Jamie Maclaren (born 29 July 1993) is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a striker for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club Mohun Bagan and the Australia national team. He previously played for Melbourne City, SV Darmstadt,

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

, Brisbane Roar and Hibernian. Maclaren initially represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at youth level, but has since appeared for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at both youth and senior international level. Maclaren is a five time A-League Golden Boot winner as

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

top scorer in the 2016–17 (19 goals), 2019–20 (22 goals), 2020–21 (25 goals) and 2021–22 (15 goals) season, 2022–23 and 24 goals). With 154 goals across 3 clubs, Maclaren is the A-League's all time top goalscorer, Melbourne City's all time top goalscorer, as well as Brisbane Roar's third highest all time goalscorer.

Club career

Early years

Maclaren grew up in the north-western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He first joined the junior side of local team Sunbury United at the early age of four or five, then switched to the youth ranks of nearby Victorian Premier League (now

National Premier Leagues Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria or NPL VIC) is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer league syst ...

) side Green Gully in 2003, where although he continued to play against older players, his team was very successful, at one point winning around 50 games in a row.

Blackburn Rovers

In July 2009, aged 15, he was invited to trial for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

' under-16 squad. In his first trial match he scored two goals against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

's under-16 squad, followed by a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, which resulted in a contract offer from Rovers. Maclaren benefited from the mentorship of fellow Australians

Vince Grella Vincenzo Grella (born 5 October 1979) is an Australian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Dandenong to Italian immigrants, Antonio and Maria, Grella began his senior career in Australia before moving to Italy, where he spent ov ...

and

Brett Emerton Brett Michael Emerton (born 22 February 1979) is an Australian former professional Association football, footballer who played for Sydney Olympic FC, Sydney Olympic, Sydney FC, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers and the ...

at Blackburn, where he soon progressed to be a regular under-21 squad player and training with the senior team. However, after four years in England having not broken into the first team, he was released by Rovers at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Perth Glory

Seeking first-team game time, Maclaren elected to return to Australia and signed a three-year contract with

club

at the beginning of the 2013–14 season. Maclaren made his Perth Glory debut, where he played 90 minutes, in a 3–1 loss against Adelaide United. Maclaren then scored his first goal for Perth Glory weeks later, on 27 October 2013, in a 1–0 win over Melbourne City and scored his second Perth Glory goal on 23 November 2013 The 2014–15 season was his breakout year, scoring 10 goals in 23 appearances across all competitions, and earning the April nomination for the league's young player of the year award. He also made a number of appearances in the

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a men's national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state- ...

side scoring 11 goals in just five games. Maclaren scored his first senior club hat-trick, scoring all three of Glory's goals in a 3–1 win against Melbourne City on 19 April 2015. At the end of the 2014–15 season, in the fallout from the Perth Glory salary cap scandal, Glory agreed to release all contracted players who wished to leave the club, with the sole exception of Maclaren. In response, he lodged a formal breach-of-contract notice against Perth Glory to the players' Union,

Professional Footballers Australia The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), formerly the Australian Soccer Players' Association, is an Australian trade union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and FIFPRO that represents Professional sports, professional ...

. Maclaren was subsequently released by Glory on 29 June 2015.

Brisbane Roar

Jamie Maclaren Brisbane Liverpool July 2015

During the A-League off-season, on 5 July 2015, Brisbane Roar signed Maclaren to a two-year deal. Maclaren made his debut with the Roar against the Western Sydney Wanderers on 8 October 2015. In the same game, he scored a brace for the Roar, with goals in the 9th and 34th minutes of the match. Later that season Maclaren reached his 50th senior A-League appearance, scoring a goal and assisting another against his former club, Perth Glory. He scored his second senior club hat-trick in a win against

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

on 12 March 2016. Maclaren finished the A-League regular season with 18 goals, second in the Golden Boot race to Melbourne City's

Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

striker Bruno Fornaroli, however his season tally was enough to become the all-time A-League record for an Australian player. Maclaren scored two more goals in the finals series to make his final club goal count 20 from 25 games. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he was awarded as the Young Player of the Year by the FFA. Maclaren scored 19 goals for the Roar in the 2016–17 A-League regular season, tying with Besart Berisha for the Golden Boot.

Darmstadt 98

In May 2017, Maclaren joined German 2. Bundesliga club Darmstadt 98 signing a three-year deal. He made his debut in the second round of the season as a 63rd minute substitution in a 1–1 draw away to FC Kaiserslautern on 4 August.

Loans to Hibernian

Maclaren was loaned to Scottish club Hibernian in January 2018, in the hope that more playing time would boost his chances of being selected by Australia for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

. He made his

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

debut in a 1–0 win at

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 24 January. Maclaren scored his first goal for Hibs on 3 February, converting a match-winning penalty against Rangers. He scored the second goal in a 2–0 win for Hibs in an

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any association football, football match played between Football in Scotland, Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs), the two o ...

on 9 March, and helped to delay

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

's title celebrations by scoring the first goal in a 2–1 win for Hibs on 21 April. He ended his season in Scotland by scoring a

in a 5–5 draw with Rangers. After the loan spell ended, Maclaren said that he hoped Darmstadt would make him available for transfer. On 3 August, Maclaren returned to Hibernian on a season-long loan. This spell was less productive, as Maclaren only scored one goal and he struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting lineup. Hibs terminated the loan on 31 January 2019.

Melbourne City

On 31 January 2019, Maclaren signed for

club Melbourne City on a marquee deal to see him at the club till May 2022. He scored in his first game for City with a backheel against Adelaide United on 9 February. He won the Golden Boot that season with 22 goals, three more than the nearest competitor, Adam Le Fondre. On 6 March 2021, Maclaren scored and assisted two in Melbourne City's 6–0 away win over city rivals

. On the next meeting on 17 April 2021, he became the first player to score five goals in the A-League regular season history, and just the second of all time, as the hosts won 7–0. He became Melbourne City's record goalscorer with 58 goals on 13 May 2021, when his team won 4–1 against Adelaide United at home overtaking Bruno Fornaroli. After 5 and a half seasons at the club, on 30 April 2024 it was announced that Maclaren would leave Melbourne City at the conclusion of the 2023–24 A-League season, in the lead up to the club's elimination final against derby rivals

. Maclaren played his final match for Melbourne City in a Melbourne Derby elimination final against

. Maclaren was substituted off in the 75th minute of the match, having registered just 8 touches in the match, as Melbourne City lost 3–2 on penalties after the match ended 1–1 in regulation time.

Mohun Bagan

In July 2024, Maclaren signed with

club Mohun Bagan on a two-year deal. On 23 September, he made his Mohun Bagan debut as a 80th minute substitute in a 3–2 win vs

NorthEast United NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded on ...

. Maclaren scored his first goal for the club on 5 October, heading the opening goal in the 8th minute vs their city rival

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

in a 3–0 win. In the next game on 19 October, he scored the opening goal in the

Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match") is the association football, football match in Kolkata, between Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal FC, East Bengal. The rivalry between these two teams is over 100 years old, ...

against arch rivals East Bengal.

International career

Youth

Scotland

Maclaren international career started when he was called up for Scotland under-19, who he was eligible to play for through his father Donald. Maclaren made two appearances for the team, playing against Denmark and Norway. Maclaren was then involved with the Australian under-20 squad, and scored a goal against the hosts Turkey in the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

Australia

Maclaren joined the Australian under-23 team ("Olyroos") for

2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was a men's under-23 association football, football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete ...

Group F games held in Taiwan in March 2015, which doubled as Olympic qualification. He played in two of the Olyroos' three games, scoring a hat-trick against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and another two goals against

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, achieving the second highest tally for the qualification stage out of the entire AFC. Maclaren was named in the Australian squad for the

2016 AFC U-23 Championship The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted association football, football championship organised by the Asian Football ...

, where he played every minute of Australia's campaign in three games against the UAE, Vietnam and Jordan, scoring against Vietnam.

Senior

Jamie Maclaren training with the Socceroos June 2017

In February 2016, Maclaren announced that and pledged to play for

rather than Scotland, but later expressed his pride at having been selected for the young Scots.Maclaren opens up about "cheeky" FFA
, FTBl.com, 12 January 2018 In May 2016, Maclaren was called up to the Socceroos for the first time for a friendly match away to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in which he started. After a solid start to the 2016–17 A-League season, Maclaren was called up again to the Socceroos squad in November 2016 for Australia's 2018 World Cup Qualifying Third Round match against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in Bangkok. He started the match, playing 57 minutes in the eventual 2–2 draw before being substituted for Nathan Burns. He was again called up for the final two Round 3 matches in August and September 2017, coming on in the 71st minute of the crucial final match at home to Thailand, which the Socceroos won 2–1. Maclaren dropped out of the Australia squad later in 2017, due to his lack of playing time at Darmstadt. A major factor in him seeking a loan move in January 2018 was to try and earn selection for the

squad. He was named in a 32-man provisional squad for the World Cup, but was cut from the 26-man squad to go to a pre-tournament camp in Turkey. Following an injury to Tomi Juric, Maclaren was added to the training squad. He played in a preparatory friendly match against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and was selected in the final 23-man squad. Incoming Socceroo coach

Graham Arnold Graham James Arnold (born 3 August 1963) is an Australian association football, professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Iraq national football team, Iraq national team. Arnold was first appointed ...

selected Maclaren in the Australian squad for the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...

. He came on as a 64th minute substitute in the only pre-tournament friendly against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, and started all three matches in the group stage; a loss against

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, having a potential equaliser ruled offside, the second match against

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, scoring his first international goal in the 18th minute with a header from a Tom Rogic cross, and the last game, a win against

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Maclaren continued in the starting XI for the Socceroos in the first knockout stage match, against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, playing the first 75 minutes before being replaced by Apostolos Giannou in the eventual win on penalties. He was named to start alongside Giannou in a changed two-striker formation in the Quarter-Final against hosts

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. On 10 October 2019, Maclaren scored his first international hat-trick in a 5–0 win against

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

during the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

. On 16 November 2023, Maclaren scored his second international hat-trick during the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

match against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Personal life

Maclaren holds a British passport, and is half-Maltese through his mother; this led to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

approaching Maclaren to play for them, however, he turned down the request. His Scottish father Donald had a short career as a footballer with

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

(after failing to break through at Heart of Midlothian) prior to emigrating to Australia, while his paternal uncle Ross MacLaren played in the English leagues with Shrewsbury Town,

and

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. Maclaren is a fan of

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Melbourne City * A-League Men Premiership: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 Mohun Bagan * Indian Super League Shield: 2024–25 * ISL Cup: 2024–25 *

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

runner-up:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Individual * A-League Young Footballer of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17 * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2015–16, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 * A-League Golden Boot: 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 * Harry Kewell Medal: 2016 * A-Leagues All Star:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclaren, Jamie 1993 births Living people Australian men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers Australian people of Scottish descent Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Soccer players from Melbourne Men's association football forwards Perth Glory FC players Brisbane Roar FC players SV Darmstadt 98 players Hibernian F.C. players Melbourne City FC players A-League Men players A-League Men All-Stars National Premier Leagues players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2. Bundesliga players Australian people of Maltese descent Scottish Professional Football League players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Marquee players (A-League Men) People from Sunbury, Victoria 2022 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen