Michael Glenn Utting (born 26 May 1970, in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

) is a former New Zealand football player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting ...

Early years

Utting grew up in Ngaio, Wellington, the youngest of four children. His father is a civil engineer, his mother a nurse; they separated when he was 10. He went to Ngaio School and then

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in Nelson, New Zealand, the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. ...

from 1984 to 1986.''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition He played cricket and volleyball, but football was always his number one passion. By the time he reached the final year of high school, Utting was keeping for both the Nelson College first-XI and national league side

Miramar Rangers Miramar Rangers AFC is an amateur New Zealand association football club in the Wellington suburb of Miramar. The club is one of the most successful in New Zealand having won the Chatham Cup four times and the National League title twice. Over ...

Club career

A much-travelled player, Utting served clubs in his native New Zealand, as well as in Australia and South Africa. During his New Zealand years, he also played for winter clubs

Gisborne City AFC Gisborne City AFC was an association football club in Gisborne, New Zealand. Founded in 1939 as Eastern Union, the club changed its name to Gisborne City after winning the Central Districts League at the first attempt in 1967. As Eastern Union ...

and

Waitakere City FC Waitakere City F.C. was a New Zealand football club. They merged with Norwest United in 2021 to form West Coast Rangers. They last competed in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier League. History It was formed in 1989 with the purpose of repr ...

International career

Utting has played for the

New Zealand national football team The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

, the ''All Whites''. Since making his debut for the All Whites in 1991, he had rarely been a substitute goalkeeper, until 1999, when his career was marred by alcoholism. He was included in the New Zealand side for the 1999 Confederations Cup finals tournament in Mexico where he was an unused substitute. He fared better in 2003 as he was recalled for the

2003 Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivi ...

finals tournament in France, playing in all three group games before New Zealand were eliminated.

One for the Road – Utting's alcoholism

He had been into trouble with alcoholism, and his problem became public in 1999. He was axed in 1999, and again in 2002 after a botched initial attempt to quit the booze (a problem he had since 1992).Utting recalled
/ref> He was recalled again in 2003, but by then, he had taken up a contract to play in Brunei.

References

External links

Michael Utting Interview
*
Player profile
– Waitakere Utd

– Youngheart Manawatu
2007/2008 season stats
– NZFC * {{DEFAULTSORT:Utting, Michael 1970 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand men's international footballers 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players National Soccer League (Australia) players South Melbourne FC players Football Kingz FC players SuperSport United F.C. players Waitakere United players People educated at Nelson College Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa Miramar Rangers AFC players Caroline Springs George Cross FC players Manawatu United players WaiBOP United players