Matthew Thomas Spiranovic (born 27 June 1988) is an Australian former

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 who played as a defender. Spiranovic started his career with

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 ...

, making one competitive appearance before being released with the consent of coach

Ernie Merrick Ernest Merrick Order of Australia, OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets FC, Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Ko ...

to join German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club 1. FC Nürnberg. Spiranovic struggled in his new climate with both injuries and form, making just 28 first team appearances over four seasons with the German club, playing more frequently for the club's second side. In search of more consistent playing time, Spiranovic then joined

Urawa Red Diamonds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...

making 13 league appearances and scoring 1 goal during the 2010 J-League season. At the end of his loan spell, Spiranovic signed permanently for the club in 2011 for a fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

450.000. Spiranovic has made appearances for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

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 ...

FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He has also represented

at the

2005 OFC U-17 Championship The 2005 OFC Under-17 Tournament was an association football competition in Oceania. It was the 11th edition of the OFC Under 17 Qualifying Tournament, Nine teams participated in the tournament. The winning side qualified for the 2005 FIFA U-17 ...

, the

2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the eleventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru from 16 September to 2 October 2005. Players born after 1 January 1988 could participate i ...

, the

2006 AFC Youth Championship The 2006 AFC Youth Championship was the 34th instance of the AFC Youth Championship. It was held from 29 October to 12 November 2006 in India. It was the first time for India to host this tournament. Sixteen teams from the AFC qualified to the f ...

, the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, 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 secon ...

where Australia finished runners-up and the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

, in which he was part of the starting line up in the final of the tournament, hosted & won by Australia. In addition to holding an Australian passport, Spiranovic also has a UK passport.

Club career

Early career

Spiranovic played junior football in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and had represented his state,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, at U–14 and U–15 Australian national championship level.

North Geelong Warriors

He had a brief stint with former junior club and

Victorian State League Division 2 North-West The Victorian State League, known as VETO Sports State League for sponsorship purposes is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 1958 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of five divisions (separated by ...

side

North Geelong Warriors North Geelong Warriors Football Club, formerly known as North Geelong Croatia, is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club from the regional Victoria (Australia), Victorian city of Geelong. The club currently competes in the ...

, scoring one league goal in a 5–0 home win against Albion Rovers on 5 June 2004.

Victorian Institute of Sport

In 2004, he earned a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

with the

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succ ...

under coach Ian Greener, and was awarded the Weinstein Medal for best junior player of the year by

Football Federation Victoria Football Victoria is the state governing body for association football, soccer in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the sport's national governing body. History Football Victoria began operation in 1884 under the n ...

in 2005. Spiranovic was selected in a 20-man Australia U–17 national team by coach

Ange Postecoglou Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou ( ; ; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who was most recently manager of club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spen ...

for a five-match tour of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

against Palestino U–17, Universidad Catolica U–17, Colo-Colo U–17 and Chile U–17. The tour was preparation for the

. The Qantas U–17 Joeys were then crowned champions of the 2005 OFC U-17 Championship and qualified for the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, where Spiranovic played in all three group-stage matches of the competition. He was also selected for a Four-Nations tournament in Peru against Costa Rica U–17, Ecuador U–17 and Peru U–17 in July 2005.

Australian Institute of Sport

In 2006, Spiranovic then graduated to the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

where he joined future Socceroo teammates

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 ...

Bruce Djite Bruce José Djité (French pronunciation: ; born 25 March 1987) is an Australian executive and former association football (soccer) player. he is South Australian executive director of the Property Council of Australia. Djite made a name for ...

Nikita Rukavytsya Nikita Vadymovych Rukavytsya ( ; ; born 22 June 1987) is a retired professional soccer player. Born in Ukraine, he played for the Australia national team. Early and personal life Rukavytsya was born in Mykolayiv, in the then Ukrainian SSR of ...

and

Nathan Burns Nathan Burns (born 7 May 1988) is a retired Australian people, Australian professional Association football, footballer who played for the Australia men's national soccer team, Australian national team. Club career Adelaide United He formerly ...

. During his stint at the AIS, Spiranovic received a call up to a 20-man Australia U20 team for a five-match tour of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in August 2006. Spiranovic participated in matches against Colo-Colo U–20, Universidad de Chile U–20, Chile U–20 and Argentina U–20. The South American tour was preparation for the

, the qualification campaign for the eventual

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

Melbourne Victory

Having trialled and trained semi-regularly for

, Spiranovic played as a 16-year-old the club's first friendly match against

Oakleigh Cannons Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb Oakleigh. As of 2025, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria). History South Oakleigh Soccer Club was establ ...

in late April in 2005. The friendly match was preparation for Melbourne Victory's first competitive match a few days later, where he again featured for the club in their

2004–05 OFC Club Championship The 2005 OFC Club Championship was the 4th edition of the top-level Oceanic club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 1st since 2001. The tournament was held in Papeete, Tahiti. The preliminary round ...

qualifier against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

on 7 May 2005. Melbourne Victory lost the game 4–1 in a penalty shootout. Ultimately, Spiranovic was not offered a contract by its coach

for the club's inaugural

2005–06 A-League The 2005–06 A-League was the 29th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the inaugural season of the A-League. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition since the close of the 2003–04 National Soccer Lea ...

, as Merrick believed that Spiranovic was too good to play in the

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

. On 5 October 2006, it had been reported in that Spiranovic was signed to 1. FC Nürnberg after training with club's first-team for a week and playing in a friendly against a second division club.

"Ernie (Merrick) not picking me up has done me a favour in a sense because I'll probably be better off in the long run. I trained with Victory for three weeks and Nurnberg for one and the difference is massive. You've got 12 international players at Nurnberg. There's the Czech captain (
Tomáš Galásek Tomáš Galásek (; born 15 January 1973) is a former Czech football midfielder and current manager. He is the only player to witness both silver goals ever scored in European football, scoring the first for Ajax. Club career Galásek started h ...
), Brazilian and Croatian internationals." – Spiranovic on signing with 1. FC Nürnberg

1. FC Nürnberg

2006–2011

Spiranovic joined 1. FC Nürnberg in October 2006, where he was handed the number 23 shirt. He debuted in the

2006–07 Bundesliga The 2006–07 Bundesliga was the 44th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 11 August 2006 and ended on 19 May 2007. Bayern Munich were the defending champions. Team changes from 2005–06 Three teams from th ...

in a 0–0 away draw against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

on 30 January 2007, being substituted onto the field for

Marek Nikl Marek Nikl (born 20 February 1976) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a centre back, most notably for 1. FC Nürnberg. He made five appearances for the Czech Republic national team. Career Nikl spent most of his early fo ...

in the 92nd minute. Days later, Spiranovic made his full debut for 1. FC Nürnberg in a 3–0 home victory against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

on 2 February. He was substituted off of the field for

Michael Beauchamp Michael Francis Beauchamp (born 8 March 1981) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He was a member of the Australian 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads. At club level, Beauchamp played for football ...

in the 46th minute due to a corked thigh. Spiranovic briefly played for 1. FC Nürnberg U-19 in the Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest, he debuted in a 2–1 away defeat against Karlsruher SC U-19 on 25 February 2007. Spiranovic scored his first goal for the youth-team in a 5–3 away defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern U-19 on 5 April 2007. Spiranovic played his first full 90-minute game in a 1–1 home draw against

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

on 28 April. He also made two appearances in the

2006–07 DFB-Pokal The 2006–07 DFB-Pokal was the 64th season of the annual German football cup competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds, which began on 8 September 2006 and ended on 26 May 2007. In the final, 1. FC Nürnberg defeated VfB Stu ...

, his second appearance coming in the 3–2 final victory against

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

on 26 May, where Spiranovic was substituted onto the field for

in the 72nd minute. Winning the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

meant that 1. FC Nürnberg had qualified for the first-round of the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, UEFA's former second-tier club association football, football tournament. The 2008 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, E ...

. Spiranovic completed the 2006–07 season having made 8 league appearances. His first appearance of the

2007–08 Bundesliga The 2007–08 Bundesliga was the 45th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 10 August 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. VfB Stuttgart were the defending champions. Competition format Every team played two games a ...

came in a 1–0 away defeat against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

on 22 September 2007, where Spiranovic had played a full 90-minutes. 1. FC Nürnberg took part in the

. Throughout the tournament, Spiranovic had been included in the team sheet on various occasions but did not make an appearance. Spiranovic made seven league appearances in the 2007–08 season, starting in six games. However, 1. FC Nürnberg had finished in 16th position of the 2007–08 Bundesliga table and were subsequently relegated to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2008–09 season. Spiranovic's first appearance in the 2008–09 2. Bundesliga came in a 2–2 home draw against

Alemannia Aachen Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...

on 31 August 2008. He played a full 90-minutes of the match. Spiranovic started in the next seven matches until November, where he sustained a long-term hamstring injury and ruptured an ankle tendon and would eventually miss the rest of the season. On his return, Spiranovic spent some time with 1. FC Nürnberg II in the Regionalliga Süd whilst regaining his fitness. He debuted for the side in a 4–0 away loss against

TSV 1860 München II The TSV 1860 Munich II () is the German reserve football teams, reserve team of German association football, football club TSV 1860 Munich, from the city of Munich, Bavaria. Until 2005, the team played under the name of TSV 1860 München Amateur ...

24 April 2009. Spiranovic made three appearances for the reserve-team before concluding the season. 1. FC Nürnberg finished in third place of the 2008–09 2. Bundesliga table and faced

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the German reunification, reunificatio ...

in the

relegation playoff Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

. 1. FC Nürnberg won 5–0 on aggregate and were promoted back to the Bundesliga for the 2009–10 season. In June 2009, tabloid newspaper ''News of the World'' reported that

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

boss

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...

had offered £1million for Spiranovic, but a transfer was not eventuated. Instead, Spiranovic had his contracted extended for another two seasons with 1. FC Nürnberg. Spiranovic commenced the 2009–10 with the club's reserve side. He scored his first goal for the side in the 81st minute of a 4–1 away victory against Greuther Fürth II on 12 September 2009. Spiranovic made just one Bundesliga league appearance in a 4–0 away defeat against

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

on 3 October 2009. Spiranovic played a full 90-minutes of the match. He re-joined 1. FC Nürnberg's reserve-team for the remainder of 2009, scoring his second Regionalliga Süd league goal in the 69th minute of a 4–1 away victory against Freiburg II on 29 November 2009. Spiranovic had made eight league appearances in the Regionalliga Süd, starting in each game consecutively. On 17 November 2009, it had been reported that Spiranovic would be loaned out to another club by January 2010 in a bid to gain more game time. It was insisted by 1. FC Nürnberg's sport director Martin Bader that Spiranovic should gain valuable game time as he had missed a large number of games due to injury.

Loan to Urawa Red Diamonds

=2010 season

= On 7 January 2010, Spiranovic joined

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese club

on loan until the end of 2010. His first appearance for Urawa came in a 1–1 home draw against

Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...

in the

2010 J. League Cup The 2010 J. League Cup, more widely known as the 2010 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, was the 35th edition of the most prestigious Japanese soccer league cup tournament and the 18th edition under the current J. League Cup format. It began on 31 M ...

on 31 March. Spiranovic debuted in the 2010 J. League season in a 2–1 home victory against

Nagoya Grampus ; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...

on 5 May, where he was substituted onto the field for Yosuke Kashiwagi in the 89th minute. Spiranovic scored his first league goal for Urawa in the 56th minute of a 4–1 away victory against

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuk ...

on 21 August. He scored from a header after receiving the ball from a

Tomoya Ugajin is a Japanese footballer who plays for Urawa Red Diamonds. Club statistics ''Updated to 20 December 2022''. 1Includes Emperor's Cup. 2Includes J. League Cup. 3Includes Japanese Super Cup, J. League Championship and FIFA Club World Cup. ...

cross. Spiranovic had finished the season making 13 league appearances, starting in 7 consecutive games which earned him a call up from Australia's coach,

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 ...

, for two international friendlies.

Urawa Red Diamonds

2011 season

On 11 December 2010, Spiranovic joined Urawa on a permanent basis after the Japanese club bought out his contract after a very impressive first season in J1 despite frequent injuries. Due to the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

in March, Spiranovic returned to Australia as the J-League had been suspended until April 2011. On 22 June 2011, Spiranovic returned from a one-match suspension, due to receiving consecutive yellow cards in two separate games, and played a full game in defence as Urawa Red Diamonds claimed a much-needed 3–0 victory over

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hakata, Fukuoka. They currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. History Earlier years in Fujieda The club were originally based in Fujieda, Shizu ...

. His efforts in defence drew praise from under-pressure Urawa boss Zeljko Petrovic, as Urawa were stuck in mid-table for most of the J-League season. On 15 July, two days after Urawa beat fifth placed side

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium i ...

2–0 at home, it was published by FourFourTwo Australia that Spiranovic was delighted to finally be enjoying regular injury-free first-team action, however, admitted his frustration by the struggles of his club during the J-League season as Urawa had only recorder just three J-League wins at the time. Spiranovic continued his fine form playing 90 minute games in defence as Urawa would record three wins in the same week. A 2–0 win to

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese professional football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football, hosting their home matches in the JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōf ...

on 23 July, a 2–1 J. League Cup win to

Montedio Yamagata is a Japanese people, Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club currently playing in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football. Name origin Montedio is a coined word combining the I ...

on 27 July and a 1–0 away victory to

on 30 July ensured Urawa's winning streak in which the side had been undefeated for nine consecutive games.

2012 season

In Urawa's first match of the 2012 J. League Cup on 20 March, Spiranovic received his second yellow card, and subsequent red card, in the 81st minute in his side's 1–0 win against

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Sendai, Miyagi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Elect ...

. In July 2012, Spiranovic left Japanese outfit for Al-Arabi Sports Club in the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

Al-Arabi

On 9 July 2012, the Qatari club confirmed that they have signed Spiranovic on a two-year deal. It was reported that Spiranovic's lack of game time in Japan had led him to request a transfer. Spiranovic received offers to go back to Europe, most notably in Wales from

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed until h ...

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

and then

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, however, he opted for Al Arabi following the lead of Australians Sasa Ognenovski and

Mark Bresciano Mark Bresciano ( ; ; born 11 February 1980) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in Melbourne, Bresciano played youth football for Bulleen Lions, before moving into the National Soccer League wi ...

in signing for a Qatari club.

Western Sydney Wanderers

Spiranovic returned to the A-League in time for the 2013–14 season, signing with

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 ...

Hangzhou Greentown

On 16 July 2015, Spiranovic transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

side

Hangzhou Greentown Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang and currently known as Zhejiang F.C. Greentown () for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, that co ...

Perth Glory

On 22 June 2018, Spiranovic signed a one-year contract with

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 ...

, returning to Australia and re-uniting with

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 ...

who coached him at

. At the end of his contract, Spiranovic didn't extend his time at Perth Glory and departed the club.

Return to Melbourne Victory

In July 2021, following two years without playing professional football, Spiranovic returned to Australia joining

on a one-year contract.

Retirement

Spiranovic announced his retirement from football, halfway through the A-League season. He suffered from an ongoing foot injury that required surgery, limiting his playing time to just four games out of fourteen played up to the point he retired. His final match was on 21 January 2023, against Perth Glory, one of his former sides, the game finishing 3-1 to Perth.

International career

Socceroos

On 5 April 2007, Spiranovic publicly announced his intention to play for Australia on SBS's football program, The World Game. He was called up to the national side for a friendly 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 ...

, which was held on 2 June 2007. Spiranovic did not play in the defeat against the South Americans and surprisingly missed out on a spot in Australia's 2007 Asian Cup Squad, for which only five recognized defenders were selected. Spiranovic made his senior international debut for the Socceroos on 23 May 2008, coming on as a substitute against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, followed by a start in the World Cup Qualifier against China on 22 June 2008. Spiranovic did not make the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

squad and was transferred to Japanese side

to gain more playing time. After a lengthy absence from the national team, Spiranovic played a full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Switzerland on 5 September 2010. During this time which had followed

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 ...

's retirement from the national team, Spiranovic was labelled as Australia's central defender for the next decade as coach

noticed his potential before selection for the

2011 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 secon ...

. In 2015 Spiranovic was selected for the

, which was hosted in Australia. Spiranovic played in the final against South Korea, which the Australian side won.

2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship

Spiranovic was selected in a 20-man Australia U–17 national team by coach

for a five-match tour of

against Palestino U–17, Universidad Catolica U–17, Colo-Colo U–17 and Chile U–17. The tour was preparation for the

. The Qantas U-17 Joeys were then crowned champions of the 2005 OFC U-17 Championship and qualified for the

. Prior to the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in September 2005, Spiranovic was selected for a Four-Nations tournament in Peru against Costa Rica U–17, Ecuador U–17 and Peru U–17 in July. Spiranovic scored his first international goal during the tournament, in a 2–2 against Peru when with fifteen minutes remaining he had gotten on the end of a placed ball from Joel Allwright to head home powerfully in the 74th minute. Spiranovic was selected in the 20-man squad for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship along with teammates

Kaz Patafta Kaz Phonesak Patafta (born 25 October 1988) is an Australian sports administrator and former professional association football, footballer. He has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Brisbane Roar FC since July 2023. Prior to ...

Robbie Kruse Robbie Thomas Kruse ( ; ; born 5 October 1988) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He played his junior football with Pine Rivers Soccer Club in the Pine ...

Scott Jamieson Scott Alexander Jamieson (born 13 October 1988) is an Australian retired soccer player who played as a left back. Club career Blacktown City Jamieson was born in Auburn, Sydney. He has previously played for the Blacktown City in the New S ...

and

Leigh Broxham Leigh Michael Broxham (born 13 January 1988) is an Australian professional soccer player, currently play for semi-professional club Bentleigh Greens in Victoria Premier League 1. Born in Melbourne, Broxham played youth football at the Victori ...

. He played in all three group-stage matches of the competition and was part of the team's starting–11. Australia finished in third place of their respective group, after losing to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(1–0) and to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(3–0), and winning against

(2–1).

2006 AFC Youth Championship

Spiranovic received a call up to a 20-man Australia U20 team for a five-match tour of

in August 2006. Spiranovic participated in matches against Colo-Colo U–20, Universidad de Chile U–20, Chile U–20 and Argentina U–20. The South American tour was preparation for the

, the qualification campaign for the eventual

. Spiranovic was selected to play at the

held in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Australia finished in second spot of their respective group after losing to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(1–0) and defeating

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

(3–1) and the

United Arab Emirates 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 monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

(2–0). Australia advanced to the quarter–finals where they were defeated 2–1 against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and failed to qualify for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

2008 Summer Olympics

By 2008, he was selected to represent the Australia U23 team at the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, playing in all three group matches against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, team finished third in their respective group.

Personal life

Personal and family life

Spiranovic was born in

. He is the son of Michael Spiranovic, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

born 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 lea ...

for

. Spiranovic grew up in Geelong's South-West suburb Wandana Heights. He attended St. Robert's Primary School of Geelong and St Joseph's College from 2001 to 2005. Spiranovic has two younger sisters, Amelia, who play for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

in the Women's Victorian Premier League, and Laura, who plays for

ŽNK Split ŽNK Split is a Croatian professional women's association football club based in Split, Croatia, Split. The club was founded in 2009 and it currently competes in the Croatian Women's First Football League, Croatian First Division. The club is the ...

in the

Croatian Women's First Football League The Croatian Women's First Football League (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Prva hrvatska nogometna liga za žene'', also known as Prva HNLŽ or 1. HNLŽ) is the top women's football (soccer), football league in Croatia. The league was formed in 19 ...

. He shares a strong friendship with former 1. FC Nürnberg teammate

, the pair having played together for the Australia U20 team before signing professional terms with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

club. Spiranovic's agent is John Grimaud.

National team decision

By 2007, it was clear that Spiranovic was to play for Australia when he officially rejected an offer from the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation (, HNS) is the national governing body of football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible f ...

. Former Socceroo's coach

Graham Arnold Graham James Arnold (born 3 August 1963) is an Australian association football, professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Iraq national football team, Iraq national team. Arnold was first appointed ...

was informed of Spiranovic's decision by phone and therefore included him in the national side prior to the

2007 Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its hi ...

and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Arnold stated that

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...

(FFA), as well as the Australian national team's staff, were in danger of losing the defender as Spiranovic's parents received phone calls from Croatia in the middle of the night which applied much pressure on Spiranovic to make his final decision.

Career statistics

Club

¹Includes QSL play-offs and A-League finals series.

²Includes

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

and

FFA Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia (known as Football Federation Austra ...

³Includes J. League Cup.

⁴Includes

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

and

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

International

Under–17

:''Scores and results list Australia U–17's goal tally first.''

Socceroos

Honours

1. FC Nürnberg *

: 2006–07 Urawa Red Diamonds * J. League Cup runners-up:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Western Sydney Wanderers *

Perth Glory *

: Premiers 2018–19 Melbourne Victory *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Australia U-17 *

OFC U-17 Championship The OFC Men's U-16 Championship is a biennial football tournament for players under the age of 16. The tournament decides the only two qualification spots for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and its representatives at the FIFA U-17 World ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Australia *

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 c ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

; runner-up

Individual * Weinstein Medal Junior Player of the Year: 2005

Club career

Early career

North Geelong Warriors

Victorian Institute of Sport

Australian Institute of Sport

Melbourne Victory

1. FC Nürnberg

2006–2011

Loan to Urawa Red Diamonds

=2010 season

Urawa Red Diamonds

2011 season

2012 season

Al-Arabi

Western Sydney Wanderers

Hangzhou Greentown

Perth Glory

Return to Melbourne Victory

Retirement

International career

Socceroos

2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship

2006 AFC Youth Championship

2008 Summer Olympics

Personal life

Personal and family life

National team decision

Career statistics

Club

International

Under–17

Socceroos

Honours

References

External links