Michael William Baird (born 1 August 1983 in

Brisbane 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 ...

, Australia) is an Australian

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 ...

player striker. Michael has played in both 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 ...

(NSL) and the

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 ...

, spending time at clubs in New South Wales and Queensland. The young striker then moved overseas to play with Universitatea Craiova in the Romanian top flight; however, due to a contract dispute, he moved back to Australia to compete in the A-League for

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

missing out on the first 3 rounds of the 2010/2011 season due to his lack of provisional clearance by FIFA.

Club career

Michael Baird was born in Newmarket,

and began playing football at the age of five, with his local club,

Newmarket SFC Newmarket Soccer Football Club is an Australian football (soccer) club based at Newmarket, an inner north-west suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1949 as the Postal Institute Soccer Club, adopting its current name in the m ...

. In 2000, he began his professional career, with the Brisbane Lions Soccer Club (now known as

Queensland Lions FC Queensland Lions Football Club, known as Lions FC, is a football (soccer) club based in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1957 as ''Hollandia Inala Soccer Club'', the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland. History ...

) in the

Brisbane Premier League Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. Baird stayed with them in 2001, and scored 7 goals from 17 games during the season. In 2001–02, Baird was promoted to the

, signing 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 ...

, with whom he scored 4 goals from 15 appearances. The club finished fourth on the league table, but at the end of the season Baird signed with the team who had defeated the Strikers in the elimination final,

South Melbourne FC South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional Association football, soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, Victoria, Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The club currently competes in the National P ...

for 2002–03. Meanwhile, Baird made 18 appearances for South Melbourne in the 2002–03 NSL season, scoring 4 goals as they finished 7th, one point shy of the finals. Upon returning to Australia, Baird completed the 2003–04 season with

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football, soccer club, based in Belmore, New South Wales, Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan- ...

, picking up 2 goals in his 11 appearances. Baird returned briefly to the

Queensland Lions ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

for the 2004 QPL season, helping the team to the premiership before transferring to the

Bonnyrigg White Eagles Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, New South Wales, currently playing in the NSW League One. The club was founded in 1968 as Avala Sports Club and took its current name in 1992. H ...

in the

New South Wales Premier League The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...

. In late 2004, Baird received offers from new

clubs

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 ...

and 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 ...

, but made the decision to sign with his home club, thus becoming one of the first recruits for the Roar. Baird played in Queensland's 3–0 loss to

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

in the Australian qualifiers for the 2004–05 Oceania Club Championship, but in late June he was struck with

osteitis pubis Osteitis pubis is a noninfectious inflammation of the pubis symphysis (also known as the pubic symphysis, symphysis pubis, or symphysis pubica), causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in pa ...

, and it was feared he would miss the start of the inaugural A-League season. However, despite not playing in Queensland's Pre-Season Cup matches, Baird was fit in time for their first A-League game, scoring the final goal in their 2–0 win over the

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 ...

. Baird made a total of 20 appearances for the Roar in the 2005–06 season, scoring 6 goals and earning a red card in a round 14 match against the Mariners. Late in the season, Baird was released from the second year of his Roar contract to sign a four-year deal with

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n club

FC Universitatea Craiova U Craiova 1948, commonly known as FC U Craiova 1948 or FC U Craiova, is a Romanian professional football club based in Craiova, Dolj County, which competes in the Liga I. It is along with CS Universitatea Craiova one of the two entities asser ...

, and finished off his A-League career with a goal in his final game. On 15 April 2010 it was confirmed that Baird along with his

teammate Josh Mitchell had returned home to sign for

side

. After Struggling to make an impact with

it was announced that on 6 January 2011 that

had signed the forward until the end of the 2011–2012 season. On 17 November 2011, Baird joined the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n club,

Sabah FA Sabah Football Club ( ms, Kelab Bolasepak Sabah) is a football club with ownership by Sabah Football Club Sdn Bhd. The football club competes in Malaysia's football league representing the state of Sabah in Borneo. They currently compete in M ...

as one of the two foreign players allowed in the 2012 Malaysia Super League. Baird, alongside his fellow countrymen,

Brendan Gan Brendan Gan Seng Ling (; born 3 June 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder and captain for Malaysia Super League club Selangor and the Malaysia national team. Club career Brendan began playing football for his ...

signed a one-year contract Sabah. Baird scored 4 goals in 8 appearances for Sabah. In August 2013, Baird came back with

n club,

here Baird Score 3 goals in 14 appearances for

and has terminated the contract with them in December 2013. In January 2014, Baird joined

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 ...

n club,

PSM Makassar Persatuan Sepakbola Makassar ( 'Football Association of Makassar'; abbreviated as PSM) is an Indonesian professional football club based in Makassar, South Sulawesi that competes in Liga 1. PSM was founded in 1915 as , making it the oldest ...

. His contract was terminated after the

2014 Indonesia Super League The 2014 Indonesia Super League was the sixth season of the Indonesia Super League (ISL), a fully professional football competition as the top tier of the football league pyramid in Indonesia. The season was scheduled to begin in January 2014, but ...

finished.

International career

At the age of 19, Baird was selected in the Australian national team to play in the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

qualifying matches for 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 ...

. He played in Australia's first match, a 2–0 victory over

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, then scored 4 goals in an 11-0 thrashing of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in the first leg of the tournament final. Baird was selected in the 20-man squad to represent Australia in the 2003 World Youth Championship, also playing in Australia's 2–0 victory over 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 ...

in the leadup to the tournament. During the competition, however, Baird only managed a 32-minute appearance in Australia's 2–1 win over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, preferred behind Alex Brosque,

Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking mid ...

and

Spase Dilevski Spase Dilevski ( mk, Спасе Дилевски; born 13 May 1985) is an Australian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Dilevski started his career as a junior for Victorian lower league team Sydenham Park wher ...

. Australia finished on top of their group with 7 points, including a surprise victory over

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, before losing 1-0 to the hosts, the United Arab Emirates in the round of sixteen.

References

External links

Perth Glory profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Michael 1983 births Living people Australia youth international soccer players Australia under-20 international soccer players Australian expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Romania Australian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Liga I players A-League Men players National Soccer League (Australia) players Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC players Brisbane Strikers FC players FC U Craiova 1948 players Brisbane Roar FC players South Melbourne FC players Sydney Olympic FC players Perth Glory FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Sabah F.C. (Malaysia) players Sportsmen from Queensland Soccer players from Brisbane Association football midfielders Association football forwards Australian soccer players