Mitch Cooper

Mitch Steven Baggio Cooper (born 18 September 1994) is a Vanuatuan soccer player who last played for Hume City in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.

Mitch Cooper
Personal information
Full name Mitch Steven Baggio Cooper
Date of birth (1994-09-18) 18 September 1994
Place of birth Port Vila, Vanuatu
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Sunshine Coast Wanderers
Number 14
Youth career
2010–2012 Gold Coast United
2011 QAS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Gold Coast United 6 (1)
2012–2017 Newcastle Jets 33 (1)
2012 Newcastle Jets NPL 5 (0)
2017–2018 Nunawading City 27 (18)
2018–2019 Green Gully 17 (1)
2019–2020 Hume City 23 (6)
2020– Sunshine Coast Wanderers 15 (4)
National team‡
2011 Australia U-17 4 (0)
2012 Australia U-20 7 (0)
2019– Vanuatu 5 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 July 2019

Early life

Cooper was born in Port Vila, Vanuatu, and lived there until age eight, attending the Port Vila International School. He then lived in New Zealand for five years before moving to Australia.[1]

Club career

Gold Coast United

Cooper was called up to the senior squad of A-League club Gold Coast United in February 2012, aged seventeen. With regular captain Michael Thwaite suspended, club owner Clive Palmer named Cooper captain for the match against Melbourne Heart as a sign of the club's commitment to promoting young players.[2] Coach Miron Bleiberg subsequently described the move as a symbolic one, claiming that more experienced players would effectively lead the side on the field.[3] Palmer suspended Bleiberg from his role as a result of those comments, replacing him with assistant coach Mike Mulvey for the Heart match.[4] Gold Coast lost the game 1–0 to a late goal from Eli Babalj.[5] Bleiberg quit the club days later, saying that Palmer's actions had hurt his dignity.[6]

In Gold Coast's next game, Cooper scored his first goal for the club, the side's third in a 3–3 draw with Central Coast Mariners.[7] He described this as a "dream" start, saying that he had previously been focused on the National Youth League and that he had tried to ignore the controversy surrounding his debut captaincy.[8] Gold Coast United lost its A-League operating licence the following week.[9]

Newcastle Jets

On 25 May 2012, Cooper signed a two-year contract with the Newcastle Jets.[10] He cited his respect for Jets coach Gary van Egmond, who he knew from his time in the Australia U-17s as a significant factor in this choice.[11] Cooper suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee in the Jets' final game of the 2012–13 season, ruling him out for several months.[12] He signed a one-year extension with the Jets in June 2013.[13] Soon after returning to the field, he suffered a second ACL injury, this time to his left knee in a National Youth League game against Western Sydney Wanderers in January 2014.[14] He returned to play in the Jets squad in December 2014.[15]

In March 2015, Cooper signed a further two-year deal with the Jets.[16] He scored his first goal for the club on 12 February 2016 with a header in a draw with Brisbane Roar.[17]

Cooper was one of three senior players omitted from the Jets squad for a pre-season tour of China in August 2016, with coach Scott Miller talking of moving some players out of the club.[18] However, Miller himself was fired in the next month, which Jets CEO Lawrie McKinna described as giving the players a fresh chance with a new coach.[19]

Nunawading City

Cooper signed for NPL Victoria 2 side Nunawading City for the 2017 season. Mitch scored his first goal for Nunawading against the Goulburn Valley Suns in Round 2 of the NPL2 East season; before scoring a header in a 5–2 win over Richmond SC.

Throughout the remainder of the season, Cooper scored 18 leagues goals (with 3 in the cup) totalling in 21 goals for the season, he'd be in the top 10 players for the Victorian NPL2 gold medal awards alongside former Newcastle Jets & Gold Coast United team-mate James Brown. He'd score 3 hat-tricks against the Casey Comets, Bendigo City & Melbourne City Youth.

International career

Cooper has represented the Australia national under-17 association football team including four matches at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[20] In March 2019 he was called up for Vanuatu national football team for the first time.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of 28 April 2017[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Gold Coast United 2011–12 A-League 61000061
Newcastle Jets Youth 2012[23] Northern NSW State Football League 50000050
Newcastle Jets 2012–13 A-League 50000050
2013–14 00000000
2014–15 1600000160
2015–16 1211000131
2016–17 00000000
Newcastle Jets total3311000341
Nunawading City 2017 National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 231823002521
Total66923006823

International goals
Scores and results list Vanuatu's goal tally first.[24]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 July 2019National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa Tonga5–014–02019 Pacific Games
2.18 July 2019 Samoa1–011–0
3.2–0
4.3–0
5.4–0

References
  1. Gardiner, James (12 March 2015). "Jet's heart goes out to homeland". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  2. Hand, Guy (15 February 2012). "Gold Coast United name teenage first-gamer Mitch Cooper as stand-in captain at request of their owner". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  3. Hand, Guy (14 February 2012). "Teen to captain Gold Coast United on debut". ESPN FC. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  4. Clark, Laine (15 February 2012). "Gold Coast suspend A-League coach". Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  5. "Heart pinch 1–0 win over Gold Coast". ABC News. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  6. Monteverde, Marco (19 February 2012). "Gold Coast United coach Miron Bleiberg quits in wake of Clive Palmer A-League scandal". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  7. "Gold Coast flirt with thrilling Mariners upset". ABC News. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  8. "Cooper quickly making his mark". Sunshine Coast Daily. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  9. "Gold Coast United stripped of A-League licence". ABC. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  10. "Veteran Michael Bridges pens new Newcastle Jets deal as club also confirms Mitch Cooper signing". Fox Sports. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  11. "Van is Mitch's man". Sunshine Coast Daily. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  12. "Grounded Jet Cooper might move". Sunshine Coast Daily. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  13. "Video: Mitch Cooper talks contract extension". Newcastle Jets FC. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  14. "Mitch Cooper out for the season". The Newcastle Herald. 7 January 2014.
  15. Toohey, Barry (5 December 2014). "Mitch Cooper rebuilt after two serious knee injuries and looking to kick on with Newcastle Jets". The Daily Telegraph.
  16. Toohey, Barry (26 March 2015). "Newcastle Jets re-sign midfielder Mitch Cooper on two-year deal". The Advertiser. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  17. Rugari, Vince (12 February 2016). "Brisbane Roar salvage 2–2 A-League draw against Newcastle Jets, return to top of table". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  18. Parris, Michael (23 August 2016). "Fringe Jets miss China tour". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  19. Parris, Michael (15 September 2016). "McKinna under pressure to choose new coach". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  20. FIFA playing record
  21. Temar, Matt (13 March 2019). "Munster announces first squad". Vanuatu Football Federation.
  22. "Mitch Cooper". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  23. "Player statistics for Mitch Cooper". SportsTG. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  24. "Mitch Cooper". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
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