Alex Rufer

Alex Rufer is in his 14^th A-League season with the Wellington Phoenix, having joined the club ahead of the 2013-14 season.

The combative midfielder made his Phoenix debut as a 17-year-old in February 2014 and is on track to become just the second player to play 200 A-League matches for the club.

Rufer has been the men’s first team captain for the past five seasons and is a current New Zealand international.

He represented New Zealand at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2015, playing in three of their games, and went on to make his senior debut later that year against Myanmar.

Rufer’s career was stalled in late 2015, when he suffered a broken ankle and was sidelined for eight months. He returned for the 2016-17 season and despite making just three A-League appearances he was selected in the All Whites squad for the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

He featured 11 times in the following A-League campaign before cementing himself as a regular in Ufuk Talay’s first season, starting 24 matches as the Nix achieved their then highest ever regular season finish of third.

Rufer started 14 of the club’s first 15 games in his eighth season at the Phoenix but featured sparingly over the remaining 11 matches as the team narrowly missed out on a place in the finals.

He was named Wellington Phoenix captain on the eve of the 2021-22 campaign. He was the first homegrown player to be appointed club captain in the Phoenix’s 15-year history and just the fifth fulltime skipper after Ross Aloisi, Andrew Durante, Steven Taylor and Ulises Dávila.

Rufer started the first 14 matches of the 2021-22 A-League season, playing a key role in the team’s seven-game unbeaten run which put the Nix in finals contention, but his season was cut short in March when he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

He returned eight months after his operation, eventually reclaiming the captain’s armband and memorably scoring his first A-League goal against Central Coast Mariners at Sky Stadium a fortnight later.

Rufer started 15 of the Nix’s final 17 A-League matches during the 2022-23 season, including the elimination final defeat to Adelaide United, and signed a new three-year deal in March 2023.

He led the men to their most successful season in the 2023-24 A-League.

Rufer started all 26 games he was available for and scored three goals in consecutive games, including a dramatic injury time penalty to equalise against Melbourne Victory.

His leadership, ball-winning ability, and distribution led to him being named in the PFA A-League men’s team of the season.

Rufer was rewarded with an international call up to the All Whites side for the OFC Nations Cup in Vanuatu, where he played every minute as New Zealand lifted the trophy.

His 12^th season with Phoenix was interrupted by glandular fever and limited him to 19 appearances as the men fell short of the finals.

> 2025-26 season

Alex Rufer had one of his best years as a player.

On top of being named the joint men’s player of the season at the club’s annual awards night in April, he was voted the men’s players’ player and his dramatic equaliser against Auckland FC in round seven was chosen by members as the men’s goal of the season.

Rufer signed a two-year contract extension with the club in July.

“Wellington is definitely the best place for me and my family at the moment,” he said. “I’ve been here for a very long time so there’s a lot of feeling and emotion that I have for this club.

“And I’m really excited and looking forward to the next couple of years under Greeny.

“We’ve had some good conversations about the club moving forward and how he wants to play, and I feel like it’s my first season again. That’s exciting and I can’t wait to get started.”