Mitchell Ian "Mitch" Nichols (born 1 May 1989) is an 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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Gold Coast United FC
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 Un ...
in the
National Premier Leagues Queensland
The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...
.
Club career
Brisbane Roar
He signed a two-year deal on 11 May 2007 with the Roar after impressing in the opening rounds of the Gold Coast Premier League with Palm Beach Sharks, leading the goal scoring charts from midfield after 7 matches. Roar manager
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 Australia ...
stated that Nichols was "one for the future" the official press conference following his signing.
Nichols made a solid start to his career in the A-League with a number of substitute appearances. He also received his first call-up to the Australian Under 20 squad for a training camp on 7 October 2007. He scored his first goal for the Roar in his side's 4–1 victory over Perth Glory midway through the 2008–09 season. In the 2011–12 season, the midfielder exceeded expectations pre-season, scoring 10 goals, mostly from long range. He also made the A-league Team of the Season, alongside teammates Thomas Broich and
Besart Berisha
Besart Berisha (born 29 July 1985) is a Kosovan retired professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career Youth and Hamburger SV
Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies at age of 9. He then moved to var ...
.
Melbourne Victory
Before he joined
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), Victor ...
he went on trial at Danish club
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Ange Postecoglou. He became Postecoglou's first new signing ahead of the 2013/14 Hyundai A-League season.
Cerezo Osaka
Japanese J1 League Club Cerezo Osaka made multiple bids for Nichols during the January 2014 transfer window, the highest of which reaching $400,000.
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), Victor ...
stood firm despite Nichols' interest in the offer, however look set to complete the deal in the hope of acquiring young Australian midfielder, Tom Rogic.
In the end following Nichols' interest in moving and Tom Rogic joining Melbourne Victory, Nichols joined Cerezo Osaka. Nichols made his debut for Cerezo on 11 March 2014, coming off the bench in an AFC Champions League match against
Shandong Luneng Taishan
Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is ...
, which Cerezo lost 1–3.
Loan to Perth Glory
On 23 June 2014, Nichols joined Perth Glory on a one-year loan.
Western Sydney Wanderers
On 3 July 2015, Nichols signed a two-year deal with A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers. Nichols made his Wanderers debut against Brisbane Roar on 8 October 2015, scoring his debut goal for the club in the 13th minute of Wanderers' 3–1 defeat. On 11 May 2017, it was announced that Wanderers would not be renewing Nichols' contract.
Despite Nichols admitting to drug possession, on 13 June 2017, Perth Glory signed him on a two-year deal. On 20 February 2018, Nichols and Perth Glory mutually terminated his contract due to family reasons.
Wellington Phoenix
On 23 July 2018, it was announced that Nichols had signed a two-year deal with
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
to stay in the A-league.
On 15 January 2019, it was announced that Nichols and the Phoenix had parted ways.
Gold Coast Knights
On 15 March 2019, Nichols signed for
National Premier Leagues Queensland
The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...
National Premier Leagues Queensland
The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...
side
Olympic FC
Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1967 and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, with home matches played at Goodwin Park. The club has grow ...
.
Gold Coast United FC
On 9th January 2023, it was announced that Nichols signed for
National Premier Leagues Queensland
The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...
side
Gold Coast United FC
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 Un ...
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. He scored two goals in the Quarter Final match against
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
including a spectacular overhead kick in extra time. Nichols represented the Australia U-23 team receiving his first cap in 2010. Nichols made his first senior international debut for the
Socceroos
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 wit ...
on 4 March 2009 in an AFC Asian Cup qualifying match versus
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 ...
.
Club statistics
1 – includes A-League final series statistics 2 – includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. ACL and A-League seasons etc.)
Honours
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 ...
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Country
Australia:
*
AFF U19 Youth Championship
The AFF U-19 Youth Championship is an annual international football competition contested by the national teams of the members of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and occasionally invited nations from the rest of Asia. The tournament was pr ...
:
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...