Kisnorbo: Patrick Fabio Maxime (Patrick)
2009-Current
(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 then
became 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
Kisborbo 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 onr 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 scored
his 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 2004
as his contract was due to expire in June 2005. His former Manager Craig Levein was aware of
the 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 Kisborbo 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 come
on 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 in
the 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 him
for 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".