Diel Reon Spring (born December 26, 2000) is a Vincentian footballer who plays as a midfielder for North Leeward Predators and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diel Reon Spring | ||
| Date of birth | 26 December 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Chateaubelair, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | North Leeward Predators | ||
| Youth career | |||
| North Leeward Predators | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | North Leeward Predators | ||
| 2020–2021 | Wisła Sandomierz | 11 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Podlasie Biała Podlaska | 31 | (2) |
| 2023– | North Leeward Predators | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines U17[1] | |||
| 2018 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2018– | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 29 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 June 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 September 2024 | |||
Early years
editSpring hails from the village of Chateaubelair.[2][3] His mother is a chef and his father is a construction worker while his grandparents were farmers.[4]
Spring led St Martin’s Secondary School to a junior division title in the 2015 Secondary Schools’ Football Competition, scoring a brace in the final.[5] The following year he was named best midfielder of the Barrouallie Football League under-17 division as a member of the North Leeward Predators youth set-up.[6]
He also participated in sports such as athletics and cricket.[4]
Club career
editDuring the 2017 season in the second-tier SVGFF First Division, Spring helped the Predators finish the regular season undefeated and reach the championship final,[7] where he scored the opening goal of the match as they defeated Largo Height via penalty shoot-out.[8] He was nominated for Youth Male Player of the Year at the 2017 National Football Awards.[9] That same year, he and future international teammate Joel Quashie were chosen as the winners of a Caribbean Football Union- and Manchester United-backed skills-based competition for young talents, earning invitations to a talent development camp in Trinidad and Tobago.[3][10]
The next season, Spring captained the Predators to a runner-up league finish in the SVGFF Premier Division and a Knock Out Cup title.[11] He recorded a brace against Bequia United in week 10,[12] and repeated the feat against System 3 in week 17. He finished the season with a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Largo Height on the final match-day. At the end of the year he was named Best Midfielder at the National Football Awards.[11][13]
In the summer of 2020, he signed a deal with Wisła Sandomierz in the Polish III liga.[14][15] He admits his time at the club was not ideal, having only played a few matches due to injuries and other problems.[4]
On 26 July 2021, Spring moved to another III liga side, Podlasie Biała Podlaska.[16] Here he was coached by Rafał Borysiuk, brother of Ariel Borysiuk.[4]
International career
editYouth team
editIn November 2018, he represented the national under-20 team at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, playing in all five matches.[2][17]
Senior team
editOn 8 September 2018, Spring made his debut for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the qualifying rounds of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League against Nicaragua.[11] He came on as a halftime substitution for Wendell Cuffy in the 2–0 defeat at home. He was called up again later that month, earning his second international cap three weeks later during a friendly against a Barbados XI made up mostly of under-20 players preparing for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. He came on after halftime yet again, this time for Brad Richards, in the 1–1 draw.[18] He made two further appearances in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying to finish the year.
In February 2019, Spring was named to the 20-man squad selected to play at the 2019 Windward Islands Tournament on home soil.[19] He played in all four matches as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won their fifth title.[11][20]
Career statistics
editInternational
edit- As of matches played 8 September 2024.[21]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2018 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 29 | 2 | |
Honours
editClub
edit- Fitz Hughes Predators
Individual
edit- SVGFF Best Midfielder: 2019[11]
- SVGFF Youth Male Player of the Year: 2017
International
edit- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
References
edit- ^ "SVG confident ahead of U17 play-offs". iWitness News. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ a b Diel Spring at Global Sports Archive
- ^ a b "FLOW puts Vincy youth footballers in play for ManU trip". iWitness News. April 24, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Szymula, Piotr. "Diel Spring: „Agent rozesłał video do klubów z Polski. Dlatego dostałem szansę" [WYWIAD]". iGol (in Polish). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "St Martin's Secondary break football title drought". The Searchlight. newsmemory.com. December 22, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Barrouallie Football League Concludes". The Vincentian. November 25, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2017". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "North Leeward Predators: National First Division Football Champs". The Vincentian. June 30, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ "2017 National Football Awards set for Wednesday". Sport Caraibe. May 8, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ "Leeward youths win FLOW skills-based competition". The Searchlight. April 25, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Diel Spring signs with new club". The Vincentian. Issuu. August 7, 2020. p. 20. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Premier Division Football Heating Up". The Vincentian. January 25, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ "Top Footballers/Officials Rewarded". The Vincentian. November 15, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Diel Spring in Poland's football setup". The Searchlight. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "3 liga. Ciekawy transfer Wisły Sandomierz. Zagra w niej Diel Spring, reprezentant Saint Vincent i Grenadyny". gol24.pl (in Polish). July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Diel Spring w Podlasiu Biała Podlaska". Słowo Podlasia (in Polish). 27 July 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Things Looking Up For U-20 Footballers". The Vincentian. November 16, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "SVG draw with Barbados XI". Caribbean Football Database. September 30, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "Vincy Heat ready for WIFA challenges". The Searchlight. February 26, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ a b "Vincy Heat Takes Windwards Title". The Vincentian. March 15, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ Diel Spring at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "North Leeward Predators take national First Division football title". The Searchlight. June 30, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
External links
edit- Diel Spring at Caribbean Football Database
- Diel Spring at National-Football-Teams.com
- Diel Spring at Soccerway
- Diel Spring at WorldFootball.net
- Diel Spring at 90minut.pl (in Polish)