Brisbane’s Joshua Grommen signed with Thai Premier League

A rising soccer star from Brisbane has continued his under the radar rise after signing with a big club in the Thai Premier League.

Joshua Grommen signing in Thai Premier League. Picture: Supplied

JOSHUA Grommen lost the passion for soccer when he was 16, so much so that he almost completely gave the sport up.

Fast forward seven years later and the Brisbane product is well on his way to playing international football and his professional career is on the rise after signing with Thai Premier League club Sukhothai FC.

“When he was 16, he almost gave the sport up. He had a girlfriend and just kind of lost the passion for it,” his dad, Rudy Grommen, said.

“Then when he was 18 I made a decision that almost killed me. I got him on a flight and took him to the Philippines to play. Leaving him there was the most difficult thing I have ever done.

“It was done out of love because we knew he had a special talent and was ruining a good thing. Now, we have a great relationship and we are glad that happened.”

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The former Springfield Lakes resident spent the past six months playing in the Malaysian Super League but his next move was up in the air after knocking back an offer in Romania and Australia.

But 10 days ago, a close relationship with former Adelaide United and Melbourne City midfielder Ian Ramsay came through with the Sukhothai FC star alerting the club to the talents of Grommen.

“He’s loving it now, he’s really excited because after leaving Malaysia, we didn’t really know what was next,” Mr Grommen said.

“He had an offer to play in Romanian third division which he refused then another to help out an Adelaide team but he knocked that back too.

Joshua Grommen when he was playing in the Philippines.

“Now he is in a league that is a step up from Malaysia and is on par, or if not, just a little bit under the A-League.”

The former Kelvin Grove State High School student, who started his juniors with the Western Spirit before moving to Lions FC, Redlands United and had stints at the Queensland Academy of Sport and Brisbane Roar Youth, is also on the verge of playing internationally for the Philippines.

“He has played for the Philippines under-23 side before and has sat on the bench for the senior team,” Mr Grommen said.

“It’s kind of up in the air at the moment because he has a Philippines passport as well as an Australian and Dutch passport, so he is still holding out hope to play for Australia.

“But if he got an offer to be part of the Philippines team full time, he’d take it.”

Mr Grommen also gave a special mention to the role Redlands United played in his son’s journey to the professional ranks.

“He was recruited to Redlands, which was a big move for us because it was very far away,” he said.

“There was a coach there, who changed his life. He said to him that he wasn’t a midfielder, he was a centre-back. That changed his career, playing that position has allowed him to get where he is today.”