Steve Fitzsimmons (born 7 September 1976) is a former Australian

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

player and coach.

Club career

Steve started his NSL career with

Parramatta Power Parramatta Power Soccer Club were a professional association football club who were based in the Western Sydney city of Parramatta. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999-00 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were ...

under coach & former Socceroo David Mitchell and his assistant coach

Lawrie McKinna Lawrie McKinna (born 8 July 1961) is a Scottish-Australian former football player, coach, and former Mayor of Gosford City Council. In 2012, McKinna stood for election as an independent for City of Gosford. Lawrie was successful in gaining a s ...

. In what was a breakout year for Fitzsimmons he saw moves to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profes ...

break down in 2001 returning to Australia and signing with NSL glamour club

Marconi Stallions Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times. The Stallions are the soccer team of Club Marconi, a socia ...

. A frustrating year at the Stallions was ended when Fitzsimmons returned home to Queensland and signed a 2-year contract with the

Brisbane Strikers Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two ...

under rookie coach Stuart McClaren. The Strikers achieved what many people didn't think they could with a squad of mainly local-based players sprinkled with NSL experience, they made the NSL finals only to lose to

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

on the away goals rule not only to bring down the curtain on their season but also that of the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

as we knew it. Fitzsimmons was signed by the foundation

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

club

New Zealand Knights New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-League ...

for the inaugural year of the

in what was a largely unsuccessful year for the club. On 25 January 2006 he agreed to part ways with the

allowing him to look for a new club before the close of the January transfer window. Fitzsimmons linked up with his former Queensland state coach

Miron Bleiberg Miron Bleiberg ( he, מירון בלייברג) is an Israeli-Australian football (soccer) manager. Biography Bleiberg was educated at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, Israel. A former captain in the Israeli Navy, Bleiberg commanded patrol bo ...

touring Korea in pre-season with the

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

. Steve scored the only goal in the opening game of the

Tongyeong Cup Tongyeong () is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (neighborhood). Chungmu city and Tongyeong co ...

against

Incheon United Incheon United FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the ci ...

. He was subsequently signed to a short-term contract with

making a solitary appearance before being released at the conclusion of the season after Bleiberg was replaced by

Frank Farina Frank Farina OAM (born 5 September 1964) is an Australian football (soccer) coach and former player who played as a forward. His playing career spanned Australia, Belgium, France, Italy and England, and was a major player for the Australian ...

. This looked to spell the end to Fitzsimmons's national league career as he went on to play for

Brisbane Premier League Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

side

Palm Beach SC Palm Beach Soccer Club is an Australian amateur soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The club was formed in 1966. History Palm Beach In 1964 Eddie Wardell organised a group of boys, one of which was his son, to play football out of Pal ...

. The following year he moved to

Beenleigh Football Club Logan Lightning FC is a semi-professional football (soccer) club based in Shailer Park, a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia. The club's history commenced in 1979, the year of establishment for both the Beenleigh and Loganholme socc ...

in the

Brisbane Premier League Division 1 Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

where he enjoyed a successful season playing 24 games for the club scoring 7 times including an important goal the club's Grand Final win against Capalaba Football Club. He was also on top in the Player of the Year award voting for Brisbane Premier League Division as voted by referees but was ruled ineligible due to a sending off against Albany Creek Excellsior Soccer Club in Round 21. Late in 2008, Fitzsimmons was rewarded for his performances while at

by being one of the first signings for

Gold Coast United Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first era of Gold Coast Unit ...

. On 21 August 2009, he scored his first ever A-League goal in a 2–0 win for Gold Coast during the second half of United's game against

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

Hindmarsh Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from Adelaide-based company Coopers Brewery) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australi ...

. Fitzsimmons turned down a move to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

Club

Qingdao Jonoon Qingdao Hainiu Football Club (, known as Hai-niu or literally Sea Bull) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League Two division under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team i ...

at the end of the 2009/10 season & he was rewarded for his performances with a new 1-year contract at

for the 2010/11 season taking him up to his 34th birthday. After retiring at the end of the

2010–11 A-League The 2010–11 A-League was the 34th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the sixth season of the Australian A-League soccer competition since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on ...

season, Fitzsimmons joined the staff at the club becoming Assistant Coach.

References

External links

Gold Coast United profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimmons, Steve 1976 births Living people English emigrants to Australia English people of Greek descent Australian people of Greek descent Men's association football midfielders Australian men's soccer players A-League Men players National Soccer League (Australia) players Brisbane Strikers FC players Gold Coast United FC players New Zealand Knights FC players Parramatta Power SC players Brisbane Roar FC players Footballers from Liverpool Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand