Michael Theo
 | This biography may need cleanup. (June 2011) |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Serafim Michael Theoklitos | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brisbane Roar | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2000 | Bulleen Inter Kings | 0 | (0) |
| 2000 | Bulleen Zebras | 1 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | South Melbourne | 0 | (0) |
| 2001 | Bulleen Zebras | 24 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Football Kingz | 20 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Blackpool | 2 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | South Melbourne | 5 | (0) |
| 2004 | Bulleen Zebras | 19 | (0) |
| 2005–2009 | Melbourne Victory | 72 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Norwich City | 1 | (0) |
| 2010– | Brisbane Roar | 62 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 April 2012 | |||
Michael Theo (formerly Theoklitos) (born 11 February 1981) is an Australian football (soccer) player for the Brisbane Roar.
Biography
Theo was born in Melbourne, Australia.
Early career
He began his career as a youngster playing in the Victorian Premier League (VPL) for Bulleen Zebras. He was then picked up by South Melbourne FC but failed to make an appearance. The Football Kingz FC showed a lot in interest in him, signing him for the 2001-2002 season where he became a fan favourite making 20 appearances in the National Soccer League. During his time with the Kingz he was scouted by Blackpool FC who signed him in 2002. Due to injury he only played in three games, only two of which counted as full representation for Blackpool. He returned to Australia where he rejoined Bulleen. While playing for them in the 2004 VPL final, he saved three of four penalties to help Bulleen to victory.[citation needed].
Melbourne Victory
He joined Melbourne Victory FC for their inaugural season in the 2005/06 A-League. In the 2006/07 A-League season, Theoklitos kept ten clean sheets from 21 games, attracting interest from both the Australia and Greece national associations. He has not made a senior appearance for either country.
In the 2008/09 season, Theoklitos was part of Melbourne Victory's grand-final success, keeping five clean sheets at the end of the season. He earned another call-up to the Australian national squad for the match against Kuwait on 5 March 2009, but did not play.
In May 2009, Theoklitos declined a contract extension. In July 2009, it was confirmed that he would be leaving Melbourne Victory, with his contract expiring on 30 July. In early July 2009, he signed a two-year contract with English League One side Norwich City.[1]
Norwich City
In the opening match of the season on 8 August 2009, Theoklitos made his debut for Norwich against Colchester United at Carrow Road, conceding five goals before half-time and seven in total. He described the match as "the worst performance I've had in my career" to BBC Radio Norfolk.[2] Despite the performance, Theoklitos still had the support of manager Bryan Gunn, a former goalkeeper himself.[2] However, Gunn did not have the support of the Norwich board, and was replaced by Colchester manager Paul Lambert, who had engineered the 7–1 defeat. Under Lambert, Theoklitos was demoted to third-choice goalkeeper.
He was recalled to the first-team bench for a Football League Trophy match against Gillingham, but according to the club he failed to show up for the match, causing the club to discipline him.[3][4] Theoklitos denied the claim, saying "It's not that I did not turn up but I was half an hour late" because "I got my wires mixed up".[5]
Lambert confirmed in December 2009 that he expected Theoklitos to be leaving the club.[6] Theoklitos' contract was terminated by mutual consent in March 2010.[7] His debut match was the only one he played for the Canaries.[5]
Brisbane Roar
On 14 March 2010, Theoklitos signed with the Brisbane Roar on a three-year deal at 1 million a season. He made his debut in round one of the A league season against Gold Coast United, in a 0–0 draw.[8] Theoklitos registered a second clean sheet against Sydney FC in round two.
Following the 3–0 loss to Melbourne Victory, Theoklitos had gone 876 minutes without conceding a goal, setting a new record for the most minutes without conceding a goal in an Australian League—beating former recordholder Jeff Olver's record of 790 minutes.[9] Theoklitos won the Goalkeeper of the Year award for the 2010/11 A-League season.[10]
International career
Although selected by Australia on two occasions, Theoklitos has yet to make an appearance for the Socceroos. Of Greek ancestry, he has also received interest from Greece's national association, but so far has only featured for Australia.[11]
Personal life
On August 1, 2012 Brisbane Roar announced that their #1 goalkeeper had changed his name by deed poll to Michael Theo (formerly Theoklitos).
In the press release, he said: “Around the football traps, I’ve always been known as Michael Theo so I just thought, why not make it official? It’s no big deal, I haven’t changed my name completely, just shortened it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while and it was a decision I made on my own, it’s really not so hard to do on deed poll. My signature has altered, slightly changed but that’s pretty much it.”[12]
Honours
With Melbourne Victory:
With Brisbane Roar:
Personal Honours:
- A-League Goalkeeper of the Year (3): 2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2010–2011
- Most minutes (876) not conceding a goal in an Australian League (With Brisbane Roar, 2010–11)
- Most clean sheets (12) — A-League with Matthew Ryan
References
- ^ Aussie Keeper Joins Canaries, Norwich City F.C., 8 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-08
- ^ a b "Norwich keeper admits to blunders". BBC. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ Cuffley, David. Norwich City 'keeper goes AWOL. The Pink'Un. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ Norwich keeper fails to turn up. BBC Sport. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ a b Micallef, Phillip. Norwich nightmare spurs on Theoklitos. The World Game (SBS). 4 January 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ "Norwich City Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos Rules Out A-League Return With Melbourne Heart". Goal.com. 28 December 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ Theoklitos Leaves City (press release). Norwich City Football Club. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos leaves Norwich City
- ^ Banking, Ally. Roar keeper sets record. Brisbane Times. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ Gatt, Ray. Brisbane's Michael Theoklitos has bounced back from his Norwich nightmare. The Australian (Surrey Hills, NSW, Australia: News Limited). 8 March 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ "Norwich City Player Profile". Norwich City.
- ^ http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/brisbaneroar/news-display/Theo-is-the-name-of-the-game/48365
External links
- Use dmy dates from February 2011
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Soccer players from Melbourne
- Australian people of Greek descent
- Australian soccer players
- Australian expatriate soccer players
- A-League players
- The Football League players
- South Melbourne FC players
- Blackpool F.C. players
- Melbourne Victory FC players
- Brisbane Roar FC players
- Whittlesea Zebras players
- Association football goalkeepers
- Football Kingz F.C. players
- National Soccer League (Australia) players
- Norwich City F.C. players