Danny Hay
Daniel Hay | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 15, 1975 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Football player, football manager |
| Years active | 1994–2009 (player), 2011–present (manager) |
| Known for | Former professional footballer and manager of New Zealand national football teams |
Daniel John Hay (born 15 May 1975) is a former professional footballer from New Zealand who later took on managerial roles with the New Zealand men's national football team, as well as the New Zealand U-23 and New Zealand U-20 squads. During his playing days, Hay operated primarily as a central defender, representing Premier League club Leeds United and Australian National Soccer League outfit Perth Glory. Additionally, he served as captain for Waitakere United in the New Zealand Football Championship.
Early and personal life
Born in Auckland, Hay spent his formative years in the suburbs of Titirangi and later Hillsborough. He completed his secondary education at Kelston Boys High School, where he was a member of the first XI football team from 1990 through 1993.
Kelston Boys High School
While representing his high school’s first XI, Hay earned recognition as Auckland’s College Sportsperson of the Year for Football in 1993.
Waitakere City
Hay began his senior club career with Waitakere City in 1994, initially brought in as an injury replacement during the Chatham Cup final. Waitakere secured a 1–0 victory over Wellington Olympic in that match. The following year, he contributed to Waitakere’s triumph in the 1995 New Zealand Superclub League, where they convincingly defeated Waikato United 4–0 in the final. That same season, Waitakere also claimed the Chatham Cup title by overcoming North Shore United with a 4–0 scoreline.
Central United
In 1996, Hay moved to Central United to compete in the National Summer Soccer League. On 30 March, he captained Central United to a 2–0 away win against his former club Waitakere City, scoring one of the goals from the penalty spot.
Perth Glory
Hay signed with Perth Glory in August 1997 during their second campaign in the Australian National Soccer League. He found the net in a notable 4–1 victory over eventual champions South Melbourne on 7 December 1997. Perth Glory ended that season in eighth place, with Hay honored as the recipient of the prestigious Perth Glory Most Glorious Player accolade.
The subsequent season saw Perth Glory improve to third place; however, they were eliminated after losing the preliminary final to Sydney United on 23 May 1999. Hay shared the Most Glorious Player award that year with teammate Scott Miller.
Leeds United
In June 1999, Hay underwent a trial with Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart before trialling with Premier League side Leeds United during their pre-season tour across Sweden and Finland in July. On 14 July, he featured as a starter in a friendly against Swedish club Byske and played the full game on 17 July versus Finnish team Tervaritahdet in Oulu. He was rested for Leeds’ final pre-season friendly against Swedish side Bodens. These trials caused him to miss out on representing New Zealand at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup held in Mexico.
Hay secured a three-year deal with Leeds, becoming the first New Zealander to sign for a Premier League club. He primarily featured for Leeds’ Reserve squad throughout the 1999–2000 Premier Reserve League season, starting most of their 24 matches between August 1999 and May 2000.
His spell at Leeds was disrupted by injuries; all of his first-team appearances were confined to a two-month period beginning with his debut in the UEFA Champions League during the 2000–01 season. Much of his time was spent as an unused substitute amid a squad dealing with numerous injuries.
On 30 September 1999, Hay was named among the substitutes for Leeds’ UEFA Cup first-round second leg fixture against Partizan Belgrade at Elland Road.
UEFA Champions League
On 13 September 2000, Hay was included on the bench for Leeds United's group stage encounter in the UEFA Champions League against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. He was brought on in the 89th minute, replacing captain Lucas Radebe due to a neck injury.
After this brief appearance, Hay remained an unused substitute in the following matches against AC Milan, Beşiktaş (played twice), and the home game versus Barcelona.
On 8 November 2000, Hay was again a substitute during the 1–1 away draw with AC Milan, a result that ensured Leeds advanced to the last 16 alongside group leaders Milan.
A hernia surgery kept Hay out of action until January 2001, when he made his return playing for the Reserves against Liverpool. He rejoined the first-team squad on the bench on 14 March 2001 during the 3–3 home draw with Lazio, which guaranteed Leeds' place in the quarter-finals.
Premier League
Hay made his Premier League debut on 30 September 2000, coming off the bench for Lucas Radebe in Leeds United’s thrilling 4–3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road. This appearance made him only the second New Zealander, after Lee Norfolk, to participate in England’s top-flight league. On 21 October, Hay was named in the starting lineup for a 0–3 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The following week, he played against Bradford City at Valley Parade, where his header was cleared off the goal line. On 4 November, Hay was substituted on early during Leeds’ memorable 4–3 win over Liverpool.
Football League Cup
On 31 October 2000, Hay started in Leeds’ third-round Worthington Cup fixture away at Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park, which ended with a 2–3 loss after extra time.
Following summer surgery, Hay returned to action for pre-season matches in August 2001. He started in victories over York City (4–0) on 8 August and Harrogate Town (3–0) on 13 August. Unfortunately, on 22 August, he worsened a groin injury during an away game against Selby Town, necessitating further medical attention. Ongoing injury issues throughout the season prevented him from featuring in Leeds’ UEFA Cup third-round first leg against Grasshoppers on 22 November 2001. Consequently, Hay did not make any additional appearances for either the first team or reserves that season.
Walsall
After his contract with Leeds United expired, Hay signed with Walsall in July 2002 to compete in England’s Football League First Division. He established himself as a regular starter, accumulating forty starts along with five appearances as a substitute.
Football Kingz
In early 2004, Hay joined the Football Kingz for their final campaign. He featured in seven matches and scored during his last outing against Brisbane on 29 February 2004.
New Zealand Knights
At the start of the 2005–2006 campaign, Hay served as the inaugural captain for the Auckland-based New Zealand Knights, but he left the club in December 2005 following disagreements with the management.
Perth Glory
In January 2006, during the midpoint of the 2005–06 A-League season, Hay moved to rivals Perth Glory to strengthen their squad amidst injury difficulties.
Waitakere United
Hay wrapped up his playing career with Waitakere United in the New Zealand Football Championship, where he captained the side to a runner-up finish in 2006–07 and led them to their maiden championship victory in 2007–08. Under his leadership, the team also finished second again in 2008–09.
International career
Hay earned 31 appearances and netted two goals representing the New Zealand national team. His international debut occurred on 29 September 1996 against Oman during a Middle East tour. He scored his first goal for New Zealand in the 1998 Oceania Nations Cup, securing a 1–0 win over Fiji. In 2006, Hay was named captain of the national squad.
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup – France
After a four-year absence from international play, Hay was included in New Zealand’s squad for the 2003 Confederations Cup, competing in Group A alongside France, Colombia, and Japan. Recovering from an ankle injury sustained while at Walsall FC, he remained on the bench during the 0–3 loss to Japan, started in the 1–3 defeat to Colombia, and featured in the 0–5 loss against France.
In early 2009, Hay retired from international football to concentrate on his teaching role at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, where he also coached both the First XI and youth teams.
Sacred Heart College
As head coach of Sacred Heart College’s First XI team, Hay led them to triumph in the Lotto Premier National Secondary Schools Championship in 2011, 2014, and 2016. The team also secured runner-up positions in 2015 and 2017. In May 2017, he directed the squad at the International School Sport Federation’s World Schools Championship held in Prague.
Eastern Suburbs
Hay took charge of Eastern Suburbs competing in the ISPS Handa Premiership, guiding them to their first national title in nearly five decades by winning the Championship in 2019.
New Zealand under-17
Appointed as coach of the New Zealand under-17 national side in April 2015, Hay managed them during the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The team advanced from their group as runners-up behind France, before being eliminated in the round of 16 by Brazil via a penalty scored in the 96th minute. Their group stage results included a 1–6 loss to France, a goalless draw with Syria, and a 2–1 victory over Paraguay.
In February 2017, New Zealand claimed the 2017 OFC U-17 Championship title with a commanding 7–0 win over New Caledonia. This marked their largest margin of victory against New Caledonia at this age group and secured qualification for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The squad remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, topping their group after scoring 27 goals while conceding just one during their semi-final against Papua New Guinea. This success represented New Zealand’s sixth consecutive and seventh overall triumph in the OFC U-17 Championship.
New Zealand national team
On 26 August 2019, Hay was named head coach of the New Zealand squad, making him just the second person to have both captained and managed the national side. His inaugural game in charge resulted in a 1–3 defeat during a friendly encounter with the Republic of Ireland.
Controversy
During his coaching stint at Sacred Heart College, Auckland, Hay openly criticised the tactics employed by then-New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert following a third-place finish at the 2012 OFC Nations Cup. He described the strategy as "tactically lazy" and ill-suited to both the playing conditions and the players involved.
Moreover, Hay was handed a suspension for four matches after an incident on the sidelines where he directed inappropriate language towards match officials while coaching Sacred Heart. He subsequently issued an apology to both players and parents for his conduct.
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Perth Glory | 1998–99 | National Soccer League | — | — | — | |||||||
| Leeds United | 1999–2000 | Premier League | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | ||||||||||||
| 2001–02 | ||||||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||||
| Walsall | 2002–03 | First Division | ||||||||||
| Football Kingz | 2003–04 | National Soccer League | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| New Zealand Knights | 2005–06 | A-League | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Perth Glory | 2005–06 | A-League | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Waitakere United | 2006–07 New Zealand Football Championship#Premiership | 13 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 | 16 | 2 | |||
| 2007–08 New Zealand Football Championship#Premiership | 16 | 2 | - | - | 7 | 0 | 23 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 New Zealand Football Championship#Premiership | 3 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Total | ||||||||||||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 1996 | 3 | 0 |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 |
- The score column indicates New Zealand’s goal count first, showing the match score immediately after each goal scored by Hay.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score after goal | Final result | Competition | Reference |
|---|
|- |style="text-align:center"|1 |
- REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
This page is a redirect. The following categories are used to track and monitor this redirect:
|
|Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia |Template:Fb |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |1998 OFC Nations Cup |
|- |style="text-align:center"|2 |
- REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting
This page is a redirect. The following categories are used to track and monitor this redirect:
|
|Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia |Template:Fb |style="text-align:center"|1–1 |style="text-align:center"|1–1 |Friendly |
}
External links
- Coaching history of New Zealand national team at Ultimatenzsoccer.com
- Playing record in the UK at Ultimatenzsoccer.com