Culbokie athlete named among top 50 best American football players in Europe. Matthew Daltrey has been named one of the top 50 American football players in Europe after an impressive season playing for the Vienna Vikings in the UEFA Europa League. It’s a big accolade for a Kulbocki athlete, considering he didn’t take the sport seriously until he went to university. However, it took him on a career that saw him play for semi-professional teams in Germany and Finland, before playing for his first professional team in Austria. Daltrey, 26, who plays as a midfielder for the Vienna Vikings, says being named the league’s 44th-best player this season is a huge honor.
He says he is pleased his efforts have been recognized during the 2023 league campaign. He said: “It is a great honor to be selected among the best players in the league. “With the league, that means technically I’m the 44th-best player in Europe, which is a very nice thing to think about,” he added.
Daltrey, a former Fortrose Academy pupil, only played American football for a short period during his childhood when he ended up playing different sports instead. But when he went to university in England, he discovered his love for the sport and it took him on his journey to become a professional athlete. “I went to the Highland Wildcats when I was younger, but ended up focusing on rugby instead,” Daltrey said. “But then I went to Leicester University to study history and there was an open day for the American football team.
“It took off from there, and I then signed for a semi-professional football team in Giessen Germany before moving to Helsinki in Finland. “From there, I was offered a contract with the Vienna Vikings, and I have been playing in the professional league ever since.” Matthew Daltrey Matthew Daltrey The European Football League (ELF) is an American professional soccer league founded in 2021. The league currently includes 17 teams based in Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. But it is planned to expand the league in the future to allow more teams to enter.
Daltrey signed for the Vienna Vikings last year and won the championship straight away when they defeated the Hamburg Sea Devils 27-15 in the final in Klagenfurt.
Mathew Daltrey Mathew Daltrey
During the 2023 season, فینا فایکنج played the normal season without any defeat and won all 12 matches in the Eastern Conference.
Berlin Thunder, Panthers Wroclaw, Fehervar Enthroners, Leipzig Kings, and Prague Lions took first place in the division, with an exemplary record.
But in the semi-final, they lost their title when they were defeated 40-33 in front of Shtutjarat Seirj.
Despite this season, Daltrey says that he enjoys being a part of the Al-Aykenj group and has known it until now.
“I signed for the first time with Fiena Faykenj in the year 2022 and we became the champions in that year.
“In this season, I didn’t finish in the regular season and I was afraid to lose in the semi-final.
“It’s amazing to play in ELF, it’s the first fully professional league in Europe since NFL Europe in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.
“It has changed the landscape of American football in Europe since its inception in 2021.
“There are many German teams in the league, but it includes teams from all over Europe.
“During this season, we were in a conference with teams from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria and two German teams.
He added: “Last season we went to Spain and we also played in Turkey and it was wonderful to play in several countries”.
The Vienna Football team plays at the General Arena, a 17,500-seat stadium that is also home to the Austrian Bundesliga club Vienna.
Having previously played American football in Germany and Finland, Daltrey already had experience playing and living in different countries before moving to Vienna.
He says he lives in a city he likes to live in and a club he enjoys playing in.
“The way things go is that the team pays for almost everything. I prepared the apartment and took me out on the plane so it was a relatively painless experience.
“Vienna is a beautiful city and it can get very hot in the summer.
“As a typical Scottish person, we don’t like the heat more than necessary.
“But I enjoy playing and living in our house a lot.”
Daltrey also drew the attention of the Great Britain team to play in international matches. However, the main thing that Daltrey hopes to do is to continue to be a successful professional American football player and to achieve more success with us. He says that he wants to win the ELF Championship with Al-Fikenj again and he believes that they have the team to do so. Daltrey said: “I want to continue playing where I am in Vienna and continue to represent Scotland in American football”. “I am the only Scottish player who has played in the European Football League since its inception. “I only take everything in my line.”
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