In the Murdoch media, it has been reported Matt Spiranovic has  retired. He has been plagued with a foot injury for 4 months.

At his peak, around the Brazil WC in 2014 and Asian Cup 2015 held in Aus,  he was probably one of Aus's greatest ever CBs - along with Neill and Moore circa 2006, his CB partner Sainsbury in 2015, and possibly Milan Ivanovic in the 1990s. Rowles and Souttar already look to be similar quality.

 He was a good ball winner and a good distributor too.

 It was reported he won 36-38 Socceroo caps.

His partnership with Sains next to him and  Ryan in goal, helped us win the Asian Cup in 2015, with Ange at the helm.

Spira also won an Asian Champ League title with WSW, under Popa. He and Popa enjoyed a bit of success together.

Spira had a tenuous Tassie connection. His uncle taught in Launceston, and his father lived in Tas too before moving to Geelong.

Was on an exciting trajectory but I think the China move really did him in. Spira had some similar attributes to Ivanovic but I would pick Ivanovic for my 5 a side over Spira and he's over 60yo

The good thing with Grazorblade's Full Replays Of Old Socceroo Matches thread, is that one can see both  Spira and Ivanovic play live.

I think Spira is better where he has been developed more by using contemporary football coaching in Aus, in terms of both ball winning and ball distribution. Later Spira became a real enforcer. He was also more of a two footed, two sides of the body player than Ivanovic. Both were intelligent players.

Of course I loved the way Ivanovic passed with the outside of his instep over range - which takes extraordinary skill.  I like flashy players.

I'm also told by others it is unfair to appraise past players against a more contemporary era, when the game has moved on. Anyway in Grazor's thread have a look at the WCQs against Argentina in 1993 and against Iran in 1997 to evaluate Ivanovic. Surprisingly, I thought the 1993 version of the Socceroos were playing better than the 1997 Socceroos.

Im with you i thought he was a fantastic player. A shame he didnt stay on for the 2018 world cup. Wont be looked back on as a 'great' though by the Australian football public for the tedious reason that he didnt play much in a top league. 

So glad he got his WC and an Asian cup winner also. Definitely a talented player. 

Early career promising then injuries and he seemed to be off the radar a lot. It was around 2013, which in hindsight shows how young he still was, that it seemed he'd not reach anything at all. That silly Al Arabi move but then at WSW he won the ACL. The China move was ridiculous after such a trajectory of a good WC, an Asian cup and ACL title. He was still a big part of the Roos under Ange when fit. He went away and then started in the Japan away qualifier bringing the assurance. He must have been injured for Honduras as Jurman came in.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/matthew-spiranovic/nationalmannschaft/spieler/45041

This timeline really shows how often he kept getting injured after a decent run of national team appearances. 

1997 had names that became the golden generation, but it wasn't the golden generation yet. So it's entirely fair to call it the way you have - the 1993 side was the better side. If you get the time to watch games of that era, you can see that it wasn't just Ivanovic on his own, but the pair he made with Tobin. That was a world class CB pairing. They basically shared a brain those 2, they were on that level.

No he quit/took a hiatus from football after the 16/17 season that's why he didn't get selected for the playoff game as he hadn't been playing football. 

That was the odd thing. He'd been playing in China up until the Honduras games and then stopped. The career was one of pauses but thankfully the mid 2010's were his time to shine.

It's a bloody shame how his career never fulfilled the heights it looked like it would achieve early days.
Such an assured defender who seemed destined for some strong european clubs.
Will certainly go down as one of the 'what ifs' when you talk about his career.

As a fan I always wonder the what ifs of Spira having a long German career and Rhys Williams not having a broken body. It's my birth year 88. Cursed.  At least after being made to wait so long Souttar and Rowles appear absolutely golden.

Just saying what we're all preying what doesn't happen. Same with Kuol. Feared that achilles injury would become chronic for Rowles. Any sprinklers around the pitch?

For the record, I use Socceroo performances to appraise a player as being a Socceroo great.

 Not what they achieved, or what they  didn't, in their club careers.

If I selected a best ever Socceroo team it is based entirely on what they  did in Green and Gold. It it was based on what they achieved at  club level, the teams would be quite different.

Another player I regard as a Socceroo great is Mark Milligan. Yet as a club player, like  Spira, he wouldn't be in the frame for a great Aussie, or Socceroo, as  a club player - as he didn't ever play in a big league for a big club.  

O grande Socceroo, Matt Spiranovic, anuncia sua aposentadoria, deixando uma marca indelével no futebol australiano. Sua carreira brilhante e suas contribuições inestimáveis ao esporte serão sempre lembradas. Em outras notícias, o mundo do poker cassino continua a atrair atenção com torneios emocionantes e grandes prêmios. Desejamos a Spiranovic tudo de melhor em seus futuros empreendimentos fora dos campos.

Yes  five years ago.

What's he doing now? We need more ex socceroos involved with the game here 

MCG whereas others complain and prefer ex Roos out of the game.
They provide nothing some say.
Can't win mind you I agree, surely there is some that add value having been done it.

Not me. We need them in commentary or coaching they have a lot to offer the game here 

agreed and input on development and pyrimad issues.