Trainee teacher scores at the Club World Cup after taking annual leave to play at the tournament for amateur side Auckland City

Daily Mail​

25-06-2025

A teacher scored at the Club World Cup on Tuesday - having booked annual leave so he could play at the tournament.
Though the competition is seeing some of the best players and teams in the world battle it out to be crowned the best side on the planet in the first episode of the revamped competition.
But some of the sides - and players - however, aren't such big names, and perhaps none more so than Auckland City of New Zealand.
Auckland compete in the Northern League in their homeland, but are an amateur side, and their players all have day jobs to go alongside their football - a far cry from the hundreds of thousands that some players involved at the tournament are paid.
They drew 1-1 with Boca Juniors in their final match of the competition this week, picking up just the one point from their three matches, which included a 10-0 thrashing at the hands of German champions Bayern Munich and a 6-0 loss to Benfica.
They ended the tournament with a feel-good feeling, however. Christian Gray scored his side's equaliser in the game, heading a corner past Boca goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin to trigger scenes of ecstasy.
Gray, 28, said after the game: 'I'm from a small town a long way from here and a lot different to this environment, so it is somewhat of a dream.'
He is a trainee physical education teacher at Auckland Grammar School and Mt Roskill Intermediate School. As a footballer, he plays as a centre back and is a semi-professional.
Many of the Auckland players fund their careers themselves, with delivery drivers and tradesman also among the occupations in the squad.
Auckland's local paper, the New Zealand Herald, joined the critics who claimed that the club should not have been able to compete against professionals in the tournament, suggesting the team had 'damaged Auckland City FC´s proud 20-year legacy' in FIFA events.
'It´s been a trying few weeks,' the Herald reported after two defeats. 'In the past, Auckland City have been renowned for punching above their weight on the global stage, while usually having a couple of outstanding individuals. That hasn´t quite been the case here.'
But Auckland left their best to last, producing an outstanding performance to the satisfaction of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who was among the crowd at the match in Nashville.
'It´s been a tough trip, you know, we´ve had some tough results but just happy for the team,' Gray added. 'I think we deserve it. We got a little bit of respect back I hope.
'We rely on volunteers, we don´t have a lot of money so I´m just happy that they´re happy.'