Matt Smith (soccer, born 1982)

Matthew Terence Smith (born 14 October 1982) is a soccer player who is Player-coach of Brisbane City in the National Premier Leagues Queensland. Born in England, he represented the Australia national team.

For the QPR forward, see Matt Smith (footballer, born 1989).
For other people named Matthew Smith, see Matthew Smith (disambiguation).
For other people named Matt Smith, see Matt Smith (disambiguation).

Matt Smith
Smith with the A-League trophy (Brisbane Roar, 2012)
Personal information
Full name Matthew Terence Smith
Date of birth (1982-10-15) 15 October 1982
Place of birth Chichester, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Brisbane City
Number 4
Youth career
UWE Hartpury Uni., Gloucestershire
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Portsmouth 0 (0)
2005 Chichester City United 18 (5)
2006–2007 Cirencester Town 0 (0)
2007 Gold Coast City 25 (2)
2008–2010 Brisbane Strikers 24 (3)
2009–2010 → North Qld Fury (loan) 11 (0)
2010–2014 Brisbane Roar 112 (5)
2015–2018 BG Pathum United 120 (7)
2019 Kitchee 9 (0)
2019 Gold Coast Knights 9 (0)
2020– Brisbane City 15 (1)
National team
2012 Australia 3[2] (0)
Teams managed
2020– Brisbane City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 December 2020

Born in England, Smith emigrated to Australia where he started his professional soccercareer with North Queensland Fury during the 2009-10 A-League season and then signed a two-year contract with Brisbane Roar at the start of the A-League 2010–11 season. He has played for the Australian national team, and coached Brisbane City FC out of NPL Queensland in 2020, as The Azurri were relegated into the FQPL.

Club career

Born in Chichester, England, Smith started his career playing University football in England, where he represented several different Universities before being signed by Championship club Portsmouth.

Smith moved to Australia for one year in 2004 and returned in 2006, during which time he attended Hartpury College in Gloucestershire and completed his master's degree in Sports Management.[3] He also captained the Hartpury senior side to the BUSA National Championship in 2007.

He moved to Australia and played for Palm Beach before moving to Brisbane Strikers. He was signed on an injury replacement loan at North Queensland Fury to replace Scottish defender Scott Wilson.[4]

Brisbane Roar

On 16 April 2010 it was announced that Smith joined the Brisbane Roar on a two-year deal after his contract with North Queensland expired due to ownership changes.[5] On 6 September 2011, the Roar announced that Smith would replace departed midfielder Matt McKay as captain of the club.[6] On 10 September 2012, Smith signed a new 3-year contract at the Roar, extending his stay until the end of the 2015/16 season.[7]

Bangkok Glass

It was announced in December 2014 that Smith would leave the Brisbane Roar and join Bangkok Glass for an undisclosed fee.[8]

Kitchee

On 31 December 2018, Smith moved to Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee.[9]

On 12 February 2019, in the third qualifying match of the 2019 Asian Champions League, Kitchee played away to Perak. During the match, Matt Smith was sent off after picking up his second yellow card in the 49th minute. Kitchee lost the match on penalties in the end.[10]

Return to Australia

On 1 July 2019, National Premier Leagues Queensland side Gold Coast Knights SC announced the signing of Smith.

Personal

Smith married Aicha Bendjelloul, an English woman on 17 May 2012 in a civil ceremony in Brisbane, Australia. They then celebrated with family and friends by hosting a party on the Thai island of Koh Samui.[11]

Together, they have 4 children Isla, Ava, Ruby and Owen.[12] Smith is qualified with a BA Degree in Marketing and Leisure Management and a Masters in Sports Management from Hartpury College in Gloucestershire.

Honours

Club
Brisbane Strikers
Brisbane Roar
Kitchee
Gold Coast Knights

Individual

A-League statistics
As of 17 December 2018
Club Season League1 Cup International2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
North Queensland Fury 2009–10 110––––110
Total 110––00110
Brisbane Roar 2010–11 332––––332
2011–12 270––50320
2012–13 140––00140
2013–14 293––––293
2014–15 30110041
Total 106511501126
Bangkok Glass 2015 3341020364
2016 310––––00
2017 300––––00
2018 263––––00
Total 1207000000
Career Total 237121150 24312

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.)

References
  1. http://www.bangkokglassfc.com/official/?r=Player/PlayerDetail&iID=2596
  2. Dasey, Jason. "Former Brisbane Roar defender Matt Smith extends Bangkok Glass stay". ESPN FC. ESPN. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  3. Matt Smith: Meet the three time A-League winner who started his professional football career at 27 englishplayersabroad.com
  4. Matt Smith signs with North Queensland Fury Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Brisbane secures Matt Smith Archived 26 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Smith to lead the Roar
  7. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/brisbaneroar/news-display/super-six-sign-on/49008
  8. "Captain Matt Smith to leave A-League champions Brisbane Roar". ESPN. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  9. Gao, Si Kei. "傑志簽入36歲澳洲前國腳中堅　28歲展職業生涯擁高學歷". HK01. Retrieved 31 December 2018. (in Chinese)
  10. Mohd Hafizee Mohd Arop (13 February 2019). "Perak squeeze through past stubborn Kitchee". New Straits Times.
  11. http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/party-set-to-thai-knot/story-fn6cc53j-1226359311395
  12. http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/football/brisbane-skipper-matt-smith-hoping-to-celebrate-new-baby-with-a-roar-premiership/story-fnk6pqhe-1226860605831
  13. "A-League All Stars vs. Juventus 2 – 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.