Brandon Barzey: The part-time footballer trying to make a name for himself on the international stage
Hampton and Richmond Borough winger Brandon Barzey speaks to The Sports Gazette about the challenge of playing semi-professional football in the National League South while also appearing alongside Premier League players for the Montserrat national team.
The history of the Caribbean Island of Montserrat is one of battling adversity. Having retained a distinct national identity despite being under colonial rule since the 17th century, the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1995 destroyed the capital city of Plymouth and claimed the lives of 19 people. The devastation caused by the disaster made much of the southern part of the island uninhabitable, leading to two-thirds of the population migrating to other parts of the world.
The country’s national football team are striving to overcome two decades in the international wilderness by utilising the Montserratian diaspora. Over 4,000 citizens settled in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, owing to the island still remaining a British overseas territory. One of those that found a new home in the UK was the father of Hampton and Richmond Borough’s Brandon Barzey.
The winger was born in north London and has never set foot on the island itself, and the opportunity to represent Montserrat presented itself in unusual circumstances. “I actually had one of the current [Montserrat] players DM me on Instagram,” explains Barzey with a smile on his face. “With Montserrat being a smaller nation, the way they go about calling up players is a bit different. They didn’t know if I was from there. It was completely out of the blue.”
The 23-year-old admits that he had always pictured himself representing England at international level, but even though Montserrat currently find themselves 178th in the FIFA world rankings, he was impressed by the professionalism of a two-week training camp in the Dominican Republic over the summer.
16 players of the players selected in the most recent squad currently play their club football in England, something that Barzey believes created a comfortable atmosphere for a newcomer to be welcomed into: “Some players there were full-time and some players, like myself, were part-time but everyone mixed together. They were all welcoming, I can’t say a bad word about any of them.”
One of the full-time players Barzey is referring to is Nottingham Forest’s Lyle Taylor. Even though the forward is currently contracted to a Premier League side, his new international team-mate insists he was a “normal guy” among a squad largely made up of individuals from the fifth, sixth and seventh tiers of English football.
Barzey helped Taylor extend his record as Montserrat’s all-time leading goal scorer in a set of CONCACAF Nations League games that coincided with the training camp. Across three substitute appearances, the winger won two penalties that were both converted by the former Charlton Athletic frontman, whilst also setting up a goal for Maidenhead United’s Adrian Clifton against Bermuda.
A late Taylor goal against the Bermudans in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo earned Montserrat only its 12th ever win across its formal international history. After the Montserratian FA was established in 1995, the volcanic eruption and its aftereffects have meant that only a handful of games have taken place on the island since, resulting in the team leading a nomadic existence.
‘Home’ matches played in Trinidad, Curacao and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have brought about little success, with the nation never going beyond the first round of World Cup qualifying. A 20-0 aggregate defeat to Bermuda in qualification for the 2006 tournament in Germany was a particular low-point, but the recent win over the same opponent is evidence of the improvement that has taken place since one-time Scottish international Willie Donachie became head coach in 2018.
Barzey admits he was not initially familiar with the 70-year-old former Manchester City defender upon being called up: “I remember I was speaking to my uncle, and he realised who my manager was, so he started giving me a history lesson! I then realised how big of a person he is in terms of football.
“Surprisingly he was very fit, he would even join in in the training sessions.”
Donachie is standing down ahead of the next round of Nations League fixtures in March 2023, meaning it his replacement who will benefit from the newly-capped international’s blistering pace and productivity in the final third as Montserrat look to qualify for the Gold Cup – CONCACAF’s equivalent of the European Championship – for the very first time.
Another mischievous grin spreads across Barzey’s face as he recounts how some of his new team-mates suggested “politics were involved” when Montserrat missed out on the 2019 edition of the tournament due to goal difference – “I don’t want to get too much into that,” he adds provocatively.
Previous attempts to visit the place of his father’s birth have been scuppered by the continued volcanic activity in Montserrat and complications brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, but Barzey says he and his family would like to one day find a place on the island to call home.
The former Hanworth Villa man is very much focused on his football for now though, both at club level and in terms of what he can provide for Montserrat. “I’m working right now with Hampton, doing what I need to do to make sure that I’m playing well here,” he explains. “I have to hope to get called up again [for Montserrat] because that’s not a guarantee. But if I do get that opportunity again, I would love to get a start.”
Given Barzey only signed a permanent contract with Hampton and Richmond in January, his ascension to the world stage has been a rapid one. However, his stated ambition of trying to “push Montserrat to places that we haven’t really reached” remains realistic, and he intends to continue relishing every moment of international football.
“The honour to actually be able to play for your country, I decided I would make the most of it. And I believe I did that.”
