Huddersfield born-and-bred Alex Smithies is yet another graduate of the Club’s Academy to hit the headlines. An England U17 International and star of the U17s World Cup, Alex seems destined for success with the Terriers.
LFE Online caught up with the highly promising keeper to discuss his thoughts on the season so far and to recap on the U17s World Cup.
The World Cup
“The World Cup was a fantastic experience all in all. We flew out ten days before the first game to prepare and acclimatise to the conditions. We started off with a friendly vs. South Korea which we comfortably won 4 – 0. After which I was told I’d start the first game of the tournament.”
“We went on to beat Syria but then unfortunately we bowed out in the quarter final to the Germans. They were excellent on the night and it was a superb experience overall.”
At the Terriers
Settling back into life with the League One Club Alex has made some excellent progress this campaign which culminated in him making his league debut against Leeds United when stepping in for the suspended Matt Glennon.
Keen to make his mark, Alex believes that hard work will be the key to success:
“I’m sure that if I work hard I will continue to improve and that is all anyone can ask for. We have some great keepers here at Town so my job is just to try and push on and work hard to improve aspects of my game.”
Huddersfield Town’s Academy Manager/Director Gerry Murphy believes that Alex is just one example of the success Huddersfield have had in grooming their own players.
“For me Alex’s recent form and his appearance as England’s number one in the summer show how far we’ve come since we came into the Academy League in ’99. It was dream objective for us to produce players who were good enough to gain representational honours.”
“To be picked for a World Cup final was tremendous for the Club, Alex and all the Coaching Staff, particularly John Vaughan our goalkeeping coach. It is a testimony to the investment and hard work that has gone into this Club over the years.”
