WOUD Michael

General
CLUB CAREER
He began his professional career in New Zealand before transferring to English club Sunderland in August 2015. He moved to Netherlands in July 2018, playing first for Willem II before joining Almere City FC in January 2021. "It [moving to Sunderland] was a massive change for me in my life. I was just 16 when I came over by myself and my family stayed in New Zealand. I stayed with a family in digs which was a new experience for me. On the field I got better but also off the field I was learning a lot and learning how to deal with certain situations which helped me a lot off the pitch. The thing for me at Sunderland was there wasn't any plan. I can understand but there was no plan for me. I am at a point in my career where I wanted to play every week and Almere gave me that opportunity and I am really enjoying it and learning." (transfermarkt.co.uk, 15 May 2021; chroniclelive.co.uk, 03 May 2020; tribalfootball.com, 01 Jan 2021)

CHOOSING NEW ZEALAND
Born in New Zealand, he also has family connections to the Netherlands. He was approached by the Netherlands about representing the nation and was included in a Dutch preliminary U20 squad in August 2018, but he declined the offer and opted to play for New Zealand instead. "I had to think about it, because at the end of the day, Holland is a big country for football, it's a massive country. It's a bit like New Zealand and rugby, you'd always think about it. But then thinking about where I've lived my whole life, and the people that have helped me, like [former All Whites] Danny Hay and Jason Batty, I didn't think it was right for me to change. I want to play for New Zealand at World Cups and I want to help New Zealand going forward." (stuff.co.nz, 26 Aug 2018)