Kisnorbo: Patrick Fabio Maxime (Patrick)

2009-2013 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Central Defender

Born: Melbourne, Australia: 24-03-1981

Debut: v Exeter City (h): 08-08-2009

6’2” 11st 13lb (2007)

Brought up in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds, Kisnorbo began playing football as a youth in his hometown with Thomastown Devils, North Glenroy, Essendon, Fawkner, Bulleen Zebras and Richmond. He then played in the South Melbourne youth team for two seasons before being selected for the senior team, which was competing in the now defunct National Soccer League. He played three seasons with South Melbourne and scored three times in sixty-six starts and one substitute appearance before the NSL ceased to exist at the end of the 2002-03 season. The highly-rated stopper was on the verge of joining Leeds United that year with David O’Leary keen to take him to Elland Road. However, negotiations over his proposed move from South Melbourne to Yorkshire hit a snag and the switch never materialised. He thenbecame a target of Vicenza as the Italian side pushed for promotion to Serie A, the move of particular interest for him as his mother was Italian. However it was in Scotland that he saw his future, Craig Moore having joined Rangers and enhanced his International career and Kisnorbo was looking to do likewise. There was interest from Dundee United, Dunfirmline Athletic and Inverness Caladonian Thistle but it was Heart of Midlothian that he eventually signed for, on 3rd July 2003 on a two year contract. He had represented Australia as a Schoolboy and then at Under-Twenty level, where he was part of the Australian World Youth Cup Finals team in Argentina and was capped fourteen times and scored one goal, and then played three times at Under-Twenty-three level. In 2002 he had represented Australia at full International level against Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and New Zealand in the Oceania Cup.He quickly forced his way into the Hearts line-up and in his first season played thirty-one games in the Scottish League, of which three were as a substitute, he also made two starts in the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup and realised his dream of playing in Europe where he started four games, in both legs against Zeljeznicar and Bordeaux in the UEFA Cup. He had gathered three further Australian caps when came on as a substitute against Tahiti and started against Fiji and the Solomon Islands in the 2004 Oceania Cup. It was not a happy series for him as he was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the game against the Solomon Islands and was ruled out for the rest of the Tournament. He also did his future International prospects no good by declining to join the Olyroos squad for the Olympic Games, preferring instead to play for Hearts to cement his place by playing in the club’s pre-season games. In his second season he started seventeen Scottish League games and scoredhis only League goal in a 2–1 win over Hibernian on 24th October 2004. He made two starts in the Scottish League Cup and came on as a substitute in one Scottish Cup tie, while in Europe he made five starts, playing in both Legs against SC Braga and scoring in the home game, Feyenoord in the away leg, Schalke at home, in which he received a red card soon after half-time, and Ferencvaros at Tynecastle. Kisnorbo started talks with Hearts in October 2004as his contract was due to expire in June 2005. His former Manager Craig Levein was aware ofthe situation, and, after signing Mark De Vries and Alan Maybury for CCCL side Leicester City in the January 2005 transfer window, signed Kisnorbo on a pre-contract at the same time, with Kisnorbo to finalize the move when his contract ran out in June 2005. It was agreed between the clubs that the deal would be finalized on 26th April 2005 as Hearts were in a poor situation at the time. While at Tynecastle Kisnorbo had scored once in forty-five League starts and three games from the bench and had started two Scottish Cup games and comeon as a substitute in another, started four Scottish League Cup games and scored once in nine starts in European games. He made his Leicester City debut as a substitute in a League Cup game against Bury at Gigg Lane on 23rd August 2005 and after another game as a substitute, at home to Sheffield Wednesday, he made his run-on debut at Ninian Park against Cardiff City in a CCCL game on 13th September 2005. He scored his first goal for the Foxes on 15th October 2005 with the winner at Vicarage Road against Watford. He had started in midfield but after being switched back to central defence his form improved and he became a crowd favourite. At the end of his first season he had scored once in thirty-eight League games, of which one had been as a substitute, and started one League Cup tie and been a substitute in two others and had also made one appearance from the brench in the F.A. Cup. There was transfer speculation in the close season that he was Wigan Athletic bound, but Kisnorbo preferred to sign a three year extension to his contract which would keep him at Leicester until June 2009. Leicester once more struggled in his second season with them and there was talk of him being wanted by Fulham in the January transfer window, but he stayed and won the Players’ ‘Player of the Year’ award. He had scored five times in forty starts inthe League and scored once in two starts in both the F.A. Cup and the League Cup. On the International scene he had made an appearance in a friendly against Ghana in 2006 and then Denmark, China and Uraguay prior to the Asian Cup, in which he was chosen for the group games against Singapore, Oman and Iraq, which took place during the close season of 2007. Australia did not perform up to expectations and he was dropped for the knock-out stages along with several other players and it looked as though that was an end to his International career. His third season at Leicester was not one to remember as he was on the receiving end of at least three bad decisions by a referee which cost himself and his club dearly and saw Leicester relegated to League One from the CCCL. He suffered a cruciate ligament injury and was stretchered off in the home game against Sheffield Wednesday on 26th April 2008 and that was an end to his season and certainly harmed Leicester’s survival chances. He scored four goals in forty-one starts in the League and also started three League Cup games and one F.A. Cup tie. It was not until coming on as a substitute against Oldham Athletic on 18th October 2008 that Kisnorbo had recovered sufficiently to play first-team football again. He had only played a handful of matches when disaster struck again when he was carried off with an injury to his other knee ligament after five minutes in an F.A. Cup at home to Stevenage Borough on 9th November 2008, which was to side line himfor over four months. He was back as a second half subsitute on 14th March 2009 against Millwall but he was facing strong competition from others as Leicester pushed for promotion and he started only two more games as City won the League One Championship and promotion back to the CCCL. He was told that he could leave on a free transfer at the end of his contract and he had unsuccessful trials with Derby County and Crystal Palace in England and rejected an offer from Melbourne Victory in Australia, before signing for Leeds United on 22nd July 2009 on a two year contract. While at the Walker Stadium he scored ten League goals in one hundred and twenty-two starts and four games from the bench, one goal in four starts and a substitute appearance in the F.A. Cup, one goal in six starts and two games from the bench in the League Cup and started one game in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy without scoring. He made his debut for Leeds against Exeter City at Elland Road on 8th August 2009 and his excellent form saw him recalled to the Australian team for the 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on 12th August 2009, in which Shay Givens made a save at point blank range to deny him a headed goal in the twenty-second minute. He scored his first goal for Australia on 5th September in a friendly against South Korea and made his twentieth appearance for Australia on 10th October 2009 against Holland. His good form for Leeds continued as they continued their unbeaten run to the season as run-away leaders of Division One and appeared to have the world at their feet as they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and held Tottenham Hotspur to a draw at White Hart Lane in the F.A. Cup. However he picked up an injury in training and tried to battle on but never really regained fitness and he was finally diagnosed as having ruptured his achilles tendon and it required surgery. This brought an early end to his season in March and put an end to his World Cup aspirations with Australia as well as his Division One Championship hopes with Leeds. Such had been his contribution and impact on the Leeds team that he was selected for the Division One PFA "Team of the Year" and was elected Player of the Year by the by the fans and was also the club's Player's "Player of the Year". He spent the whole of the 2010-11 season recovering from his ruptured achilles tendon and was finally rewarded when he came on as a substitute in the final game of the season at Loftus Road against Champions Queens Park Rangers. He seemed primed for a return to action in the 2011-12 season and, indeed, had regained his former regular place in central defence, until suspension and illness saw him lose it. But, after an absence of half a dozen games, he was back until in the first game of the New Year at home to Burnley, he suffered knee ligament damage which sidelined him for the rest of the season. He was given the No. 6 shirt for the 2012-13 season and named on the bench for the first game of the season in the League Cup at home to Shrewsbury Town on 11th August 2013, but he remained unused. He did start the second League Cup game of the season at home to Oxford City on 28th August and he played the whole game. He joined Ipswich Town on loan for one month on 3rd January 2013, the loan period was later extended to the end of the season. In that time he started one League game and came on twice more as a substitute as well as starting one F.A. Cup tie. On 3rd May 2013 he was released by Leeds at the end of his contract.