Another Kiwi for Phoenix

Wellington Phoenix have added another Kiwi to their playing roster – but he’s not a new signing.

Daniel Cortes was born and raised in Brazil but he’s now officially a Kiwi after gaining New Zealand citizenship on Monday.

The talented 29-year-old midfielder, a favourite with football fans in Wellington and throughout New Zealand since joining the Phoenix for their inaugural campaign in the Hyundai A-League in 2007/08, now has his sights set on representing his adopted country at international level.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to play for the All Whites in the future. It has taken time to do all the paperwork to get citizenship and I’m very happy that it’s finally been sorted out.”

Daniel’s All Whites’ aspirations now rest with Fifa, with varying opinions about how long he will have to wait to become eligible.

“I’m not sure how long the stand-down period will be. I’ll have to wait for [All Whites and Phoenix coach] Ricki Herbert and New Zealand Football to find out. But it’s more important for me to have my New Zealand passport now and then wait and see what happens.”

But right now, Daniel is simply stoked to be a Kiwi. His wife and baby son are set to follow suit and obtain New Zealand citizenship shortly.

“I love the country, I love Wellington and I love the people. I want to stay here for a long time and I’m very excited about the opportunity for myself and my family.”

While Daniel’s unlikely to forsake the samba for the haka, he admits he’d like to learn how to perform the traditional Maori challenge.

“I think I will have to do some practice – maybe quite a lot!”