Tando Velaphi

Tando Yuji Velaphi (born 17 April 1987) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Perth Glory in the A-League.

Tando Velaphi
Velaphi training with Melbourne Victory in 2011
Personal information
Full name Tando Yuji Velaphi[1]
Date of birth (1987-04-17) 17 April 1987
Place of birth Perth, Australia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Perth Glory
Number 1
Youth career
Perth SC
2004–2006 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Perth SC 12 (0)
2007 → Queensland Roar (loan) 1 (0)
2007–2011 Perth Glory 74 (0)
2011–2013 Melbourne Victory 3 (0)
2013–2016 Melbourne City[2] 22 (0)
2016–2017 Shonan Bellmare 5 (0)
2018 Wellington Phoenix Reserves 1 (0)
2018 Wellington Phoenix 4 (0)
2018– Perth Glory 0 (0)
National team‡
2006 Australia U-20 6 (0)
2007 Australia U-23 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 February 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2010

Club career

Early playing career

Velaphi trained at the AIS in Canberra on a football scholarship.

Perth SC (2006–2007)

Velaphi began his senior career at Perth SC, and while there, had loan stints at Newcastle Jets and Queensland Roar.

Loan to Queensland Roar

Velaphi made his A-League debut with Queensland Roar on 12 January 2007 in a 2–1 win over Melbourne Victory at Docklands Stadium, his performance in the match earning praise from then-Queensland coach Frank Farina.[3]

Perth Glory (2007–2011)

Velaphi was re-signed for Perth Glory as their youth marquee player, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2010–11 season. The 2009–10 season was Velaphi's best, solidifying his spot between the posts and keeping 9 clean sheets over the course of the campaign.

Melbourne Victory (2011–2013)

On 8 February 2011, Melbourne Victory announced that they had signed Velaphi on a two-year deal from Perth Glory on a free transfer.[4] He made his début for the Victory in the 2011 AFC Champions League on 5 April, in a 1–1 draw against Tianjin Teda.[5] He managed to play 4 out of the Victory's 6 Asian Champions League games. Unfortunately for Tando, he suffered an injury in the pre-season, just after the AFC Champions League, causing him to sit out for the vast majority of the season. He made his official A-League debut for the Victory in Round 26, the penultimate round of the season against the Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park, a match in which the Victory won 3-0. He appeared in the following round against Perth Glory at Nib Stadium, but the Victory slumped to a 4-2 defeat.

Velaphi made his first appearance of the 2012-13 A-League season in the Victory's Round 3 match against Adelaide United, a match which the Victory won 2-1. He was then replaced in the starting lineup by Nathan Coe, and failed to make another appearance in the season.

Velaphi, along with teammates Diogo Ferreira, Spase Dilevski and Sam Gallagher, was released by Melbourne Victory in April 2013, shortly after the end of the 2012-13 A-League season.[6] In his three years at the club, Velaphi made just 3 out of a possible 56 appearances for the club.

Melbourne Heart / City (2013–2016)

Following his release from the Victory, he joined cross town rivals Melbourne Heart on a one-year deal. He managed to play the last three matches of the 2013/14 season. Velaphi has also signed on for another 1-year deal with the Melbourne Heart after much discussion.

After a successful 2014/15 season where he became Melbourne City's first-choice goalkeeper, Velaphi signed a new contract keeping him at City until the end of the 2016/17 A-League season.[7]

He was released during the January transfer window of the 2015-16 A-League season to pursue opportunity overseas.[8]

Wellington Phoenix (2018)

After limited appearances at Shonan Bellmare, Velaphi returned to the A-League, signing a deal with Wellington Phoenix until the end of the 2017-2018 season. On his debut he saved a penalty from Diego Castro.[9]

Perth Glory (2018–)

In July 2018, Velaphi re-joined Perth Glory on a one-year contract, expected to create competition with Liam Reddy and Nick Feely for the number one goalkeeper position.[10]

International career

Velaphi played for the Young Socceroos, playing in the 2006 AFC Youth Championship and is currently a member of the Olyroos. Due to the withdrawal of first-choice Olyroos goalkeeper Danny Vukovic through suspension, Velaphi was competing with Reading back-up keeper, Adam Federici to become the Olyroos' starting goalkeeper at the Beijing Olympics, but made no appearances for the Olyroos

Tando revealed in January 2010 that his long-term ambition was to leave Australia and play regular football in Europe, in the hopes of securing a place on Australia's 2014 World Cup roster.[11]

Personal life

Velaphi was born in Perth, Western Australia. His mother is Japanese and his father is Zimbabwean.[12][13]

A-League career statistics
As of 16 September 2014

CS = Clean Sheets

Club Season League Finals Cup Asia1 Total
Apps CS Apps CS Apps CS Apps CS Apps CS
Queensland Roar 2006–07 100000—10
Total 10000000 10
Perth Glory 2007–08 81—41—122
2008–09 131—00—131
2009–10 24910——259
2010–11 284———284
Total 7315104100 7816
Melbourne Victory 2010–11 0000—4040
2011–12 21———21
2012–13 1000——10
Total 31000040 71
Melbourne City 2013–14 00———00
2014–15 00—30—03
Total 00000000 00
A-League total 7716104140 8617

1 - AFC Champions League statistics are included in season ending during group stages (i.e. ACL 2011 and A-League season 2010–11 etc.)

Honours

Perth Glory

References
  1. Tando Yuji Velaphi at Eurosport
  2. The team was known as Melbourne Heart prior to 2014
  3. "Farina's praise for kid gloves Velaphi". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  4. Victory snaps up Velaphi
  5. Twomey, Liam (12 April 2011). "Velaphi loving life at Victory". Sportal. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/07/08/velaphi-signs-new-melbourne-city-deal
  8. "City Release Velaphi, Sign Bouzanis". Melbourne City. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  9. Rollo, Phillip (1 February 2018). "Wellington Phoenix add All Whites striker Monty Patterson on loan from Ipswich". Stuff.co.nz.
  10. "Tando Velaphi returns for Glory". FourFourTwo. 2 July 2018.
  11. Tando Velaphi looks to 2014 World Cup
  12. "Danny Vukovic fails in bid to go to Beijing". Herald Sun. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  13. AAP (11 January 2007). "Nervous Tando steps in for Roar". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
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