Michael Stewart (footballer)
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| Michael Stewart | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Stewart | |
| Date of birth | February 26, 1981 (age 26) | |
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Hibernian | |
| Number | 6 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999-2005 2000-2001 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-present |
Manchester United → Royal Antwerp (loan) → Nottingham Forest (loan) → Hearts (loan) Hibernian |
7 (0) ? (?) 13 (0) 17 (0) 41 (2) |
| National team2 | ||
2002 |
Scotland U21 Scotland |
3 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Michael Stewart (born February 26, 1981 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player who currently plays for Hibernian.
As a highly-rated young player, he was already training twice-weekly with Rangers F.C. while still at Craigmount High School. However, when Manchester United showed interest their global stature swayed him towards an apprenticeship in English football, and he signed as a professional on March 13, 1998.
He made his senior debut for the club on October 31, 2000 against Watford and his initial promise saw him rewarded with further opportunities, notably in the UEFA Champions League "dead-rubber" against Deportivo La Coruna, as well as gaining 3 caps for Scotland under Berti Vogts' disastrous tutelage. He struggled to maintain that standard however, and spent the next two years on disappointing loan spells, including Nottingham Forest.
In the Summer of 2004, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson intimated that he had no future at the club and was free to leave. Rangers initially showed interest but after a 2 week trial, no contract was offered. Stewart's lucrative contract was seen as a stumbling block to a transfer, as few other teams could remotely match it, however a further loan arrangement was reached with Stewart's boyhood favourites Hearts, with Stewart himself taking a substantial wage drop to facilitate the deal.
Again, though, Stewart failed to match expectations and at the end of a 2004-05 season disrupted by injury, Hearts retracted an earlier contract offer. Desperate for continuity and regular football, Stewart expressed his wish to stay in Edinburgh, and surprisingly signed for Hearts' rivals Hibernian after negotiating the end of his Manchester United contract.
[edit] External links
| Hibernian F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
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1 Simon Brown | 2 Whittaker | 3 Murphy | 4 Zemmama | 5 Jones | 6 Stewart | 7 Scott Brown | 9 Killen | 10 Benjelloun | 12 Martis | 14 Beuzelin | 15 Hogg | 17 Sproule | 18 McCluskey | 19 Sowunmi | 20 Fletcher | 21 Baillie | 22 Shiels | 25 McCann | 26 Stevenson | 27 Lynch | 28 Campbell | 32 Ayre | 33 Chisholm | 41 McNeil | 42 Grof | -- Haji | Manager: Collins |
