Mitch Cooper
Mitch Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 18, 1994 Port Vila, Vanuatu |
| Occupation | Soccer player |
| Years active | 2011– |
| Known for | Playing for Gold Coast United, Newcastle Jets, Nunawading City, and Vanuatu national team |
Mitch Steven Baggio Cooper (born 18 September 1994) is a Ni-Vanuatu soccer player currently representing Bayside Argonauts in the Victorian State League Division 2 South-East.
Early life
Born in Port Vila, Vanuatu, Cooper spent his early childhood there until he was eight years old, attending Port Vila International School during that time. He then relocated to New Zealand for five years before eventually settling in Australia.
Gold Coast United
At seventeen, Cooper was promoted to the senior team of A-League side Gold Coast United in February 2012. When captain Michael Thwaite was suspended, club owner Clive Palmer appointed Cooper as captain for a fixture against Melbourne Heart, highlighting the team's emphasis on nurturing young talent. Coach Miron Bleiberg regarded this decision as largely symbolic, emphasizing leadership from seasoned players on the pitch. Following Bleiberg’s public remarks, Palmer suspended him and installed assistant coach Mike Mulvey as head coach. Gold Coast United suffered a 1–0 defeat due to a late goal by Eli Babalj. Shortly after, Bleiberg resigned, citing that Palmer’s actions had compromised his professional integrity.
In the subsequent match, Cooper netted his inaugural goal for Gold Coast during a 3–3 draw with Central Coast Mariners. He described this achievement as a "dream" start, having mainly been involved in the National Youth League prior to that. Soon after, Gold Coast United lost its licence to operate in the A-League, leading the FFA to establish the Western Sydney Wanderers FC as a replacement franchise.
Newcastle Jets
On 25 May 2012, Cooper committed to a two-year contract with the Newcastle Jets, motivated by his admiration for coach Gary van Egmond, whom he had previously encountered with the Australia U-17s. During the final match of the 2012–13 season, he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee, which sidelined him for several months. Despite this setback, Cooper agreed to a one-year contract extension in June 2013. After returning to play, he unfortunately suffered a second ACL injury—this time to his left knee—in January 2014 during a National Youth League game. He made his comeback in December 2014.
In March 2015, Cooper secured another two-year contract with the Jets. He scored his first goal for Newcastle on 12 February 2016, heading in a goal during a draw against Brisbane Roar.
By August 2016, Cooper was among three senior squad members excluded from the Jets’ pre-season tour of China amid suggestions from coach Scott Miller that some players could be transferred. Miller was dismissed the following month, with CEO Lawrie McKinna commenting that this change provided an opportunity for players to start anew under different leadership.
Nunawading City
For the 2017 campaign, Cooper joined Nunawading City, a team competing in the NPL Victoria 2. He netted his inaugural goal in Round 2 against the Goulburn Valley Suns and later contributed a headed goal during a 5–2 triumph over Richmond SC.
By the end of the season, Cooper had amassed 18 goals in league play and added 3 more in cup competitions, making a total of 21 goals. His performance placed him within the top 10 contenders for the Victorian NPL2 gold medal awards, alongside his former teammate James Brown. Additionally, he achieved three hat-tricks throughout the season, scoring them against Casey Comets, Bendigo City, and Melbourne City Youth.
International career
Cooper was part of the Australia national under-17 association football team squad at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he participated in four matches. In March 2019, he earned his initial selection for the Vanuatu national football team.
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gold Coast United | 2011–12 | A-League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Newcastle Jets Youth | 2012 | Northern NSW State Football League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Newcastle Jets | 2012–13 | A-League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle Jets total | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Nunawading City | 2017 | National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 | 23 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 21 |
| Total | 66 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 23 | ||
International goals
- Vanuatu's score is listed first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 15 July 2019 | National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa | Template:Fb | 5–0 | 14–0 | 2019 Pacific Games |
| 2. | 18 July 2019 | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 11–0 | ||
| 3. | 2–0 | |||||
| 4. | 3–0 | |||||
| 5. | 4–0 | |||||
| 6. | 12 October 2024 | Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1994 births
- Living people
- People from Port Vila
- Vanuatuan men's footballers
- Vanuatu men's international footballers
- Australian men's soccer players
- Australia men's youth international soccer players
- Australia men's under-20 international soccer players
- Newcastle Jets FC players
- Gold Coast United FC players
- A-League Men players
- Men's association football midfielders
- Vanuatuan emigrants to Australia
- 21st-century Australian sportsmen