About Matthew Spiranovic
Matthew Thomas Spiranovic (born 27 June 1988) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a defender. Spiranovic started his career with Melbourne Victory, making one competitive appearance before being released with the consent of coach Ernie Merrick to join German Bundesliga 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 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 €450.000. Spiranovic has made appearances for Australia during the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He has also represented Australia at the 2005 OFC U-17 Championship, the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the 2006 AFC Youth Championship, the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup where Australia finished runners-up and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 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. Having trialled and trained semi-regularly for Melbourne Victory, Spiranovic played as a 16-year-old the club's first friendly match against Oakleigh Cannons in late April in 2005. In 2004, he earned a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport under coach Ian Greener, and was awarded the Weinstein Medal for best junior player of the year by Football Federation Victoria in 2005.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.