center, 4–0 , , align=center, 5–0 , ,

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...

, - , 2. , , rowspan=2, 24 March 2016 , , rowspan=2,

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia , , rowspan=2, , , align=center, 4–0 , , align=center rowspan=2, 7–0 , , rowspan=2, 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification , - , 3. , , align=center, 7–0

Honours

Club

;

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

: 2010–11

International

;

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual

* Rising Star Award: 2006-07 *

Player of the Year: 2014–15 *

Johnny Warren Medal The Johnny Warren Medal is awarded to the best player of the Australian national soccer club competition. It was first awarded in the National Soccer League in 1990, and upon the NSL's demise in November 2004, was carried forward into the new na ...

: 2014–15 * A-League PFA Team of the Season: 2014–15

References

External links

*
OzFootball profile
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Nathan 1988 births Living people Australian soccer players Australia international soccer players Australian expatriate soccer players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players AEK Athens F.C. players Adelaide United FC players Association football forwards A-League Men players Expatriate footballers in Greece Super League Greece players A.O. Kerkyra players Parramatta FC players Incheon United FC players K League 1 players Expatriate footballers in South Korea Australian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players New South Wales Institute of Sport alumni Newcastle Jets FC players Australia under-20 international soccer players Wellington Phoenix FC players J1 League players J3 League players FC Tokyo players FC Tokyo U-23 players Sanfrecce Hiroshima players AFC Asian Cup-winning players People from Orange, New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales Soccer players from New South Wales