Matthew Graham McKay (born 11 January 1983) is a retired Australian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who last played for Australian

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 competiti ...

club

Brisbane 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 ...

, and previously with the Australian national team. McKay currently holds the club's record for league appearances, 272. McKay played for

since their first season in the

, and was their club captain up until the 2010–11 season, in which he led Brisbane to their first ever A-League championship and premiership. Following this triumphant victory McKay sought a new challenge in the first division of the Scottish Premiership with Rangers. McKay played an integral role in Australia's second placing in the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fifte ...

notably with 30m cross to centre forward

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F.C ...

. He was also part of the Australian squad at 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 righ ...

and

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...

Club career

McKay spent his formative youth years at both the QAS and

AIS AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

. McKay's first club signing was in 1991 for the Sunnybank Saints Soccer Club, competing under the Queensland Christian Soccer Association. McKay was signed by NSL team 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 ...

in 2001, where he stayed until the conclusion of the 2003–04 National Soccer League season. McKay's last game for the Strikers was a 4–1 Victory over

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

in the Elimination Final #1 as the Strikers could only level the tie 4–4 and bow out of the finals on away goals.

Brisbane Roar

McKay signed on as an inaugural member of the, then,

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record ...

prior to the 2005–06 season – the first in the history of the

. McKay was given the number 17 shirt, which he has retained throughout his career at the Roar. Initially signed as a squad player behind the more established

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n duo Hyuk-Su Seo and Tae-Yong Shin, McKay quickly got his opportunity due to a career-ending injury suffered by Shin in the clubs' first ever A-League fixture, against the now defunct,

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 ...

. Following the departure of club captain,

Craig Moore Craig Andrew Moore (born 12 December 1975) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. His 2006 FIFA World Cup profile describes him as being "tough-tackling and uncompromising but also calm and composed under p ...

midway through the 2009–10 season, McKay was named as club captain. He has played the highest number of games for the Roar with 184 appearances, scoring 21 goals. McKay led Brisbane to their first

premiership and championship in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. The Roar topped the table, and continued their record-breaking 28-game (run finished at 36) unbeaten run with a miraculous 4–2 (2–2 aet) penalty shoot-out win over the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

in the 2011 A-League Grand Final. It was reported after the match that a stirring speech by McKay at half-time in extra time boosted the Roar's morale sufficiently to unbelievably overcome a 2–0 deficit. During his time at Brisbane Roar, McKay had a loan spell in 2009 during the A-League off season.. He joined Changchun Yatai F.C. in the

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 ...

where he made 15 appearances.

Rangers

On 16 August 2011 Rangers confirmed the signing of McKay awaiting a work-permit, which was granted three days later, with a UK work visa granted a week later. McKay made his Rangers debut against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

on 10 September 2011, coming on as a late substitute. On 10 January 2012, McKay played and scored in a 4–1 Premier League win over

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

team

Kilmarnock F.C. Kilmarnock Football Club, commonly known as Killie, is a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The team is currently managed by Derek McInnes, who was appointed in January 2022. The club has achieve ...

On 12 January 2012, it was reported that he had rejected the chance to go on loan to Al Ittihad who reportedly made an offer to Rangers of a loan-to-buy deal.

Busan IPark

Rangers began to have financial problems and on 14 February 2012 a dispute with HMRC came to a head when the business was placed into administration. Rangers were deducted 10 points as per SPL rules, which left them 14 points behind leaders Celtic. On 22 February 2012, Rangers confirmed that they had agreed a fee with South Korean club

Busan IPark Busan IPark ( ko, 부산 아이파크) is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. Its current home ground is Busan Gudeok Stadium. The club was o ...

for midfielder Matt McKay.

Changchun Yatai

In January 2013, McKay signed a two-year deal with

side

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home stadi ...

. In July 2013, McKay mutually terminated his contract by the club.

Brisbane Roar

On 11 August 2013, McKay was announced as

Australian Marquee for the next 2 seasons

International career

McKay represented Australia at U-20 level in the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

. On 16 August 2006, McKay came on as a substitute for Australia in the 90th minute of the 2007 Asian Cup qualifying match against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

for his first

Socceroo The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated wi ...

cap. McKay would have to wait until 28 January 2009 for his second cap, starting in Australia's 2011 Asian Cup qualifying match against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in Jakarta. He would also feature in two more qualification games for the 2011 Asian Cup, starting against Kuwait on 5 March 2009 at

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports v ...

and playing the second half of the return tie against Indonesia on 3 March 2010 at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. McKay missed out on

Pim Verbeek Peter Tim Dirk "Pim" Verbeek (12 March 1956 – 28 November 2019) was a Dutch football manager who last coached the Oman national football team. Playing career As a player, Verbeek was a defender or a midfielder and spent his entire career at S ...

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

squad, however he returned to the Socceroos under new manager

Holger Osieck Holger Osieck (born 31 August 1948) is a German football manager who last managed the Australia national team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J. League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League ...

and featured in three of Australia's friendlies in the leadup to the

. He came off the bench in the match against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

on 9 October 2010 at the

as well as coming off the bench against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

on 17 November 2010. McKay was selected for the

squad by Holger Osieck, and started in the team's pre-tournament friendly against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

on 5 January 2011 in

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

. McKay went on to play a part in every game Australia played at the tournament, initially coming off the bench in the first two games against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

. He was named in the starting 11 for both the final group stage match against

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and the subsequent quarter-final match against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and played a vital role in the latter, leading Australia to a 1–0 extra time victory, executing an inch-perfect cross for striker

to head into the goal for the match winner. McKay retained his starting position for the semi-final against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, and was again a key player for Australia in the team's 6–0 win, setting up three goals and being awarded man of the match. Due to McKay's excellent form, he was retained in the starting XI by Osieck for the Asian Cup Final, playing the full 120 minutes as the Socceroos lost 1–0 to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. McKay captained Australia for the first time on 7 December 2012 against

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

in the

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 5th edition of this regional competition, the football championship of East Asia. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2012. Mongolia were suspended from the EAFF and could not compete in any EAFF co ...

qualifiers. Australia won the match 9–0. McKay also represented Australia at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, playing in his preferred midfield position. McKay was named as part of Australia's

squad. He made his first appearance of the tournament as a starter in Australia's 2nd group game against

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

, scoring Australia's first goal of the game off a

Trent Sainsbury Trent Lucas Sainsbury (born 5 January 1992) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a centre back for Qatari club Al-Wakrah and the Australian national team. Sainsbury was born in Thornlie, Perth and played youth football ...

header, in an eventual 4–0 win.

Career statistics

Club

¹ – includes

final series statistics
² – includes

Korean FA Cup The Korean FA Cup is a national football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the FA Cup was established in 1996, two predecessor competitions named All Joseon Football Tournament ...

and

FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Australia ...

statistics ³ – includes

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

statistics;

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. ACL and A-League seasons etc.)

International

Honours

Club

;

Premiership: 2010–11, 2013–14 *

Championship: 2010–11, 2013–14

International

;

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Runners-Up:

Individual

Gary Wilkins Medal: 2006–07 *

Players Player of the Year: 2006–07, 2010–11 *

Members Player of the Year: 2006–07, 2010–11 * Football Media Association Player of the Year 2010–11 * PFA Footballer of the Year: 2010–11 * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2010–11 * PFA A-League Team of the Decade: (2005–2015)

References

External links

Aussie Footballers
McGowan to McLelland * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Matt 1983 births A-League Men players Brisbane Roar FC players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Brisbane Australian expatriate men's soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Australian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Australian expatriate sportspeople in China Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland National Soccer League (Australia) players K League 1 players Scottish Premier League players Brisbane Strikers FC players Incheon United FC players Chinese Super League players Changchun Yatai F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Busan IPark players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players Sportsmen from Queensland Living people AFC Asian Cup-winning players Marquee players (A-League Men) Australian men's soccer players