Where are they now?

Niko’s doing nicely, on and off the pitch!

Niko Algieri was best known in local sporting circles as a free-scoring young striker at Merlins Bridge, Haverfordwest County and Newcastle Emlyn before he also played up front for Cardiff University, where he obtained a 2.2 B.A. (Hons) degree in journalism and broadcasting.
This success took him to London two years ago, where he works for the advertising agency Mediacom, lives in Brixton and still scores goals as he plays eight-a-side football for his office team and has been roped in to play for clubs along the way.
Now Niko has just undertaken an exciting challenge of a different sort after receiving a phone call from his friend Chris, who works at ‘Men’s Health’, the glossy magazine which shows photos of men with their tops off, as well as a whole range of articles. The magazine has been running a competition to feature a non-model on their front page and Chris suggested that Nico should have a bash.

Challenge accepted

Body-building and keeping fit have always been in Niko’s family since his dad Renzo was a top body-builder  and mum Gill Brockway runs the fitness sessions organised at the Merlins Bridge gymnasium where his step-dad Graham Brockway is boss. Niko enjoys working out and does lots of cardio-vascular stuff so he was reasonably fit but felt he wasn’t in good enough trim but the young Haverfordian has never been one to turn down a challenge and so he contacted dad Renzo, now living in Cardiff, for some advice on a quick diet and sent in a few photos.
He was pleased to get through the preliminary round of the competition and then had to attend an interview where former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster (who was also on the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ television show), the editor of ‘Cosmopolitan’, the fitness editor and editor of ‘Men’s Health’, plus a representative of Channel Four, who are filming the event for TV.

Tough task – and make-up too!

Niko then had to give his name, age and work, then answer a series of questions where he tried to make clear his belief that fitness is part of a good life, not a tag-on thing for fashion, and must have impressed because he progressed from the 110 involved at that stage to the final ten contestants, who all had to do a photo shoot with an attractive female model. He even had to have make-up applied since the TV cameras were running again for the programme, which will be entitled ‘Extreme Male Beauty’ and will include snippets of the photo shoots. But he battled on and enjoyed the experience, which was not only great fun but hard work and the interesting thing is that no-one knows who won until the April edition of ‘Men’s Health’ appears on the shelves, so Niko just chuckles when he says that he has to wait like all the rest but, win or lose, it is part of life’s rich tapestry!

Promising athlete

It all seems a far cry from his early school days where Niko was not only a promising young footballer but a natural athlete who was well looked after by the late Gerald Codd. At 13 years of age he was Welsh high jump champion with a height of 1.45 metres, won the Welsh pentathlon championships a little later and was also county hurdles champion.

Football first love – and goals galore

But it was football that was his first love as he set out with Solva at under 12 level and scored lots of goals in a strong team that also included current Welsh international Simon Davies and Andrew Richards.
Niko stayed at Solva until he moved to Merlins Bridge and played through to senior level, played McWhirter League for Haverfordwest County youth team and was selected for Neville Southall’s McWhirter select team, but was unable to play because he damaged a cartilage just before the match. Niko scored heaps of goals (including 56 in a season for Solva) but injury was a problem for him because at under 16 level he had scored 23 goals in only eight matches but then broke his leg playing against Hakin United after already scoring four goals in the game.

‘Best hat-trick ever’

He battled on, however, and had trials at Cardiff City and Swansea City, plus a second trial for Derby County but had to call off because of knee problems. He also scored goals for Haverfordwest County in the Welsh Premier League and in his final two seasons in Pembrokeshire joined Matthew Price at Newcastle Emlyn and helped them avoid relegation and then do well the following campaign, where the local paper described his three goals in one match as ‘the best hat-trick ever seen at Parc Emlyn.’
Then it was off for four years in Cardiff where he played for the university’s first team in the BUSA League and more goals, and now he enjoys a run round in midweek with his company and helps out other sides on Saturday if he has the time. His knees are ok – touch wood – and he is still enjoying himself in sport – and if his picture does appear on the front page of ‘Men’s Health’ then pembrokeshiresport.co.uk is confident that sales will go through the roof in Pembrokeshire because Niko Algieri is a popular and decent young man who is flying the county’s flag in London!