Matthew Spiranovic
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Matthew Thomas Spiranovic[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 27 June 1988||
Place of birth |
Geelong, Victoria , Australia | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
North Geelong Warriors | |||
Keilor Park | |||
Melbourne Knights | |||
2004–2005 |
VIS | ||
2006 |
AIS | ||
2007 | 1. FC Nürnberg | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004 |
North Geelong Warriors | (1) | |
2005 | Melbourne Victory | 0 | (0) |
2007–2011 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 24 | (0) |
2009 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 13 | (2) |
2010 | → Urawa Red Diamonds (loan) | 13 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 25 | (0) |
2012–2013 | Al-Arabi | 13 | (2) |
2013–2015 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 31 | (1) |
2015–2017 |
Hangzhou Greentown | 49 | (1) |
2018–2019 | Perth Glory | 15 | (0) |
2021–2023 | Melbourne Victory | 17 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2004–2005 |
Australia U17 | 17 | (1) |
2006 |
Australia U20 | 14 | (0) |
2007–2008 |
Australia U23 | 8 | (0) |
2008–2019 |
Australia | 36 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 February 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 February 2023 |
Matthew Thomas Spiranovic (born 27 June 1988) is a former Australian soccer player who played as a defender.
Spiranovic started his career with
Spiranovic has made appearances for
In addition to holding an Australian passport, Spiranovic also has a UK passport.[3]
Club career
Early career
Spiranovic played junior football in
North Geelong Warriors
He had a brief stint with former junior club and
Victorian Institute of Sport
In 2004, he earned a
Australian Institute of Sport
In 2006, Spiranovic then graduated to the
Melbourne Victory
Having trialled and trained semi-regularly for
"Ernie (Merrick) not picking me up has done me a favour in a sense because I'll probably be better off in the long run. I trained with Victory for three weeks and Nurnberg for one and the difference is massive. You've got 12 international players at Nurnberg. There's the Czech captain (Tomáš Galásek), Brazilian and Croatian internationals." – Spiranovic on signing with 1. FC Nürnberg[10]
1. FC Nürnberg
2006–2011
Spiranovic joined 1. FC Nürnberg in October 2006, where he was handed the number 23 shirt. He debuted in the 2006–07 Bundesliga in a 0–0 away draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 30 January 2007, being substituted onto the field for Marek Nikl in the 92nd minute.[14] Days later, Spiranovic made his full debut for 1. FC Nürnberg in a 3–0 home victory against Bayern Munich on 2 February. He was substituted off of the field for Michael Beauchamp in the 46th minute due to a corked thigh.[15] Spiranovic briefly played for 1. FC Nürnberg U-19 in the Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest, he debuted in a 2–1 away defeat against Karlsruher SC U-19 on 25 February 2007. Spiranovic scored his first goal for the youth-team in a 5–3 away defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern U-19 on 5 April 2007. Spiranovic played his first full 90-minute game in a 1–1 home draw against Wolfsburg on 28 April.[16] He also made two appearances in the 2006–07 DFB-Pokal, his second appearance coming in the 3–2 final victory against Stuttgart on 26 May, where Spiranovic was substituted onto the field for Marek Nikl in the 72nd minute. Winning the DFB-Pokal meant that 1. FC Nürnberg had qualified for the first-round of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. Spiranovic completed the 2006–07 season having made 8 league appearances.
His first appearance of the
In June 2009, tabloid newspaper News of the World reported that
Loan to Urawa Red Diamonds
2010 season
On 7 January 2010, Spiranovic joined
Urawa Red Diamonds
2011 season
On 11 December 2010, Spiranovic joined Urawa on a permanent basis after the Japanese club bought out his contract after a very impressive first season in
2012 season
In Urawa's first match of the
Al-Arabi
On 9 July 2012, the Qatari club confirmed that they have signed Spiranovic on a two-year deal.[46] It was reported that Spiranovic's lack of game time in Japan had led him to request a transfer. Spiranovic received offers to go back to Europe, most notably in Wales from Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City and then Liverpool, however, he opted for Al Arabi following the lead of Australians Sasa Ognenovski and Mark Bresciano in signing for a Qatari club.[47]
Western Sydney Wanderers
Spiranovic returned to the A-League in time for the 2013–14 season, signing with Western Sydney Wanderers.[48]
Hangzhou Greentown
On 16 July 2015, Spiranovic transferred to
Perth Glory
On 22 June 2018, Spiranovic signed a one-year contract with Perth Glory, returning to Australia and re-uniting with Tony Popovic who coached him at Western Sydney Wanderers.[50] At the end of his contract, Spiranovic didn't extend his time at Perth Glory and departed the club.[51]
Return to Melbourne Victory
In July 2021, following two years without playing professional football, Spiranovic returned to Australia joining Melbourne Victory on a one-year contract.[52]
Retirement
Spiranovic announced his retirement from football, halfway through the A-League season. He suffered from an ongoing foot injury that required surgery, limiting his playing time to just four games out of fourteen played up to the point he retired. His final match was on 21 January 2023, against Perth Glory, one of his former sides, the game finishing 3-1 to Perth.[53]
International career
Socceroos
On 5 April 2007, Spiranovic publicly announced his intention to play for Australia on SBS's football program, The World Game. He was called up to the national side for a friendly against Uruguay, which was held on 2 June 2007. Spiranovic did not play in the defeat against the South Americans and surprisingly missed out on a spot in Australia's 2007 Asian Cup Squad, for which only five recognized defenders were selected. Spiranovic made his senior international debut for the Socceroos on 23 May 2008, coming on as a substitute against Ghana, followed by a start in the World Cup Qualifier against China on 22 June 2008. Spiranovic did not make the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad and was transferred to Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds to gain more playing time.[54] After a lengthy absence from the national team, Spiranovic played a full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Switzerland on 5 September 2010.[55][56] During this time which had followed Craig Moore's retirement from the national team, Spiranovic was labelled as Australia's central defender for the next decade as coach Holger Osieck noticed his potential before selection for the 2011 Asian Cup.[57]
In 2015 Spiranovic was selected for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which was hosted in Australia. Spiranovic played in the final against South Korea, which the Australian side won.[58]
2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
Spiranovic was selected in a 20-man
2006 AFC Youth Championship
Spiranovic received a call up to a 20-man
2008 Summer Olympics
By 2008, he was selected to represent the
Personal life
Personal and family life
Spiranovic was born in
National team decision
By 2007, it was clear that Spiranovic was to play for Australia when he officially rejected an offer from the
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League1 | Cup2 | League Cup3 | Continental4 | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
1. FC Nürnberg | 2006–07 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | ||
2007–08 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
2008–09 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
1. FC Nürnberg II | 2007–08 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
2008–09 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||||
2009–10 | 8 | 2 | – | – | – | 8 | 2 | ||||
Total | 13 | 2 | – | – | – | 13 | 2 | ||||
Urawa Red Diamonds | 2010 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 18 | 1 | |
2011 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 28 | 0 | ||
2012 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | 48 | 1 | ||
Al-Arabi | 2012–13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 2 | |
Total | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | |
Western Sydney Wanderers | 2013–14 | 18 | 1 | – | – | 7 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
2014–15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
Total | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
Hangzhou Greentown
|
2015 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 1 | ||
2016 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 0 | |||
2017 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 0 | |||
Total | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 49 | 1 | ||
Career total | 171 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 190 | 7 |
1Includes
2Includes
3Includes
4Includes UEFA Europa League and AFC Champions League.
International
Under–17
- Scores and results list Australia U–17's goal tally first.
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 26 July 2005 | Lima | Peru | 2–2 | 2–2 | Four-Nations tournament |
Socceroos
- As of 7 June 2019
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Australia
| |||
2008 | 2 | 0 | |
2009 | 2 | 0 | |
2010 | 1 | 0 | |
2011 | 7 | 0 | |
2012 | 4 | 0 | |
2013 | 0 | 0 | |
2014 | 5 | 0 | |
2015 | 9 | 0 | |
2016 | 4 | 0 | |
2017 | 1 | 0 | |
2019 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 36 | 0 |
Honours
1. FC Nürnberg
Urawa Red Diamonds
- 2011
Western Sydney Wanderers
Perth Glory
- A-League: Premiers 2018–19
Melbourne Victory
- FFA Cup: 2021
Australia
- OFC U-17 Championship: 2005
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015, Runners-up 2011
Individual
- Weinstein Medal Junior Player of the Year: 2005
References
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Glory will field a new-look defence in Sunday's clash with Brisbane Roar at HBF Park following the departure of Matthew Spiranovic...
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External links
- Matthew Spiranovic at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Urawa Red Diamonds official site Archived 17 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
- 1. FC Nuremberg profile (in German)
- OzFootball profile
- FFA – Olyroo profile (footballaustralia.com.au) at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 March 2008)
- Kicker Profile
- Matthew Spiranovic at Soccerway
- Yahoo! Japan sports Archived 10 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
- Matthew Spiranovic at National-Football-Teams.com