Rising star’s UK dream hit by visa hurdle
RISING footballer Laurence Braude's dream of playing English soccer on a professional contract has been hit by visa problems.
DAVID WEINER
ENGLISH First Division club Oldham Athletic has offered 20-year-old Sydney player Laurence Braude his first professional contract, but his ineligibility for a United Kingdom work visa has scuppered the Maccabi junior’s dream move.
Braude impressed the club’s coaching staff with his pace, mobility, technique and determination in a trial last month, but the deal has fallen through.
However, Braude’s European dream is not over. Buoyed by Oldham’s interest, Braude will return to Europe and trial in Belgium, where the visa requirements are not as onerous.
“I’m just getting into the mix of it and proving myself as a footballer,” Braude told The AJN.
“I’m starting to see there is a long journey ahead -— I’m setting myself up for the next 10 years. I want to make the most of the opportunity while I’m young and hopefully I’ll inspire some of the young guys coming through.”
Braude’s manager, Maccabi Youth Development League (YDL) chairman Jon Marcuson, has no doubt about Braude’s credentials.
“He’s now proven his credibility. It’s up to us [MMR management], as his management agents, to make sure he gets signed by a club in Europe. We don’t expect him back in Australia,” he asserted.
“We are just exceptionally proud of him and he should be proud of himself. He’s taken on the best and within a short period of time, everything we thought he had, he produced.”
How quickly things have changed. The Australian Institute of Sport graduate was released by the Central Coast Mariners at the end of last season and had returned to university, with professional football becoming more of a pipedream.
“I personally thought I did enough to stay [at the Mariners] … but this is amazing how it works,” Braude reflected.
“I had already started with uni, I thought it was over, then this came one day out of the blue -— it showed anything is around the corner. I’ve gone from nearly quitting the big time to basically getting right in the mix of it.”
Ironically, after all Braude’s football experience, it was his junior club that ultimately opened up the shop window.
When Maccabi-Hakoah was looking for a reputable senior star to trial at Oldham with its two best young players (Gilad Swartz and Robbie Ezekiel, who have both been asked to return again in October 2010), Braude was the perfect fit.
Despite the successful trial, Braude failed to get a work permit. Without enough national team caps, and no European or English parentage to obtain a European Union (EU) or United Kingdom passport, both parties missed out.
However, it could be a blessing for Braude. Belgium’s slower, more technical style of football will be more suitable to Braude’s attributes.
It’s a football path trodden by Australian football luminaries like Frank Farina and Paul Okon -— and if Braude succeeds, he can apply for an EU passport after three years.
comments