Scott Higgins (born 9 June 1976) is an Australian former
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 played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. His career saw him play in three different continents, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Football career
Club career
He started his professional footballing career in the
NSL with
Canberra Cosmos
Canberra Cosmos Football Club was an Australian soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1995/96 season until the end of the 2000/01 season, after which it folded, primar ...
and later returning to
Queensland
)
, 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_ ...
with
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 the relaunched
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 ...
, he secured a deal with
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 ...
in 2005, before moving to Europe in June 2006 to join
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' ...
club
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
. A difference of opinion with Falkirk boss
John Hughes ended his stay in Scotland with the "Bairns" in a good position at sixth in the SPL and through to the semi-finals of the League Cup. Before departing Scotland Higgins stated it was a boyhood dream to play against his much loved Glasgow Celtic at Parkhead on 23 December 2006. Higgins played a key role at keeping Celtic at bay and was a standout for the Bairns, saying after the game "no one can take that away from me, I loved every minute of it and knowing my family was here and my best mate Barry who is a mad hoops fan was sitting watching back in Australia makes me very proud"; however, they eventually went down one–nil. He departed Scotland on 24 January 2007 to join
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i side
Maccabi Herzliya
Maccabi Herzliya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי הרצליה, ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Herzliya'') is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in and plays at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium.
History
A ...
.
Herzliya
When Higgins joined Herzliya, he became the first Australian in
Israeli football. With some stellar performances he led his club to the
Toto Cup
The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit.
Fro ...
final, a first ever for the club, where they defeated
Hapoel Kfar Saba
Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...
2–1 at the
Ramat Gan Stadium
Ramat Gan Stadium ( he, אצטדיון רמת גן, ''Itztadion Ramat Gan'') is a football stadium in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. It served as the national stadium of Israel until 2014.
Overview
Completed in 1951 and serving ...
in
Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...
.
Unfortunately, despite helping Herzliya to lift the Toto Cup and avoid relegation from the Israeli Premier League, Higgins left the club in late May 2007 as the club moved to secure the
Macedonian national team keeper,
Jane Nikolovski
Jane Nikoloski ( mk, Јане Николоски) (born 12 December 1973) is a Macedonian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Playing career Club
Nikoloski returned from Bulgaria for FK Sloga Jugomagnat in July 2003. In 2005, he left ...
, as a replacement in a deal that ultimately fell through.
A-League
On returning to Australia, he was signed by
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 ...
on a short-term contract as cover for injured goalkeeper
Daniel Beltrame for the start of the
2007–08 season.
In December 2008, Higgins signed a four-game contract with the
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 ...
as cover for
Mark Paston
Mark Nelson Paston (born 13 December 1976) is a New Zealand former Goalkeeper (association football), football goalkeeper who most recently played for the Wellington Phoenix FC, Wellington Phoenix in the A-League before announcing his retireme ...
. He has not yet made an appearance for the
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. He was released halfway through his contract, as
Paston became match-fit earlier than expected. He never got any game time with the
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
.
Miron Bleiberg
Miron Bleiberg ( he, מירון בלייברג) is an Israeli-Australian football (soccer) manager.
Biography
Bleiberg was educated at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, Israel. A former captain in the Israeli Navy, Bleiberg commanded patrol bo ...
, football director of new
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
Gold Coast United
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 Unit ...
has announced that Higgins will be signed by the club for the
2009–10 season. On 30 September 2008, he was announced along with
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Jess Vanstrattan
Jess Kedwell Vanstrattan (born 19 July 1982) is a retired Australian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Vanstrattan was born in Gosford and started his senior career with Central Coast. He played the majority of his career in ...
as
Gold Coast United
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 Unit ...
's inaugural signings.
Coaching
At the conclusion of the
2010–11 A-League
The 2010–11 A-League was the 34th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the sixth season of the Australian A-League soccer competition since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 ...
season Higgins retired and joined the staff at GCU as goalkeeping coach.
Politics
Higgins was an unsuccessful candidate for the
2013 federal election in the
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
representing
Queensland
)
, 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
Palmer United Party
The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is a currently deregistered Australian political party formed by mining magnate Clive Palmer in April 2013. The party ...
.
References
External links
Gold Coast United profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Scott
1976 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Cairns
Soccer players from Queensland
Men's association football goalkeepers
Australian soccer players
Australian expatriate soccer players
Expatriate footballers in Israel
Expatriate footballers in Scotland
A-League Men players
National Soccer League (Australia) players
Scottish Premier League players
Israeli Premier League players
Brisbane Strikers FC players
Falkirk F.C. players
Gold Coast United FC players
Maccabi Herzliya F.C. players
Brisbane Roar FC players
Expatriate association footballers in New Zealand
Wellington Phoenix FC players
United Australia Party (2013) politicians