Gianni Ryan Stensness (born 7 February 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Norwegian Eliteserien club Viking FK. A former youth international for New Zealand, Stensness plays for the Australia national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianni Ryan Stensness[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder, Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Viking | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pittwater RSL | |||
| Collaroy Cromer Strikers | |||
| 2016–2017 | North Shore Mariners | ||
| 2017 | Central Coast Mariners | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | North Shore Mariners | 10 | (0) |
| 2017 | CCM Academy | 26 | (2) |
| 2018 | Manly United | 7 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 12 | (1) |
| 2019 | Wellington Phoenix | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Central Coast Mariners | 48 | (1) |
| 2021– | Viking | 59 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Australia U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | New Zealand U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | New Zealand U23 | 13 | (0) |
| 2022– | Australia | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 March 2022 | |||
Club career
editWellington Phoenix
editIn March 2019, Stensness was promoted to the Wellington Phoenix first team from their reserves. On 9 March 2019, he played his first professional game for the club. He came on as a substitute for Mandi in an 8–2 win over his former side, Central Coast Mariners.[3][4] In June 2019, he left Wellington Phoenix to explore opportunities in Europe.[5]
Central Coast Mariners
editStensness returned from Europe and was offered a contract with Wellington Phoenix, but decided to sign a one-year contract with Central Coast Mariners in August 2019 as a midfielder.[6] After a strong start to the 2019–20 season, Stensness signed a two-year extension on his contract, through to 2022. His performances in the 2019–20 season earned him the CCM Goal of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards. Stensness also had the most tackles in the A-league in the 2019–20 season and gained the highest OPTA score of any player in the team. Stensness showed himself to be one of the strongest and most commanding defensive midfielders in the A-league in season 20/21.[citation needed]
Viking FK
editOn 9 August 2021, he signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Viking FK.[7] He made his debut for the club on 29 August 2021, in a 2–1 win against Rosenborg.[8]
International career
editEligible for both Australia and New Zealand (Australia via birth, New Zealand via paternal birth),[9] 17-year old Stensness was named by Ufuk Talay in an Australian under-20 national team training camp on 31 January 2017.[10] In August 2017, Stensness was part of the under-20 team who played in a Tri Series against the Western Australia state team and against the Singapore national under-19 football team.[11]
On 11 February 2019, Stensness was invited by New Zealand under-20 national team coach Des Buckingham to a talent identification camp in Auckland.[12] On 23 March 2019 he declared his desire to represent New Zealand.[13]
On 28 May 2019, Stensness scored his first goal for New Zealand at the U-20 World Cup against Norway, helping his team advance to the round of 16.[14]
In September 2021, Stensness decided to represent Australia internationally.[9] He debuted with Australia in a 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification loss to Japan on 24 March 2022.[15]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 13 November 2022[16]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| North Shore Mariners | 2016[17] | National Premier Leagues NSW 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Central Coast Mariners Academy | 2017[18] | National Premier Leagues NSW 2 | 26 | 2 | — | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| Manly United | 2018[19] | National Premier Leagues NSW | 7 | 0 | 1[20] | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 2018–19 | New Zealand Football Championship | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2018–19 | A-League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Central Coast Mariners | 2019–20 | A-League | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | A-League | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 48 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 50 | 1 | ||||
| Viking | 2021 | Eliteserien | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | Eliteserien | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 139 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147 | 5 | ||
References
edit- ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
- ^ "Squad list – Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (5 March 2019). "Wellington Phoenix promote Australian-raised Kiwi youngster Gianni Stensness". Stuff.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (10 March 2019). "Humiliating defeat against 'ruthless' Wellington Phoenix costs Mariners coach Mike Mulvey his job". Stuff.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (21 June 2019). "Wellington Phoenix lock in hometown product Ben Waine on two-year deal". Stuff.
Meanwhile, Gianni Stensness has rejected an upgraded contract and will be moving on from the club after one season to explore opportunities in Europe.
- ^ "Central Coast Mariners offer lifeline to under-20 midfielder Gianni Stensness". Stuff. 28 August 2019.
- ^ Svendsen, Dag Atle (9 August 2021). "Gianni Stensness klar for Viking" (in Norwegian). Viking FK. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ Nilssen, Stig (29 August 2021). "To deilige Viking-susere senket Rosenborg". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ a b Voerman, Andrew (27 September 2021). "New Zealand Olympian Gianni Stensness opts for Australia as All Whites squad named". Stuff.co.nz.
- ^ "Stensness named in Young Socceroos". Central Coast Mariners. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Simcox, Peter (4 August 2017). "Young Socceroos claim second Tri Series victory". Football West. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017.
- ^ "U-20s ID camp to be held in Auckland". NZ Football. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (23 March 2019). "Wellington Phoenix rookie switches allegiance to New Zealand". Stuff. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Voerman, Andrew (28 May 2019). "Gianni Stensness screamer helps New Zealand win at Fifa Under-20 World Cup". Stuff.
- ^ "WATCH: Socceroos fall short after Japan strike late". Socceroos. 24 March 2022.
- ^ Gianni Stensness at Soccerway
- ^ "Gianni Stensness". National Premier Leagues. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Gianni Stensness". National Premier Leagues. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Gianni Stensness". National Premier Leagues. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "ICYMI - FFA Cup round 4, Manly United 3 - 2 Mount Druitt Town Rangers FC". Facebook. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
External links
edit- Gianni Stensness at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
- Gianni Stensness at WorldFootball.net