Michael Errol Thwaite (born 2 May 1983) is an Australian former 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.

Education

He has a Bachelor of Human Movement Science degree from CQUniversity Australia. Michael also is a certified AFC B-Licence coach.

Club career

Michael was raised in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and played all his junior football at Saints Soccer Club. His amateur senior career began at merged club Edge Hill-Saints before moving south to

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Winter Super League on a Warwick Segal university scholarship. He then spent two seasons playing professionally for

Marconi Stallions Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football 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 Marc ...

(2002–2004) in the now defunct NSL, before heading to Romania. He was then signed to

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

on a Bosman transfer from FC Naţional București in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

. On 28 January 2008 he signed for

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann is a Norwegian professional football club based in Bergen. Founded on 26 September 1908, Brann has played in the first tier of Norwegian football for 67 out of 80 seasons, the second most of any club. They play their hom ...

and was loaned to the

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 19 June 2008. On 26 July 2008 he scored his first goal for the Victory in a pre-season cup game against

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 ...

, to guide the Victory to a 1–0 win in Perth. On 5 January 2009 he was signed from Melbourne by Gold Coast United after successfully negotiating his transfer from Brann. On 1 February 2012 he scored his first goal in his professional career for Gold Coast United against his former club Melbourne Victory at

Aurora Stadium York Park is a sports ground in the Inveresk and York Park Precinct, Launceston, Australia. Holding 21,000 people, York Park is known commercially as University of Tasmania (UTAS) Stadium and was formerly known as Aurora Stadium under a previo ...

in Tasmania. The game finished 1–1. Michael played for Perth Glory for the 2012–2013 A-League season onwards after Gold Coast United folded at the end of the 2011–12 A-League season and was selected as part of the PFA team of the year. He also featured in the All Stars match verses

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

after the

2013–14 A-League The 2013–14 A-League was the 37th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the ninth of the A-League since its establishment in 2004. The season began on 11 October 2013, with Western Sydney Wanderers as the defending A-League Premiers ...

. He played every single minute of the 2014–15 A-League season. Following Perth Glory's salary cap scandal of the 2014–15 A-League season, it is understood his days at the club were numbered and in mid-January Thwaite joined Chinese club

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

. During Michael's first season in the

2016 Chinese Super League The 2016 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () was the 13th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor was Ping An Insurance. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao won their sixth consecutive title ...

Thwaite made 25 appearances scoring 3 goals. Following changes to the Chinese Super League's foreign allowance and Liaoning Whowin signing Australians Robbie Kruse and James Holland, Thwaite was released along with his Australian teammate

Dario Vidošić Dario Vidošić ( ; ; born 8 April 1987) is a former Association football, soccer player and current coach who is the manager of Women's Super League club Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented ...

in February 2017. Thwaite signed for

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

for the 2017–18 A-League season, scoring 1 goal and reaching 200 A-League games during the Sydney Derby on 25 February 2018. At the conclusion of the season, Michael returned home to his family on the Gold Coast. In 2019 Michael will play for Gold Coast United in the Queensland National Premier League. On 8 June 2019 Thwaite played his 100th competitive game for Gold Coast United scoring in the 52nd minute against South West Queensland. On 23 March 2021 Thwaite announced his retirement from professional football 19 years after making his professional debut. Gold Coast United thanked and paid tribute to Thwaite by releasing the following statement: "On behalf of everyone here at Gold Coast United FC and from across football near and far, thanks Michael and congratulations on your contribution to the game. Thwaitey's football journey took off when he moved from Cairns to Sydney as a teenager in 2002 for University. Fittingly his last 'competitive' match was leading his beloved Queensland on to Perry Park in the NPL ''State of Origin'' match late 2020, a proud moment, one of many. In between times, across those 18 years, some blood, plenty of sweat and a few tears shed in an impressive playing career that criss-crossed the globe and country. Michael competed with distinction in the NSL, overseas, in the A-League, for our National teams and in the NPL. His commitment and dedication to the game and his professionalism and approach have always been exemplary. 'Bravo Thwaitey' well played! We've been privileged to have you at the club and we wish you, Chantelle and the girls all the very best.".

International career

Thwaite was part of the Australian under-20s team in the 2003

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

in the

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 ...

. He was also involved with the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

qualifying team, but did not make the final squad for the tournament proper. He made his international debut on 9 October 2005 in a 5–0 win in a friendly match held in London against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He was a squad member of the Australian national team in their historic

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying tie against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, but did not play, as head coach

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

preferred the more experienced

Tony Popovic Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently head coach of the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national football team. He guided the team to qualify for the 202 ...

and

Tony Vidmar Antony Vidmar (born 4 July 1970) is an Australian soccer coach and former player, who serves as an assistant coach with the Australia and head coach of Australia. He was a member of the Australia national team, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic ...

in the starting lineup. Michael was selected for the Socceroos at the 2007 Asian Cup reaching the Quarter Final against Japan in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thwaite was also a member of the Australian national team that qualified for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Honours

Wisła Kraków *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

: 2007–08 Melbourne Victory *

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

Premiership: 2008–2009 * A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Individual * Gold Coast United Player of the Year: 2010–2011 * Gold Coast United Player's Player of the Year: 2009–2010 * Gold Coast United Member's Player of the Year: 2009–2010 *

Most Glorious Player: 2013–14 Perth Glory FC season *

Member's Ultimate XI 1996–2016 * A-League All Stars Game participant:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* Gold Coast United Player of the Year: Queensland NPL season 2019 * Queensland NPL All Stars and Queensland State team: 2020

References

External links

* *
Gold Coast United profile

FFA – Socceroo profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thwaite, Michael 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Brisbane Men's association football midfielders Men's association football central defenders Australian men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Australian expatriate men's soccer players National Soccer League (Australia) players A-League Men players A-League Men All-Stars Eliteserien players Liga I players Ekstraklasa players Chinese Super League players FC Progresul București players Gold Coast United FC players Marconi Stallions FC players Melbourne Victory FC players SK Brann players Wisła Kraków players Liaoning F.C. players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Perth Glory FC players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Marquee players (A-League Men) Australian people of English descent Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Australian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Australian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Australian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in China Australian expatriate sportspeople in China 21st-century Australian sportsmen