Michael Joseph Boxall (born 18 August 1988) is a New Zealand

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 currently plays for Minnesota United in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

, and the

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 Footbal ...

Early career in New Zealand

For high school, Boxall attended and played for

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

. With Boxall anchoring the defence, Mount Albert won the league title in 2004 and 2005 and placed first at the national tournament in 2005. In his senior season in 2006, Boxall was named the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He led the team to a second Knockout Cup title in three years. They also went to the Auckland Secondary School Soccer Association Championship. Mt. Albert went on to finish second at nationals that year. Boxall played for a number of teams in his native New Zealand including Ellerslie AFC,

Three Kings United Three Kings United Football Club is a youth football club based in Three Kings, Auckland, New Zealand. They previously competed in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1, with their last appearance coming in 2019. In 2020, Three Kings United ...

Central United Central United Football Club is an amateur association football (soccer) club based in Sandringham, Auckland, New Zealand who complete in the NRF Championship. The team was officially called ''Central Soccer Club'' until 1996 when it change ...

, and

Auckland City FC Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in bo ...

, leading Central United to the 2007

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier The Northern League is a semi-professional New Zealand association football competition. It is a top-tier competition during the winter season, and sits at step two overall. The Northern League includes football clubs located in the northern p ...

title. In addition, Boxall won the NZFC with Auckland City, where he made 6 appearances that year despite scoring zero goals. He was named the Auckland City Young Player of the Year with Central United in 2006 and then again with Auckland City F.C. in 2007.

US college

Boxall was recruited to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the ...

by head coach

Tim Vom Steeg Timothy Harold Vom Steeg (born October 29, 1966) is an American collegiate soccer head coach who is currently with the University of California, Santa Barbara men's soccer team. He has been with the Gauchos since 1999 and is the most successful ...

. He followed in the footsteps of other New Zealand players at Santa Barbara such as

Tony Lochhead Tony James Lochhead (born 12 January 1982) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who appeared with the New Zealand national football team. Early life and education Lochhead was born on 12 January 1982 in Tauranga, New Zealand. H ...

and Neil Jones, both of whom have received senior international caps after appearing for UCSB. In his first season with the Gauchos, Boxall played in 12 games, starting 10 of them. He scored no points and only had one shot on goal, but proved himself to be a solid defensive rock alongside Gaucho defensive stalwart Andy Iro. Boxall's season was cut short due to a knee injury which forced him to miss the rest of the year. Despite missing half the season, Boxall led all rookies with 10 starts and tied for the team high in both yellow cards and red cards, 6 and 1 respectively.

Personal life

Boxall is half Samoan and is the older brother of New Zealand international footballer

Nikko Boxall Nikko Daniel Boxall (born 24 February 1992) is a New Zealand footballer who most recently played as a defender for Finnish Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku. Club career Having started his career in his native New Zealand with both Auckland Cit ...

Professional

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Boxall was selected first overall in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft by

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

. He agreed to terms with the club on 17 March 2011, and made his professional debut on 19 March, in Vancouver's 2011 MLS opener against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

. After appearing in three matches for the Whitecaps in the 2012 season, Boxall was waived on 22 June 2012.

Wellington Phoenix

On 10 July 2012 it was confirmed by the club that Boxall officially joined the Wellington Phoenix of his native New Zealand on a two-year contract. Instrumental in signing Boxall was Ricki Herbert, coach of both the Phoenix and the New Zealand national team at the time. Boxall made his debut for the club on 14 October 2012, in the 1–1 away draw against Melbourne Heart in Round 2. After a beginning to his time in Wellington which saw him play backup to

Ben Sigmund Benjamin Robert Sigmund (born 3 February 1981) is a New Zealand former international footballer. He represented New Zealand at under-17, under-20 and senior level. Club career Born in Blenheim, Sigmund spent his early career with Football Kin ...

and

Andrew Durante Andrew James Durante (born 3 May 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a retired New Zealand international footballer. He is currently the Player Welfare and Development Manager at Western United while also working as a Senior Academy Assistant ...

, Boxall was loaned to the Oakleigh Cannons of the

Victorian Premier League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer l ...

. Following a disappointing first season with the Phoenix, Boxall signed a 1-year contract extension on 15 January 2014. Boxall stated the direction that the club was going under new head coach

Ernie Merrick Ernest Merrick OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Kong national football team and A-League ...

was the deciding factor in signing a new deal with the club. In the 2013–14 season, Boxall appeared in 20 games for the Phoenix, starting 18.

International

Boxall has represented New Zealand at various international levels. His début with the national set up was with the Junior All-Whites ( U-20's) in which he made 14 appearances with no goals. During this time, he appeared in the 2007 U-20 World Cup OFC qualifying tournament and ultimately the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...

. He played in all three U-20 World Cup games before New Zealand were knocked out. Boxall has also represented the New Zealand U-23 Olympic team, known as the ''Oly-Whites''. He played in all 5 2008 OFC Olympic Qualifiers which saw New Zealand advance to their first ever

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Boxall again appeared in all three of New Zealand's games before they were eliminated. In addition to these 8 games, he played four Olympic warm-up matches 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 ...

, Persikota Tangerang, Indonesia (senior squad), and

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'; abbreviated as Persija), is an Indonesian professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most s ...

between the Qualifying Tournament and the Beijing Olympic Tournament. Boxall has made 2 appearances for New Zealand A at the

Agribank Cup AgriBank, part of the US Farm Credit System, serves as a wholesale lender and a farm credit bank (FCB) to a 15-state network of local farm credit associations in a district that stretches from Ohio to Wyoming and Minnesota to Arkansas. AgriB ...

in Vietnam during October 2006, appearing against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. Both games were held at the My Dinh National Stadium in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. Only days after making his Whitecaps debut, Boxall was called up to the

All Whites 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 Footbal ...

' squad for their match against China on 25 March 2011, where he came on as a second-half substitute. Boxall was called up as one of three overage players for the New Zealand U-23 Olympic team to play at the 2020 Summer Olympics. However, a thigh injury just before the tournament meant he had to pull out of the squad.

Career statistics

Club

International

''As of 15 November 2019''

Honours

Club

Auckland City FC

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...

Champions – 2007UC Santa Barbara player profile; Michael Boxall
*

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

Champions – 2007 ;SuperSport United *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...

: 2016, 2017

International

;National team *

OFC Nations Cup The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the Oceania Football Confederation, OFC member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irre ...

: 2016

Individual

* ACFC Young Player of the Year – 2006 and 2007 * All-

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

Honorable Mention – 2008 * All-

First Team – 2009 *

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of United States, American soccer Coach (sport), coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization i ...

Third Team All-American – 2010MLS Player profiles; Michael Boxall

College Soccer News
Third Team All-America-2010 * All-Far West Region First Team – 2010 *

Defender of the Year – 2010

References

External links

* *
NZ Football profile
*
Wellington Phoenix player profile
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxall, Michael 1988 births Living people Auckland City FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 players Wellington Phoenix FC players Association football defenders Expatriate soccer players in Canada New Zealand expatriate association footballers New Zealand association footballers New Zealand international footballers Olympic association footballers of New Zealand New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Association footballers from Auckland People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players A-League Men players New Zealand Football Championship players Vancouver Whitecaps FC draft picks Oakleigh Cannons FC players SuperSport United F.C. players Minnesota United FC players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2012 OFC Nations Cup players 2016 OFC Nations Cup players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Canada New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States