Michael Theoklitos

Michael Theoklitos

Personal information
Full name	Michael Theoklitos
Date of birth	11 February 1981 (1981-02-11) (age 30)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Australia
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	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	40	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:20, 22 November 2011 (UTC. † Appearances (Goals).

Michael Theoklitos (born 11 February 1981) is an Australian football (soccer) player for the Brisbane Roar.

Biography

Theoklitos was born in Melbourne, Australia.

Early career

Theoklitos made several appearances in the Australian National Soccer League before moving away to Blackpool in England as a youngster, where he only played three games due to an injury sustained shortly after his arrival. He then moved back to Australia to play in the Victorian Premier League (VPL) for Bulleen Zebras. In a 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

Theoklitos playing for the Brisbane Roar

On 14 March 2010, Theoklitos signed with the Brisbane Roar on a three-year deal. 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]

Honours

With Melbourne Victory:

• A-League Championship: 2006–2007, 2008–2009
• A-League Premiership: 2006–2007, 2008–2009

With Brisbane Roar:

• A-League Premiership: 2010–2011
• A-League Championship: 2010–2011

Personal Honours:

• A-League Goalkeeper of the Year: 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

1. ^ Aussie Keeper Joins Canaries, Norwich City F.C., 8 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-08
2. ^ ^{a b} "Norwich keeper admits to blunders". BBC. 10 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/n/norwich/8193128.stm. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
3. ^ Cuffley, David. Norwich City 'keeper goes AWOL. The Pink'Un. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
4. ^ Norwich keeper fails to turn up. BBC Sport. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
5. ^ ^{a b} Micallef, Phillip. Norwich nightmare spurs on Theoklitos. The World Game (SBS). 4 January 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
6. ^ "Norwich City Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos Rules Out A-League Return With Melbourne Heart". Goal.com. 28 December 2009. http://goal.com/en/news/808/australia/2009/12/28/1712355/norwich-city-goalkeeper-michael-theoklitos-rules-out-a. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
7. ^ Theoklitos Leaves City (press release). Norwich City Football Club. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
8. ^ Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos leaves Norwich City
9. ^ Banking, Ally. Roar keeper sets record. Brisbane Times. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ "Norwich City Player Profile". Norwich City. http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10355~22497,00.html. 

External links

• Brisbane Roar profile
• Oz Football profile

Awards
Preceded by Clint Bolton	Hyundai A-League Goalkeeper of the Year 2006/07, 2007/08	Succeeded by Eugene Galekovic
Preceded by Eugene Galekovic	Hyundai A-League Goalkeeper of the Year 2010/11	Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Theoklitos, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 February 1981
Place of birth	Melbourne, Australia
Date of death
Place of death