Wellington Phoenix are making a serious splash in the transfer market, adding international quality aplenty to their Ninja A-League squad ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
The latest newcomer, Tessel Middag, has won eight domestic trophies and accrued 44 international caps for the Netherlands across her decorated career to date.
Ahead of the 32-year-old’s arrival in Wellington, aleagues.com.au explains how three clear factors were key to her decision to leave Europe for the first time in her career, and why the Netherlands international believes Wellington’s trophy window is wide open heading into season 2025-26.
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A serial winner with a glittering CV
After 15 years in Europe, Tessel Middag is headed to Wellington with eagerness to add to her impressive trophy collection.
The Dutch international has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Manchester City, Ajax, West Ham, Fiorentina and most recently Rangers, where she won three trophies across four seasons at the Scottish giants.
Middag lifted the FA Women’s Super League trophy with City in 2016 as well as the WSL Cup in the same year; she won the KNVB Women’s Cup with Ajax in 2013-14 and with ADO Den Haag, her first senior club, in 2011-12, where she also sealed the Dutch Eredivisie title in the same season.
At international level, Middag represented the Netherlands at the 2015 Women’s World Cup and the 2017 Algarve Cup.
This is a player of top European pedigree who has experienced it all at club and international level, whose experience winning silverware at powerhouse clubs could prove tremendously valuable to the Phoenix in their pursuit of a maiden Ninja A-League title.
Three key factors that sold Middag on A-Leagues ‘adventure’
After four years in Scotland, Middag was attracted by the competitive nature of the Ninja A-League.
Speaking to media after her Phoenix move was confirmed, Middag reflected on her time at Rangers and how the uneven nature of the Scottish Premier League, in which there’s a notable chasm in quality between the top six sides and the bottom six, made for portions of the season in which results at times felt inevitable before a ball had been kicked.
“After four years in Scotland at Rangers I was looking for a new challenge, a new league, and ideally a league that was slightly more competitive,” Middag said.
“I had four amazing years at Rangers, I think one of the many sight disadvantages of the Scottish league is the big difference between the top six and the bottom six. Up until March some games can be a bit predictable, and then post-split, when the top six gets together, it becomes incredibly competitive.
“I’m looking forward to playing in a league where every single game is a challenge, and you don’t know whether you’re going to win or lose. That was one of the cool factors that got me to the A-League.”
Middag’s decision to join the Phoenix was also influenced by the club’s elite training facilities at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS).
In 2021, the club moved its offices and training base to the high-performance sports hub for its opening in 2022; it’s a unique selling point for the Phoenix experience in the Ninja A-League, and one that attracted Middag immediately.
“I’ve had very good discussions with the Phoenix which convinced me to come to the other side of the world and sign for the club,” she said.
“The facilities is probably one of the factors… I think there’s a good plan, a good vision for how this next season could look, and I was convinced by the people and on top of that the facilities at NZCIS that I’m excited to start using.”
A move to New Zealand made sense for Middag not just on the field but off it, too.
“My partner is from New Zealand,” she explained. “So this was a great opportunity on and off the pitch to try and see what football and life in New Zealand is all about.
“I’ve been together with my partner for two-and-a-half years so that gave me a little bit of knowledge on what New Zealand culture is about.
“Kiwi culture and Māori culture is something I didn’t grow up with… so I see this as another adventure in my football career, that has brought me to Manchester, London, Florence in Italy, Glasgow in Scotland and now Wellington.”
A player raised on Johan Cruyff and the Dutch school of football
For Phoenix fans wondering what kind of player they have recruited in Middag, her first interview as a Wellington signing will have the supporter base excited for the future.
A midfielder by trade, Middag has been moved further back in recent years out of necessity, due to injuries at Rangers; the positional switch from central midfield to centre back has added versatility to Middag’s game as she arrives at the ‘Nix as a player who can contribute across both lines.
“I’m open to options,” she said.
“I’m a midfielder originally; it wasn’t by choice that two years ago I moved to the backline, it was because of injuries, the new manager at Rangers asked me to play there and she quite liked me there.
“Because I’m a midfielder, I like to play forward and think like a midfielder. When there’s pressure from strikers, rather than putting it long or kicking the ball out, I’m always trying to find the midfielder, trying to find a footballing solution.
“(There’s) a bit of versatility in terms of the positions I can play,” Middag added. “I see the game quite well so I can help organise, by trying to see in the moment what the game might need, always together with teammates and staff.
“Just a bit of experience, sometimes recognising a bit of game management, what the game needs, do we need to speed it up or slow it down.
“I (was) born and raised in Amsterdam, which means I had a certain football culture I grew up with, with Johan Cruyff and the Dutch school (of football).
“I like the ball on the floor, to play in triangles, we used to call it growing up. But then it’s about being smart and mixing it up as well, using the long ball when required.
“All those things, hopefully, the fans will get to see.”
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Talk of trophies and one big difference between Phoenix prospect and European giants
Middag has played for, and won trophies with, several European powerhouses throughout her career. But there’s one exciting difference between the Phoenix and the likes of Ajax and Rangers that the international midfielder has identified, and it’s filled her with confidence to chase more silverware in the Ninja A-League.
“What’s helpful is the Phoenix have a women’s team that has already existed for five years,” Middag explained.
“I’ve played at Ajax, West Ham and Rangers where I’ve joined either in the first year of the club starting a professional women’s team or the second year, so I feel like it’s already a bit more established.
“I think the people at the club know what’s needed or what needs to be added, experience learned from the last couple of years.
“You never really know before you sign for a club. I’ve signed for clubs before where the goal is to compete for trophies and it doesn’t always work out. You can only go off your gut feeling, and the feeling you get when you speak to people. And that’s been very positive with every single staff member I’ve spoken with from the Phoenix.
“It’s something I’ve tried to follow in my career; many clubs have big ambitions and want to win things, but it’s about how to get there and the culture and environment that is created, first and foremost, to try and achieve success.
“I’ve got a really good feeling, I feel the foundations are there.”
Currently on holiday in Italy, Middag confirmed on Thursday morning her intention to arrive in Wellington ahead of the start of pre-season, pencilled in for September.
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