Knights Sign Keeper

Knights sign former Australian International Keeper

The NZ Knights today confirmed they have won an A-League battle for the signature of former Australian U20 and U23 goalkeeper Michael Turnbull, with the 24 year old enticed to the Knights following his return from Europe.

Turnbull will join the club in time for pre-season training in June but will in the meantime continue playing for Kingston (Melbourne) in the Victoria State League.

Turnbull has recently returned from a spell in Belgium with Standard Leige with work permit issues preventing a longer term stay in Europe.

The 1.92m keeper was attracting interest from other clubs overseas and in Australia before deciding to put pen to paper with the Knights and is excited about the next stage in his career.

"Given the season just gone it was imperative that I discussed future plans for the Knights and understood the aims of the club if I was to commit to them.

"Given today's announcement it is obvious I was more than happy with the work going on at the club and the plans in place for the second A-League season.

"I am looking forward to beginning work at the Knights and helping build a successful club that the fans can be proud of."

Player Profile:

Name: Michael Turnbull
Nationality: Australian
DOB: 24.3.81
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 190cm

Professional Clubs
2004-2005 Standard Liege, Belgium
1999 -2004 Marconi Stallions, Australia

International Honours
2004 Australian National (under 23) team squad for Athens Olympics qualifers
2001 Australian National (under 20) team for World Youth Cup in Argentina
2000 Australian National (under 23) team for Sydney Olympics
1999 Australian National (under 20) team for World Youth Cup in Nigeria

Michael Turnbull Bio
Michael started playing football in 1988 with the Loganholme Club (Queensland Australia) as an under eight player, he remained with Loganholme until 13 years old then transferred to Rochedale (Queensland Australia) and played in the under 15's.

Youth Representative Teams
He represented Queensland Primary Schoolboy's team in 1993 when Queensland played New South Wales in final.
Michael represented Brisbane Southern Districts (Queensland) in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 and made the Queensland (Australia) team in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

Scholarships to Develop Talent
He was invited into the John Paul College School of Excellence for Soccer which while Michael was the College's goalkeeper won consecutive premierships in both outdoor and indoor soccer.

In 1997 he was awarded a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra where he remained for two years as the goalkeeper. The AIS won consecutive National Youth League premierships during those twp years.

International Career Starts
At age 17 he was selected in the Australian Young Socceroo team (under 20's) which contested the World Youth Cup in Nigeria in 1999. Michael played against the highly rated Ireland team making several memorable saves.

Professional Career
At age 18 he trialled with German Premier League team Bayer Leverkusen before signing with the Sydney Australian National League Club Marconi Stallions in 1999.

In Michael’s first season with Marconi he received wide recognition for playing a significant role in helping Marconi to reach the semi finals. During this time he also trialled with Italian Serie A team ROMA.

In 2000 Michael aged 18 years was selected as one of two goalkeepers in the national team, the Olyroos, to represent Australia at the Sydney Olympics. This team included other well known Australian players such as Viduka, Skoko, Foxe and Lazaridis. Michael was the youngest ever Australian goalkeeper selected for the Olympics.

In 2001 while still playing for Marconi Soccer Club Michael was one of two keepers with the Australian Young Socceroo’s which represented Australia at the World Youth Cup in South America.

Michael continued to play for Marconi as first choice goal keeper for five years.

In 2004 Michael was selected in the under 23 Australian National squad for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. He played a number of matches that led to Australia qualifying for the Olympics.

In mid 2004 Michael was invited to trial with leading Belgium club Standard Liege and signed a contract for the 2004-5 season.

Michael remained at Standard Liege for the 2004 - 2005 season. Standard Liege finished third in the Belgium Premier League.

2006/07 Michael signs terms with the NZ Knights in the Hyundai A-League.