J. McGarry

James McGarry is a 23-year-old Kiwi-born defender, who is entering his fourth season with the Wellington Phoenix. > History James McGarry was born in Mosgiel, New Zealand and played his youth career at Southern United before joining the Phoenix Academy in 2014. He spent four seasons with the Wellington Phoenix from 2014-2018, making two appearances for the first team and 52 appearances for the Phoenix Reserves in the ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership – scoring 11 goals for the latter. Prior to re-joining the Phoenix in October 2020, McGarry had spent two seasons playing for Eredivisie club Willem II in the Netherlands, where he made six appearances. McGarry has also represented New Zealand on 16 occasions over the past five years, including the national Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 squads. This includes McGarry representing New Zealand at both the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. McGarry was Also named as a non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand OlyWhites football squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Wellington Phoenix Head Coach, Ufuk Talay, said that he was confident McGarry would be able to contribute immediately. “We were already aware of his ability and his two seasons with Willem II have only helped to grow him as a player and a defender,” said Talay. > 2020/21 A-League Season After re-joining the Phoenix in October 2020, McGarry played in 22 matches – including 15 starts – as a key member of the squad, tallying three assists as a specialist left back and showing a strong feel for the game. Wellington Phoenix Coach Ufuk Talay said that McGarry was solid for the Phoenix over the course of the 2020/21 A-League season. “Jimmy was good for us as an attacking left back this past season, he’s got some solid attributes at that position which helps the squad,” said Talay. “It’s good for the Club to have players like Jimmy – who played a lot of minutes for us this past season - locked in early as we start preparing for the 2021/22 season; it gives us that added consistency in the squad and familiarity between all the returning players.” > 2021/22 A-League Season The Wellington Phoenix are pleased to confirm that McGarry has re-signed with the Club for the 2021/22 A-League season. McGarry says that despite the challenges Covid presented to the Phoenix last season, he enjoyed his time with the Phoenix and playing in the A-League. “I’m really happy and excited to sign on with the Phoenix for another season, I enjoyed last season in Wollongong and got on well with the other players,” said McGarry. “It took me a few games to adjust into the A-League, but having the pre-season in Australia probably helped me adjust a bit both physically and mentally, just preparing for the weather – I haven’t really played anywhere that had similar humidity to that. “I’m comfortable playing at this level and I’m looking forward to pushing myself really hard and having a really big year.”