Nathaniel Atkinson
{{short description|Australian professional footballer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Nathaniel Atkinson
| image = Nathaniel Atkinson MCY.tif
| image_size = 150px
| caption = Atkinson with Melbourne City in 2019
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1999|6|13|df=y}}
| birth_place = Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
| currentclub = Melbourne City
| clubnumber = 13
| position = Right-back
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Riverside Olympic
| youthyears2 =
| youthclubs2 = FFT NTC
| years1 = 2016–2017
| clubs1 = Melbourne City NPL
| caps1 = 32
| goals1 = 8
| years2 = 2017–2022
| clubs2 = Melbourne City
| caps2 = 75
| goals2 = 4
| years3 = 2022–2024
| clubs3 = Heart of Midlothian
| caps3 = 52
| goals3 = 2
| years4 = 2024–
| clubs4 = Melbourne City
| caps4 = 12
| goals4 = 1
| nationalyears1 = 2018
| nationalteam1 = Australia U20
| nationalcaps1 = 3
| nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 2019–2022
| nationalteam2 = Australia U23
| nationalcaps2 = 7
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 2022–
| nationalteam3 = Australia
| nationalcaps3 = 13
| nationalgoals3 = 0
| club-update = 5 May 2024
| ntupdate = 25 March 2024
}}
Nathaniel Caleb Atkinson (born 13 June 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a right-back for Melbourne City and the Australia national team.
Club career
=Early career=
Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Atkinson was part of the youth setup at Riverside Olympic before joining the NTC program at Football Tasmania.{{cite news|title=Former Launceston Player to Trial for Melbourne City|url=https://ntjsa.org.au/former-launceston-player-to-trial-for-melbourne-city/|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=NTJSA|date=20 July 2015|archive-date=2 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073235/https://ntjsa.org.au/former-launceston-player-to-trial-for-melbourne-city/|url-status=dead}} In 2016, Atkinson joined the Melbourne City academy after a successful trial with the club.{{cite news|title=Talented teenager motivated by soccer-mad family|url=http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3663149/talented-teenager-motivated-by-soccer-mad-family/|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=Examiner|date=13 January 2016}} He played with the Melbourne City NPL side in the NPL Victoria from 2016 to 2017. Towards the end of the 2016–17 season, Atkinson began training with the Melbourne City first team.{{cite news|last1=Cooling|first1=Andrew|title=Atkinson Trains With Melbourne City First Team|url=http://www.sliceofcheese.net/atkinson-trains-with-melbourne-city-first-team/|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=Slice of Cheese|date=16 March 2017}}
=Melbourne City=
Going into the 2017–18 season, Atkinson was given the 37 shirt.{{cite web|title=Melbourne City Squad 2017–18|url=http://www.worldfootball.net/teams/melbourne-city-fc/2018/2/|website=worldfootball.net|date=10 January 2023 }} He made his competitive debut for the first team in a FFA Cup match against Peninsula Power at Dolphin Oval on 1 August 2017. He came on as a late stoppage time substitute for Bruno Fornaroli as Melbourne City won the match 2–0.{{cite web|title=Peninsula Power 0–2 Melbourne City|url=https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2017/08/01/australia/ffa-cup/peninsula-power/melbourne-heart-fc/2479827/|website=Soccerway}} On 10 December 2017, due to the suspension of Melbourne City's regular right-back Manny Muscat, Atkinson made his A-League debut for the club against the Central Coast Mariners. Despite being named as a right back before the match, Atkinson played the match as a right winger as Melbourne City managed to win 1–0.{{cite news|last1=Windley|first1=Matt|title=Young gun Nathaniel Atkinson praised by coach Warren Joyce after starring in Melbourne City win|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/young-gun-nathaniel-atkinson-praised-by-coach-warren-joyce-after-starring-in-melbourne-city-win/news-story/494a5ad6a333f3b020f4de577184c9a8|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=Herald Sun|date=10 December 2017}} After the match, Melbourne City head coach Warren Joyce praised Atkinson, saying "I thought he took his opportunity well. He’s one that caught my eye as soon as I came to the club."
On 12 January 2018, after a promising start, Atkinson signed a two-year senior contract with Melbourne City.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/nathaniel-atkinson-gets-twoyear-deal-with-melbourne-city-20180112-h0h8yj.html|title=Nathaniel Atkinson gets two-year deal with Melbourne City|first=Michael|last=Lynch|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=12 January 2018}}
In September 2020, Atkinson signed a two-year contract with Perth Glory.{{cite news|url=https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/glory-sign-nabbout-on-two-year-deal|title=Glory sign Nabbout on two-year deal|date=1 September 2020|accessdate=1 September 2020|website=The World Game}} However, three weeks later, his contract was terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation,{{cite web|url=https://www.perthglory.com.au/news/squad-update|title=Squad Update|first=Gareth|last=Morgan|website=Perth Glory|date=23 September 2020}} allowing him to sign another two-year contract with Melbourne City.{{cite web|url=https://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/news/melbourne-city-re-signs-atkinson-berenguer-and-griffiths|title=Melbourne City re-signs Atkinson, Berenguer and Griffiths|website=Melbourne City|date=23 September 2020}}
=Heart of Midlothian=
On 24 December 2021, Atkinson signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, with the deal going through on 10 January 2022.{{Cite web|title=Match made in heaven for Nathaniel {{!}} Heart Of Midlothian Football Club|url=https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/match-made-in-heaven-for-nathaniel|access-date=10 January 2022|website=www.heartsfc.co.uk}}
=Return to Melbourne City=
Atkinson re-joined Melbourne City on a three year contract ahead of the 2024-25 season.{{Cite web|title=Double signing boost as fan favourite returns|url=https://melbournecityfc.com.au/news/20240916-double-signing-boost/|date=16 September 2024|website=Melbourne City FC}}
International career
In January 2017, Atkinson was selected to train with the Australia U20 side.{{cite news|last1=Shaw|first1=Rob|title=Riverside Olympic's Nathaniel Atkinson called up by Young Socceroos|url=http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4437984/national-call-up-rewards-atkinson/|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=Examiner|date=31 January 2017}}
In November 2019 he was one of four players suspended by the Australia U23 due to "unprofessional conduct".{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50471012|title=Four Australia Under-23 players banned after complaint from woman|work=BBC Sport |date=19 November 2019}}
Atkinson qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He was part of the Olyroos Olympic squad. The team beat Argentina in their first group match but were unable to win another match. They were therefore not in medal contention.{{Cite web|title=Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021|url=https://www.theroar.com.au/olympics/australian-olympic-team/|access-date=22 February 2022|website=The Roar|language=en-US}}
He was called up to the senior Australia squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on 24 and 29 March 2022.{{cite web|url=https://www.socceroos.com.au/news/march-squad-announcement|title=CONFIRMED: Fresh faces & experienced Socceroos named as Australia gets set for Japan and Jeddah|publisher=Football Australia|website=Socceroos|date=17 March 2022}}
Atkinson was named in Australia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November 2022.{{Cite web |date=8 November 2022 |title=SOCCEROOS SQUAD ANNOUNCED: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ |url=https://www.socceroos.com.au/news/socceroos-squad-announced-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022tm |access-date=9 November 2022 |website=Socceroos |language=en}}
Honours
Melbourne City
- A-League Men Premiership: 2020–21
- A-League Men Championship: 2021
Individual
- Joe Marston Medal: 2021
Career statistics
=Club=
{{updated|5 May 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://worldfootball.net/player_summary/nathaniel-atkinson/2/|title=Nathaniel Atkinson » Club matches |website=worldfootball.net|access-date=9 July 2021}}{{Soccerway|493953|access-date=9 July 2021}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||
| rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season !colspan=3|League !colspan=2|National CupIncludes the FFA Cup !colspan=2|Continental !colspan=2|Other !colspan=2|Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals | ||||||||
| Melbourne City NPL{{cite web|url=https://websites.sportstg.com/team_info.cgi?action=PSTATS&pID=201111069&client=1-10178-160768-391997-21800674&ocompID=391997|title=Player statistics for Nathaniel Atkinson|accessdate=9 July 2021|publisher=SportsTG|website=GameDay}}
|2017 |32 | 8 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 32 | 8 | ||
| rowspan="6"|Melbourne City
|rowspan="5"|A-League |17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 18 | 0 | |
| 2018–19
|17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 20 | 0 | |
| 2019–20
|23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 23 | 1 | |
| 2020–21
|14 | 2 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22
|4 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 4 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!75 | 3 | 4 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 79 | 3 | |
| rowspan="4"|Heart of Midlothian
|rowspan="3"|Scottish Premiership |15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 20 | 1 | |
| 2022–23
|18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | colspan=2|— | 26 | 2 |
| 2023–24
|19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 26 | 0 |
| colspan="2"|Total
!52 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 1 | colspan=2|— | 72 | 3 |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!159 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | colspan="2"|– | 183 | 6 |
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan=5|Australia | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 0 |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/player/nathaniel-atkinson Melbourne City FC Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073458/https://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/player/nathaniel-atkinson |date=2 January 2018 }}.
{{Melbourne City FC squad}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Australia squads
| bg = #FCD116
| fg = #008751
| bordercolor = #008751
| list1 =
{{Australia men's football squad 2020 Summer Olympics}}
{{Australia squad 2022 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Australia squad 2023 AFC Asian Cup}}
}}
{{2024–25 A-League Men PFA Team of the Season}}
{{Joe Marston Medal}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Nathaniel}}
Category:Sportspeople from Launceston, Tasmania
Category:Soccer players from Tasmania
Category:Australian men's soccer players
Category:Melbourne City FC players
Category:Perth Glory FC players
Category:Heart of Midlothian F.C. players
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:National Premier Leagues players
Category:Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic soccer players for Australia
Category:2022 FIFA World Cup players
Category:Australian expatriate men's soccer players
Category:Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland