View source for Michael Valkanis

{{Short description|Australian soccer player and manager}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Michael Valkanis
| image = 
| caption = 
| fullname = Mihalis Valkanis<ref name="FCWC 2008">{{cite web |title=FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 Presented By TOYOTA — List Of Players |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/95/12/84/fcwc2008_2008_squadlists_1205.pdf |website=FIFA.com |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |date=5 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209121359/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/95/12/84/fcwc2008_2008_squadlists_1205.pdf |archive-date=9 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|8|23|df=y}}<ref name="FCWC 2008"/>
| birth_place = [[Melbourne]], Australia
| height = 1.81 m<ref name="FCWC 2008"/>
| currentclub = [[Brisbane Roar]] (head coach)
| clubnumber = 
| position = [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|Centre back]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = [[South Melbourne FC|South Melbourne]]
| years1 = 1993–1996
| years2 = 1996
| years3 = 1996–2001
| years4 = 2001–2002
| years5 = 2002–2003
| years6 = 2003–2009
| years7 = 2004
| clubs1 = [[South Melbourne FC|South Melbourne]]
| clubs2 = [[Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki)|Iraklis]]
| clubs3 = [[Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C.|AEL]]
| clubs4 = [[Agios Nikolaos (football club)|Agios Nikolaos]]
| clubs5 = [[Adelaide City]]
| clubs6 = [[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]]
| clubs7 = → [[Adelaide Olympic]] (loan)
| caps1 = 50
| caps2 = 6
| caps3 = 102
| caps4 = 4
| caps5 = 29
| caps6 = 77
| caps7 = 11
| goals1 = 0
| goals2 = 0
| goals3 = 3
| goals4 = 0
| goals5 = 3
| goals6 = 4
| goals7 = 0
| totalcaps = 279
| totalgoals = 10
| nationalyears1 = 1994–1995
| nationalyears2 = 2006
| nationalteam1 = [[Australia men's national under-23 soccer team|Australia U23]]
| nationalteam2 = [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]]
| nationalcaps1 = 5
| nationalcaps2 = 1
| nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| pcupdate = 23 December 2008
| ntupdate = 16 March 2008
| manageryears1 = 2010–2011
| managerclubs1 = [[Adelaide United FC Youth|Adelaide United Youth]] (assistant)
| manageryears2 = 2011–2013
| managerclubs2 = [[Adelaide United FC Youth|Adelaide United Youth]]
| manageryears3 = 2013
| managerclubs3 = [[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]] (caretaker)
| manageryears4 = 2013
| managerclubs4 = [[Enfield City Falcons|Enfield City]]
| manageryears5 = 2013–2016
| managerclubs5 = [[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]] (assistant)
| manageryears6 = 2016–2017
| managerclubs6 = [[Melbourne City FC|Melbourne City]] (assistant)
| manageryears7 = 2017
| managerclubs7 = [[Melbourne City FC|Melbourne City]]
| manageryears8 = 2018
| managerclubs8 = [[PEC Zwolle]] (assistant)
| manageryears9 = 2019–2021
| managerclubs9 = [[Greece National Football Team|Greece]] (assistant)
| manageryears10 = 2022
| managerclubs10 = [[K.A.S. Eupen|Eupen]] (assistant)
| manageryears11 = 2022
| managerclubs11 = [[K.A.S. Eupen|Eupen]]
| manageryears12 = 2023
| managerclubs12 = [[Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.|Hapoel Tel Aviv]]
| manageryears13 = 2023–2024
| managerclubs13 = [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] (assistant)
| managerclubs14 = [[Adana Demirspor]]
| manageryears14 = 2024
| managerclubs15 = [[Brisbane Roar]]
| manageryears15 = 2025–
}}

'''Mihalis "Michael" Valkanis''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Μιχάλης "Μάικλ" Βαλκάνης; born 23 August 1974) is an Australian [[association football]] coach and former player who is the current [[Manager (association football)|head coach]] of [[Brisbane Roar FC|Brisbane Roar]] in the [[A-League Men|A-League]].

==Club career==

=== South Melbourne Hellas ===
Valkanis began his career at South Melbourne at age six and rose through the ranks as a talented junior at South Melbourne to the senior team.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kokotis |first=Peter |date=2023-11-08 |title=From Greek Australian roots to European giants - Valkanis' journey in football philosophy and leadership |url=https://neoskosmos.com/en/2023/11/08/features/from-greek-australian-roots-to-european-giants-valkanis-journey-in-football-philosophy-and-leadership/ |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=NEOS KOSMOS |language=en}}</ref>

At South Melbourne, Valkanis made 50 league appearances for his boyhood club. His performances in defence for the club earned him a regular position for the Australia under 23 side and attracting the attention of overseas clubs.

Valkanis would later state in an interview with ''Four Four Two'' that pulling on the South Melbourne kit for his debut was the proudest moment of his footballing career.

=== Iraklis ===
Valkanis then played in the [[Super League Greece|Greek League]] with [[Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki)|Iraklis]] and most notably with [[Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C.|AEL]] where he played for five seasons and won 102 caps, and [[Agios Nikolaos (football club)|Agios Nikolaos]]. He played 110 games in the now-defunct [[National Soccer League]], scoring four goals with [[South Melbourne FC|South Melbourne]], [[Adelaide City]] and [[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]].

In mid-2007, Valkanis was named captain of his club side, [[Adelaide United]], replacing [[Angelo Costanzo]] (who had been appointed as interim captain after the resignation and departure of [[Ross Aloisi]]).<ref>[http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=aufc_news_item&id=18440 Valkanis named United captain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720120915/http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/default.aspx?s=aufc_news_item&id=18440 |date=20 July 2011 }}</ref>

Valkanis announced his intention to retire at the end of the [[2008-09 A-League]] season in December 2008.<ref>[http://sportal.com.au/Football-news-display/valkanis-to-retire-62530 Valkanis to retire] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225042806/http://sportal.com.au/Football-news-display/valkanis-to-retire-62530 |date=25 December 2008 }}</ref> The former captain and 100 game veteran was given a testimonial match against [[Newcastle Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]] on 9 January 2009 where he replaced [[Daniel Mullen]] in the second half and saw Adelaide through to a 2–0 win.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=25997 
 |title=Reds go top with win over Jets 
 |publisher=A-League 
 |date=2009-01-09 
 |access-date=2009-01-09 
 |last=Wilson 
 |first=Marcus 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305024254/http://a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=25997 
 |archive-date=5 March 2011 
}}</ref>

==International career==
Valkanis' international debut, and only game for Australia, was for the Socceroos in an Asian Cup qualifier versus Kuwait at [[Sydney Football Stadium (1988)|Sydney Football Stadium]] on 16 August 2006. At the time of his debut he was the second oldest debutant for Australia, behind Tommy Stankovic who debuted as a 33 year old in a friendly game against [[FC Torpedo Moscow]]. [[Danny Vukovic]]'s debut later pushed Valkanis down to 3rd place on the oldest debutant list.

==Managerial career==
After the resignation of Adelaide United manager [[John Kosmina]] on 28 January 2013, Valkanis was appointed caretaker manager of Adelaide United for the remainder of the A-League season. Under Valkanis, Adelaide United managed to finish the A-League season in fourth place, therefore qualifying for the A-League finals. However, they were eliminated in the first round by [[Brisbane Roar FC|Brisbane Roar]].

In May 2016, Valkanis left Adelaide United.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adelaideunited.com.au/article/valkanis-says-goodbye-to-reds/kyds5bb9j57g1ejixw0w5rxbx|title=Valkanis says goodbye to Reds|work=Adelaide United |publisher=[[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]]|date=4 May 2016}}</ref>

In June 2016, Valkanis joined [[Melbourne City FC|Melbourne City]] as the senior assistant coach to [[John van 't Schip]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.a-league.com.au/article/melbourne-city-announce-a-league-coaching-shake-up/1s6v7ub16l74v1x0jnfy9fvcxj|title=Melbourne City announce coaching shake-up|publisher=[[Melbourne City FC|Melbourne City]]|date=14 June 2016}}</ref>

On 3 January 2017, after the resignation of Melbourne City manager [[John van't Schip]], Valkanis was appointed manager of the club for the remainder of the season.<ref>{{cite web|title=John van't Schip resigns as Melbourne City coach|url=http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2017/01/03/john-vant-schip-resigns-melbourne-city-coach|website=The World Game|date=3 January 2017 |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service|access-date=3 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/michael-valkanis-appointed-melbourne-city-fc-head-coach/19nw972wzjihh1rr02gcp5u616|title=Michael Valkanis Appointed Melbourne City FC Head Coach|work=Melbourne City FC|date=25 January 2017}}</ref>

On May 9, 2018, Dutch Eredivisie club [[PEC Zwolle]] announced Valkanis had been appointed assistant to manager [[John van't Schip]] on a one-year deal with a one-year option.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peczwolle.nl/nl/nieuwsarchief/michael-valkanis-maakt-team-van-t-schip-compleet2018-05-08|title=Michael Valkanis maakt Team Van 't Schip compleet - Nieuwsarchief - PEC Zwolle|website=www.peczwolle.nl|language=nl|access-date=2018-05-09}}</ref>

On November 1, 2023, [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] announced Valkanis had been appointed assistant to manager [[John van't Schip]] on a one-year deal with a one-year option.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://telegraaf.nl/sport/1574913800/john-van-t-schip-wil-michael-valkanis-mee-bij-ajax|title=John van 't Schip wil Michael Valkanis mee bij Ajax|website=[[De Telegraaf]]|date=29 October 2023 |language=nl|access-date=2023-11-01}}</ref>

On July 8, 2024, [[Adana Demirspor]] announced Valkanis had been appointed as manager on a one-year deal with a one-year option.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/valkanis-in-turkije-weer-op-eigen-benen-na-vertrek-bij-ajax|title=Valkanis in Turkije weer op eigen benen na vertrek bij Ajax
|website=[[Voetbal International]]|language=nl|access-date=8 July 2024}}</ref> He was able to get 1 point in the first 6 weeks of the season with the narrow squad. On September 23, 2024, the club announced that they parted ways with Valkanis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=SPORTS |first=beIN |date=2024-09-23 |title=Trendyol Süper Lig de resmi ayrılık |url=https://beinsports.com.tr/haber/trendyol-super-lig-ekibi-teknik-direktoru-ile-yollarini-ayirdi-2 |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=beinsports.com.tr |language=tr-TR}}</ref>

After more than 7 years working in Europe, Valkanis returned to Australia to take over as head coach of [[Brisbane Roar FC|Brisbane Roar]] for the [[2025-26 A-League Men|2025-26 A-League season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brisbaneroar.com.au/news/brisbane-roar-appoints-michael-valkanis-as-mens-head-coach/|title=Brisbane Roar Appoints Michael Valkanis as Men’s Head Coach|publisher=[[Brisbane Roar FC]]|date=7 May 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Valkanis is of [[Greeks|Greek]] descent. He attended [[De La Salle College, Malvern]]. His family has hails from [[Giannitsa]].<ref>[https://www.kathimerini.gr/athletics/football/562719334/apo-ton-polemo-kai-ti-chapoel-voithos-toy-fant-sip-ston-agiax/ Από τον πόλεμο και την Χάποελ βοηθός του Φαν' τ Σιπ Kathimerini.hr]</ref>

== Career statistics ==
(''Correct as of 16 January 2009'')

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!rowspan="2" |Club
!rowspan="2" width="80" |Season
!colspan="2" width="105"|League<sup>1</sup>
!colspan="2" width="105"|Cup
!colspan="2" width="105"|International<sup>2</sup>
!colspan="2" width="105"|Total
|-
!Apps 
!Goals 
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
|-
|rowspan="4" valign="center"|[[Adelaide United]]
|[[A-League 2005-06|2005–06]]
|24||3||3||2||0||0||27||5
|-
|[[A-League 2006-07|2006–07]]
|23||0||6||0||0||0||29||0
|-
|[[A-League 2007-08|2007–08]]
|3||0||2||0||6||0||11||0
|-
|[[A-League 2008-09|2008–09]]
|3||0||2||0||2||0||7||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
! !! !! !! !! !!
!74!!5
|}
<small><sup>1</sup> – includes [[A-League]] final series statistics<br></small>
<small><sup>2</sup> – includes [[FIFA Club World Cup]] statistics; [[AFC Champions League]] statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. 2008 ACL in 2008–09 A-League season etc.)</small>

==Managerial statistics==
{{updated|7 May 2025}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Valkanis|url=http://www.aleaguestats.com/ALeagueStats_41_38CoachingHistory.html|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=USV Hercules - Ajax|url=https://www.sofascore.com/football/match/usv-hercules-ajax/djbskefc#id:11807966|access-date=23 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Valkanis|url=https://www.sofascore.com/manager/michael-valkanis/787869|access-date=26 August 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Team
!rowspan="2"|Nat
!rowspan="2"|From
!rowspan="2"|To
!colspan="5"|Record
|-
!G!!W!!D!!L!!Win %
|-
|align=left|[[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]] (caretaker)
|{{flagicon|Australia}}
|align=left|28 January 2013
|align=left|7 April 2013
{{WDL|10|2|3|5}}
|-
|align=left|[[Melbourne City FC|Melbourne City]] 
|{{flagicon|Australia}}
|align=left|3 January 2017
|align=left|30 June 2017
{{WDL|15|6|1|8}}
|-
|align=left|[[K.A.S. Eupen|Eupen]] 
|{{flagicon|Belgium}}
|align=left|16 February 2022
|align=left|30 June 2022
{{WDL|8|1|2|5}}
|-
|align=left|[[Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.|Hapoel Tel Aviv]] 
|{{flagicon|Israel}}
|align=left|1 July 2023
|align=left|29 October 2023
{{WDL|5|2|2|1}}
|-
|align=left|[[AFC Ajax]] (caretaker)
|{{flagicon|Netherlands}}
|align=left|22 December 2023
|align=left|22 December 2023
{{WDL|2|0|1|1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Adana Demirspor]]
|{{flagicon|Turkey}}
|align=left|9 July 2024
|align=left|23 September 2024
{{WDL|6|0|1|5}}
|-
|align=left|[[Brisbane Roar FC]]
|{{flagicon|Australia}}
|align=left|7 May 2025
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!colspan="4"|Total
{{WDLtot|45|11|9|25}}
|}

==Honours==

=== With South Melbourne Hellas ===

* [[National Soccer League]] Premiership: 1992–93
* National Soccer League Cup: 1995–96
* [[Dockerty Cup]]: 1993, 1995

'''With [[Adelaide United]]:'''
* {{flagicon|Australia}} [[List of A-League champions|A-League Premiership]]: [[A-League 2005-06|2005–2006]]
'''Personal honours:'''
* [[Adelaide United]] Player's Player of the Year: [[Adelaide United season 2005-06|2005–2006]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/V/VA.html Oz Football profile]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927075615/http://www.pintculture.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=966 Pint Culture profile]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/adelaide/stories/s1494260.htm ABC Adelaide article]

{{Brisbane Roar squad}}
{{A-League head coaches}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Michael Valkanis managerial positions
|list1=
{{Adelaide United FC managers}}
{{Melbourne City FC head coaches}}
{{K.A.S. Eupen managers}}
{{Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. managers}}
{{Adana Demirspor managers}}
{{Brisbane Roar FC head coaches}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valkanis, Michael}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Melbourne]]
[[Category:Australian people of Greek descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Greek descent]]
[[Category:Men's association football central defenders]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Australia men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:A-League Men players]]
[[Category:Adelaide City FC players]]
[[Category:Adelaide United FC players]]
[[Category:Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players]]
[[Category:South Melbourne FC players]]
[[Category:Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players]]
[[Category:A-League Men managers]]
[[Category:Adelaide United FC managers]]
[[Category:Melbourne City FC managers]]
[[Category:K.A.S. Eupen managers]]
[[Category:Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Adana Demirspor managers]]
[[Category:Brisbane Roar FC managers]]
[[Category:Melbourne City FC non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Australian men's soccer players]]
[[Category:PEC Zwolle non-playing staff]]
[[Category:AFC Ajax non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Australian soccer managers]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate soccer managers]]
[[Category:Greek football managers]]
[[Category:Greek expatriate football managers]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Sportsmen from Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Turkey]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey]]