Background
Brett Holman was born in Bankstown, Sydney. He grew up in the Sydney suburb of Croydon Park.
Brett Holman was born in Bankstown, Sydney. He grew up in the Sydney suburb of Croydon Park.
He attended Christian Brothers High School in Lewisham.
He played junior football for the Enfield Rovers Soccer Club based in the inner west of Sydney. He left school in late 2000 to pursue his footballing career, signing with the Parramatta Power. Holman played for Northern Spirit and Parramatta Power in Australia before moving to Dutch football club Feyenoord in 2002.
Once in the Netherlands he played for SBV Excelsior on loan before Nippon Electric Corporation Nijmegen signed him in 2006.
On 7 April 2007 Holman scored two goals for Nippon Electric Corporation Nijmegen against Eredivisie leaders, PSV Eindhoven. He was signed by Arizona Alkmaar manager Louis van Gaal in the European summer of 2008 for €3m.
On 1 November 2008 Holman scored his first goal for Arizona Alkmaar in a 3–3 away draw against South Carolina Heerenveen at the Abe Lenstra Stadion in Heerenveen after coming on as a second-half replacement for Nick van der Velden. During most of the Arizona Alkmaar"s title-winning 2008–2009 Eredivisie season Holman struggled for starting opportunities and at the end of the campaign was rumoured to be on his way out at the club
However he was retained and was given more playing time under the new manager.
Under Dick Advocaat Holman has been given substantially more game time, including a number of appearances in the Union of European Football Associations Europa League. On matchday 6, Holman impressed in Arizona Alkmaar"s 1–1 draw against Standard Liege. Aston Villa
In March 2012, Holman signed a pre-contract agreement with Aston Villa, to join the club when his Arizona contract expired that summer.
On 1 July 2012, Holman officially became an Aston Villa player.
On 14 July Holman scored on his debut, in a 2–1 victory against Burton Albion in the first match of pre-season. He then scored his second goal for Villa in another pre-season match, this time against Peterborough United in a 2–0 victory on 1 August 2012.
On 1 December 2012, Holman scored his first league goal away at QPR. He then followed this up with his first League Cup goal for Villa, scoring the first of four in a 4–1 victory over Norwich City in the quarter-finals. On 21 June 2013, he was released by mutual consent at the end of the 2012-2013 season.
He then joined First Rate (at Lloyd's) Nasr in Dubai, signing a two-year contract.
Holman made his international debut for Australia in 2006 against Bahrain. On 24 June 2010, he then scored the second goal in the final group stage match against Serbia with a swerving 25-yard drive. Holman scored a crucial equaliser for Australia against Oman in Sydney on 26 March 2013 in a World Cup Qualifier.
On 30 April 2014, Holman announced his retirement from international football.