Phil Demb

Phil Demb
Personal information
Full name	Phil Demb
Year of birth	1978
Place of birth	Osĵätoņ, Craitland
Playing position	Right-back
Senior career
International career
	* Appearances (Goals) ; Player has received at least one call-up for any emboldened national teams

Phil Demb is a Craitish former-footballer who last played for Porapa FC in Hamland. A right-back for the majority of his career, Demb converted to centre-back in his final years after leaving Osĵätoņ Aztecs FC, and earned 16 international caps. He is regarded as a member of Craitland's "Golden Generation".

Career

Club

Demb began playing professionally aged 25 with Osĵätoņ Feyenoord FC—as Osĵätoņ Aztecs FC were then known—in 2003, ahead of the inaugural CrFA League 1 season. Demb was instated as the team's starting right-back, wearing number 2, and helped them to a King's Cup title in 2004, before remaining an ever-present in their back-to-back league championship triumphs in 2005 and 2006, with the side not conceding a goal all campaign during the former. Demb's involvement in the Aztecs' domestic success continued into the 2007 season, with a second cup title being won thanks to clean sheets in the semi-final and final. A poor performance in 2008 was followed by the Aztecs regaining their league title the following year, with Demb still a consistent starter at the back. Demb's place in the team was relatively regular over the next two seasons, only occasionally being rotated with Milo Cräite, although the club failed to add any further trophies in that time. Demb was transfer listed at the end of the 2011 season, and moved abroad to Hammish Premier League side Porapa FC for a fee of Cr 4 million that summer.

Demb joined Porapa aged 33, and was utilised as both a right- and centre-back during his time in Hamland. One of Demb's earliest involvements with his new club was to start the final of the 2011 Hamland Cup, helping them to a 2–1 victory and their first silverware. In his first full season with the club, Demb was involved in the side's first Hamperor'yt Ceap win and also found a vein of scoring form as he hit four goals to help the team to third place. Despite a solid 2012 season, Demb was used less frequently by Porapa in the subsequent two campaigns, with other players in better form, and the club failed to add any further honours. After three years with the club, and a twelve-season career in total, Demb announced his retirement from football in 2014 at the age of 36.

International

Demb's international career with Craitland began in 2006, upon being called-up for the squad for the inaugural FMF World Cup. Although Enzo Pellegrino played at right-back in the team's first ever game, Demb started every subsequent match in the tournament as Craitland were knocked-out by Nova England in the quarter-finals on penalties. Demb retained his starting position throughout the following year's qualifying campaign, but the emergence of Jon Anders Larsen in the same position meant that the pair were both utilised during the 2007 FMF World Cup, as Craitland won its first ever world title. Later in the year, Demb was not included in the team's EMU 2007 squad, with Larsen as first choice.

Having impressed in Demb's absence, Larsen established himself as Craitland's primary right-back; despite this, Demb remained a regular call-up for the national team as deputy. Although only sparingly capped from 2008 onward, Demb was a part of the squads for Craitland's three further World Cup triumphs in 2008, 2010 and 2011, and also featured in the rosters for the EMU Championships and World Cup in 2009, where the Craits finished second and third, respectively. Demb was also one of the high-profile absences from the victorious EMU 2011 side, being rested ahead of the year's World Cup, where his inclusion made him only the second foreign-based player to appear in a Craitish tournament squad. The emergence of Daniel Hjansen during this time led to Demb being out of favour in 2012 and he failed to add any further international caps to his tally of 16, despite remaining eligible up until his retirement in 2014.