Auckland FC are all but ready for their Isuzu UTE A-League debut against Brisbane Roar next month following the arrival of three internationals Guillermo May, Luis Felipe Gallegos and Louis Verstraete.
They have also unveiled their away kit for their inaugural season.
Uruguayan striker May, ‘highly-decorated’ Chilean midfielder Gallegos and former Belgium Under-21 midfielder Verstraete have joined Auckland ahead of their historic October 19 opener.
May, 26, arrives from Argentine giants Newell’s Old Boys and brings South American experience to the New Zealand-based club, having also played for Uruguayan powerhouse Nacional and Newell’s, where Lionel Messi is among a host of stars to have emerged from the club’s youth setup.
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Gallegos has made the move from Greek Super League team OFI Crete after two spells at the top-flight club while the 32-year-old also played for boyhood club Universidad de Chile among others.
As for 25-year-old midfielder Verstraete, he joins after spending the past three years with Beveren in is homeland after emerging from Gent’s academy in 2016 before going on to join fellow Belgian Pro League team Royal Antwerp.
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“Luis is an incredibly experienced number six. He’s played almost 400 professional games, won a heap of silverware, has a great range of passing both short and long, and I’m delighted we were able to bring a player of his calibre to the club,” said Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica.
“Louis is a bit younger but he’s a similar player. A very intelligent midfielder, very organised and a natural leader. Another great addition to our team.
“And then there is Guillermo. He’s a very technical, creative striker with great movement. He will be looking to link up with the midfield, to drop back if needed and make those clever runs that get the ball into the opposition box and create goal scoring chances – either for him or his team mates.”
“All three of the players are an excellent demonstration of our strategy to blend youth with experience around a strong local core to create an exciting, attacking team capable of competing alongside the best the A-League has to offer.”
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The foreign trio are the latest new faces at expansion club Auckland heading into 2024-25, and they are the 23rd, 24th and 25th signings.
Cameron Howieson, Michael Woud, Francis De Vries, Jesse Randall, Max Mata, Tommy Smith, Luis Toomey (scholarship contract), Liam Gillion (scholarship contract), Finn Mckenlay (scholarship contract), Adama Coulibaly (scholarship contract), Oliver Middleton (scholarship contract), Jonty Bidois (scholarship contract), Dan Hall, Scott Galloway, Callan Elliot, Joey Champness, Jake Brimmer, Hiroki Sakai, Logan Rogerson, Joseph Knowles, Alex Paulsen (on loan from Bournemouth) and Nando Pijnaker are all on Auckland’s books.
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“Today’s a huge day for Auckland FC and Auckland. I’m pleased to be able to welcome our three new additions and am really proud of the team we have built,” said CEO Nick Becker.
“Just like Auckland this is a diverse team that mixes local talent with some international stars. We now have in place a team of players we can all get behind, to celebrate and cheer on come October.
“To build a team from the ground up is pretty unusual and a huge amount of credit needs to go to Steve, Terry, all the support staff and our sponsors, including Go Media, for making it possible.”
