Maxime Teremoana Crocombe (born 12 August 1993) is a New Zealand professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for club

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

. He also represents the New Zealand national team. Crocombe moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at an early age and began his professional career with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

who had signed him from non-League side Buckingham Town. He went on to play on loan with

Banbury United Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium. History The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...

, Nuneaton Town,

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

before signing permanently with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. In 2017 he moved to Salford City where he was part of the City side that won back to back promotions to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. In 2019, he moved to play in the Australian A-League with spells at

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

and

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

Early life

Crocombe was born in Auckland, New Zealand, before moving to England at a young age. He had spells with

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

and

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

before joining Buckingham Town. Crocombe attended

Oakgrove School Oakgrove School is a coeducational, nursery, primary school, secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Middleton (Oakgrove Secondary) and Oakgrove (Oakgrove Primary & Nursery) districts of south-east Milton Keynes ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

along with fellow footballer and former Ghanaian international

Jeffrey Schlupp Jeffrey Schlupp (; born 23 December 1992) is a professional association football, footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Celtic F.C., Celtic, on loan from club Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace. A versatile player, Schlupp has pla ...

Club career

Buckingham Town

In the summer of 2009, Crocombe signed for Buckingham Town at the age of 16. He made 33 senior first team appearances before being spotted by scouts of Oxford United. Despite being a goalkeeper he scored one goal in his time at Buckingham Town after coming on as an outfield substitute in a 3–1 league defeat.

Oxford United

Crocombe joined Oxford United as a scholar under youth-team coach Chris Allen and signed his first professional contract in April 2012. He almost made his debut shortly afterwards after injuries to

Ryan Clarke Ryan Clarke may refer to: * Ryan Clarke (English footballer) (born 1982) * Ryan Clarke (Australian footballer) (born 1997), Australian rules footballer *Ryan Clarke (runner) (born 1997), Dutch middle-distance runner *Ryan Clarke, musician in English ...

and Wayne Brown, and the termination of

Connor Ripley Connor James Ripley (born 13 February 1993) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Swindon Town F.C., Swindon Town. Ripley turned professional at his lo ...

's loan, however Oxford eventually signed Arsenal's

Emiliano Martínez Damián Emiliano Martínez Romero (born 2 September 1992), also known as Dibu, is an Argentine professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa a ...

on loan and Crocombe had to wait for his debut. Whilst at the club, he has been coached by

Alan Hodgkinson Alan Hodgkinson MBE (16 August 1936 – 8 December 2015) was an English professional football goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach. Playing career Hodgkinson signed for Sheffield United from Worksop Town on 1 August 1953, and made 675 first-team ...

and Wayne Brown. Crocombe's

debut came in a 1–1 draw with

on 29 January 2013. He kept his first clean sheet for the club in his second league appearance, a 1–0 away win over

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

in April 2013, which ended a five-match winless run. He remained in goal for the rest of the league season, keeping three consecutive clean sheets with 3–0 wins against both

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

. In total, Crocombe made six appearances for club and country in his debut professional season, conceding just one goal. In June 2013, he signed a long-term contract with the club. By the 2013–14 season he had established himself as deputy to Oxford's long-standing number 1,

. Crocombe appeared twice in the 2014–15 season, both times in the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. In his second appearance he held Premier League side

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

to one goal in 120 minutes and saved their first two spot kicks in the penalty shoot-out. At the end of the season, which included a productive loan spell at Nuneaton Town, the club triggered a 2-year option in his contract to extend his stay until the end of 2017.

Loan to Nuneaton Town

In February 2015, Crocombe signed on loan at

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

side Nuneaton Town until the end of the season. After impressing with a clean sheet on his debut, he was named in the '' Non-League Paper'' Team of the Day. He did not concede a goal in any of his first 6 games and was named man of the match twice in his short spell for the club.

Loan to Barnet

Crocombe was loaned to

on 18 September 2015, with the Bees without a senior keeper due to an injury and a suspension.

Loan to Southport

In October 2015 Crocombe was recalled from Barnet and sent on a three-month loan to

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. After a series of impressive performances in his first 3 months for the club he was named Southport's Player of the Month for both November 2015 and January 2016.

Carlisle United

Crocombe left Oxford by mutual consent and signed a one-year deal with

on 4 August 2016.

Salford City

In May 2017 he joined Salford City. In October 2017 Crocombe was sent off during a match against

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

for urinating at the side of a stand A spectator made a formal complaint and the incident was later reported to the police. Crocombe subsequently posted an apology on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and explained "I was in a very uncomfortable position and made an error of judgement that spoiled a great win".

Brisbane Roar

In July 2019, Crocombe joined Australian

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

side

to challenge

Jamie Young Jamie Iain Young (born 25 August 1985) is a retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Australia, he was a youth international for England. Early life and education Young was born in Brisbane, Australia, and is of Sri ...

for the starting goalkeeper position. In October 2020, Crocombe left Brisbane Roar.

Melbourne Victory

After leaving Brisbane Roar, Crocombe joined

in October 2020. Crocombe began the season as the Victory's starting goalkeeper, playing in the first 10 matches of the season, before being replaced as the starting goalkeeper by

Matt Acton Matthew Michael Acton (born 3 June 1992) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Brisbane Roar. Besides Australia, he has played in Myanmar and the Philippines. Club career Acton played for Brisbane Roar. He became the firs ...

. He was released on 11 June 2021.

Grimsby Town

On 30 July 2021, Crocombe returned to

, penning a one-year deal with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. Initially being signed as a back-up keeper, Crocombe became Grimsby's first choice keeper in December at the expense of club veteran

James McKeown James Karl McKeown (born 24 July 1989) is a former professional footballer and coach who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Birmingham, McKeown began his career aged 15 with Coventry City and Walsall youth teams, but was unable to establish himse ...

. On 23 May 2022, with Grimsby trailing 1–0 to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in the

play-off eliminator, in the final minute of added on time Crocombe came up for a free kick and with the ball falling to him it bounced off his knees as he prepared to shoot before dropping to

Gavan Holohan Gavan Holohan (born 15 December 1991) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Crawley Town. Beginning his career as a youngster with Hull City, Holohan returned to his native Ireland where he featured for League ...

who scored the equaliser, with Crocombe claiming the assist. Grimsby went on to win the game 2–1 in extra time. Crocombe played in the

2022 National League play-off final The 2022 National League play-off final, known as the Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was an association football match played on 5 June 2022 at the London Stadium between Solihull Moors F.C., Solihull Moors and ...

as Grimsby beat

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional association football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the Na ...

2–1 at the

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...

to return to the

. Crocombe was ever-present in goal for Grimsby's 2022–23 League Two season and cup campaigns, playing a total of 5,340 minutes, the fourth highest in world football that season. He was part of the Grimsby team that reached the quarter finals of the

2022–23 FA Cup The 2022–23 FA Cup was the 142nd edition of the oldest football tournament in the world, the Football Association Challenge Cup. It is a one-legged competition whereby teams play each other once and the winner proceeds to the next round, in con ...

by beating

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

clubs

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

and

in rounds one to three,

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

in a fourth round replay, and

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the fifth round. In doing so they became the first team to beat five teams from higher divisions in the history of the FA Cup. At the end of the 2022–23 season, Crocombe turned down a new contract and confirmed he would be leaving Grimsby.

Burton Albion

On 30 June 2023, Crocombe signed for League One club

on a two-year deal. Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, he was named Men's Player of the Season. On 13 May 2025, the club said it had offered the player a new contract.

International career

Youth

On 22 January 2013, Crocombe was called up to the provisional New Zealand under-20s squad for the

2013 OFC U-20 Championship The 2013 OFC U-20 Championship was the 19th edition of the OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament, the biennial football championship of Oceania ( OFC). The competition was held at two venues in Fiji, from the 21 to 29 March, with the winner qualify ...

in Fiji, the regional qualifying tournament for the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

. He was confirmed in the final squad of 20 on 20 February 2013 and made his debut in the 1–0 win over Vanuatu. Crocombe kept clean sheets in both his appearances and was voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament, earning him the Golden Glove Award. He was confirmed in the New Zealand under-20 squad for the

in Turkey and was described as a key player for the team. Crocombe played in two of New Zealand's games as the team exited the competition at the group stage. In June 2015, Crocombe was included in the New Zealand under-23s squad for the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

, which was used as a qualifying tournament for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. Crocombe kept 4 clean sheets in 4 games before New Zealand were disqualified from the tournament for fielding an ineligible player.

Senior

In March 2015, Crocombe was called up to the full New Zealand national team squad for a friendly against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. A year later, he was included in the senior squad for the

2016 OFC Nations Cup The 2016 OFC Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played between 28 May and 11 Jun ...

. He made his full international debut for the All Whites in a friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in March 2018. In 2019 Max was targeted as a top prospect for the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

, after returning to Oceania with

. On 6 June 2023, after a spell away from the team, Crocombe was called up to the New Zealand squad for friendlies against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. Crocombe started the game against Qatar which was abandoned at half time when the New Zealand players refused to play the second half after

Michael Boxall Michael Joseph Boxall (born 18 August 1988) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Minnesota United and the New Zealand national team. Early life and education Boxall was born on 18 Augus ...

was alleged to have been racially abused by one of the Qatari players, New Zealand had been leading 1–0. Crocombe won the Golden Glove award at the

2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup The 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup was the 11th edition of the OFC Men's Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's Association football, football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was ...

having conceding no goals in the tournament. He started in goal for the majority of New Zealand's successful qualification campaign for the

2026 Fifa World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

Career statistics

Honours

Salford City *

play-offs:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

: 2017–18 Grimsby Town *National League play-offs:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

New Zealand *

OFC Nations Cup The OFC Men's Nations Cup, known as the OFC Nations Cup before the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup, 2024 edition, is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's natio ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

New Zealand Under-20 *

OFC U-20 Championship The OFC U-19 Championship is a tournament held once every two years to decide the under-19 champions of Oceania and also decides who will represent Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup. Between 1974 and 2012, t ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual *OFC U-20 Championship Golden Glove: 2013 *

Player of the Season: 2023–24 *OFC Men's Nations Cup Golden Glove:

References

External links

Oxford United player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crocombe, Max 1993 births Living people Association footballers from Auckland New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Buckingham Town F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Banbury United F.C. players Nuneaton Town F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Southport F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Brisbane Roar FC players Melbourne Victory FC players Grimsby Town F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players 2016 OFC Nations Cup players 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup players English Football League players National League (English football) players United Counties League players OFC Nations Cup–winning players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England