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Patrick Fabio Maxime Kisnorbo (born 24 March 1981) is an Australian professional football manager and former player who was last serving as the head coach of J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, Kisnorbo was a primarily a centre-back, but also played as a defensive midfielder. He made eighteen appearances for the Australia national team.
Kisnorbo was a fans' favourite at Leicester City, accumulating over 100 appearances in his four years at the club. During his time with Leicester, he was at the centre of a number of refereeing controversies in which officiating calls were later shown to be wrong. He has also suffered some injuries that affected his playing ability for a time. Kisnorbo has represented Australia at international level in three tournaments; the 2002 and 2004 Nation Cups and the 2007 Asian Cup. He started his professional career at South Melbourne and later played for the Scottish club Hearts before joining Leicester and then transferring to Leeds United.
Kisnorbo won the 2009–10 fans Player of The Season award and also the Players Player Award for Leeds United in his debut season. During his first two years at Leeds, Kisnorbo wore a bandage on his head when playing as 'a superstition' after initially wearing it following a head injury suffered on his Leeds debut.
In his secondary season, Kisnorbo performances led him to be awarded the Theo Marmaras medal for the best player at South Melbourne during the 2002 season.
Kisnorbo went on to make 67 appearances for the club and scored on 3 occasions. His big stature and toughness made him a fan-favourite to the Hellas fans and attracted international interest following his performances for the club.
Kisnorbo also played in the UEFA Cup against such clubs as Bordeaux, Feyenoord, Schalke 04 and Ferencváros, and scored a goal against Portuguese club SC (Sporting Club) Braga. He spent 18 months at Hearts, playing a total of 64 competitive games, before his contract expired at the end of the 2004–05 season. It was not renewed by the club.
Kisnorbo's first goal for Leicester came on 15 October 2005 against Watford at Vicarage Road, which turned out to be the match winner. His initial appearances for Leicester were as a midfielder, and at first he failed to adjust and was booed by his own fans during a 2–1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. However, a move back to defence resulted in a change in fortunes for Kisnorbo, and his partnership with then-teammate Paddy McCarthy was instrumental in helping Leicester avoid relegation to League One that season.
Transfer speculation linked Kisnorbo to Wigan Athletic at the end of the 2005–06 season, but he decided to extend his stay with Leicester by signing a new three-year contract, less than 12 months after joining the club. Kisnorbo began the 2006–07 season well, scoring two goals and putting in fine rear-guard displays against Coventry City and Southend United, helping the club survive relegation yet again. He was linked with a move to Fulham during the January transfer window. His performance in the 2006–07 season earned him the players' player of the season award from his teammates. It was also at this point that he became a fan favourite.
Further misfortune came when Kisnorbo suffered damaged knee ligaments in 3–1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on 26 April 2008, sidelining him for six months. His injury badly affected Leicester's hopes of surviving in the Championship. He played his 100th game and scored his last ever goal for Leicester in a 2–0 home win over Ipswich on 26 December 2007. Leicester 2–0 Ipswich , BBC Sport 26 December 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
It was reported on 28 April that manager Nigel Pearson told Kisnorbo he could leave on a free transfer the following summer as the club began their preparations for their Championship campaign the following season. Leicester on 29 May released Kisnorbo at the end of his contract, along with Paul Henderson, Marc Edworthy, Bruno Ngotty and Barry Hayles. Kisnorbo stated he was "very disappointed to have been released", and made it clear that he wanted "to show Leicester next season what they are missing because I'm desperate to stay in the Championship." He had trials with Crystal Palace and Derby County, but was unable to secure a move to either club.
Kisnorbo scored his first goal for Leeds against Millwall on his return to the starting lineup after missing the previous game against Norwich City having picked up an illness on international duty. His international call-ups along with other internationals at Leeds resulted in games against Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers being postponed. Kisnorbo missed the games against Kettering Town, Oldham Athletic and local rivals Huddersfield Town through an injury he picked up in training. He had not recovered from injury to be able to have a part in the squad in the FA Cup replay to Kettering. Instead, the Australia international returned to the Leeds starting line up against Brentford.
Kisnorbo played against Manchester United when Leeds won 1–0 away at Old Trafford on 3 January in the FA Cup, during which he and Richard Naylor "bolted the door against the assaults of Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov", after which he was described as a hero. Kisnorbo missed the Football League Trophy Northern Section Final first leg loss against Carlisle United with a calf injury. Kisnorbo returned to Leeds' starting lineup, and played the full 90 minutes, in the next game where Leeds earned a 2–2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.
Kisnorbo was part of the Leeds defence, who were defeated 3–0 by Swindon Town. Kisnorbo was omitted from the Leeds squad in the next game against Colchester United after being ruled out by injury. The injury also forced him to miss the FA Cup replay at Elland Road against Tottenham Hotspur, the League One game against Hartlepool United and the Football League Trophy Northern Section final second leg against Carlisle.
Kisnorbo's season prematurely ended after he suffered a suspected ruptured achilles tendon against Millwall in March, ending his hopes of playing in Leeds's promotion charge, and also his dream of playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Leeds as a result signed Neill Collins on loan from Preston to cover his absence.
In May 2010, he was selected in the Football League One PFA Team of the Year for the 2009–10 season. On the final day of the season Kisnorbo was named as the fans' Leeds United Player of the Season and also the Players' Player of the Season. Leeds were promoted to the Football League Championship after finishing in 2nd place in League 1 and thus earning automatic promotion.
On 20 November, Grayson reiterated his desire to keep Kisnorbo but stated that he had to prove his fitness before being offered a new deal at Leeds. Kisnorbo got an infection on his Achilles tendon injury, and stepped up his rehab by going to the US for treatment. Kisnorbo returned to Leeds' training ground Thorp Arch during mid January. However, on 11 March 2011, it was confirmed that he would not play again in the 2010–11 season. As Kisnorbo's contract was set to expire in June 2011, he had to prove his fitness to the coaching staff at Leeds in the hope of earning a new contract, or be free to join another club. In March 2011, Kisnorbo returned to full training with Leeds after his long spell out injured.
In Leeds' penultimate game of the season, against Burnley, Kisnorbo made the provisional squad but failed to make the substitutes bench. On 6 May, Grayson revealed the club were going to offer Kisnorbo a new contract on a short term deal, which, if he accepted, would allow him more time to earn a new long term deal once he proved his fitness. On 7 May, Kisnorbo was named on the bench for Leeds against Queens Park Rangers, the first time he was included in a matchday squad since suffering his ruptured Achilles tendon. Kisnorbo made his first appearance of the season as a second-half substitute against QPR in the final game of the season.
Kisnorbo was handed the captaincy in the absence of suspended captain Jonny Howson on 16 August against Hull City. Kisnorbo scored an own goal against West Ham United on 21 August. Kisnorbo's poor form continued when he was sent off and gave away a penalty for Leeds in the match against Bristol City on 17 September. As a result of the suspension, Kisnorbo missed the League Cup game against fierce rivals Manchester United. After a spell on the bench due to the partnership of Tom Lees and Darren O'Dea, Kisnorbo came on as a substitute replacing O'Dea in Leeds' 1–1 draw against Cardiff City on 30 October. After starting in the 5–0 loss against Blackpool, Kisnorbo put in an impressive performance against his old side Leicester City on 6 November to help earn Leeds a clean sheet in a 1–0 win.
Due to the knee injury sustained by Captain Jonny Howson, Kisnorbo took over the captain's armband, starting with Leeds' 1–1 draw against Watford on 10 December, in which Kisnorbo gave away a penalty which was saved by Leeds keeper Alex McCarthy with Leeds 1–0 down. The save proved crucial as Leeds scored a last minute equaliser.
Kisnorbo's season was ended on 2 January when he sustained a serious knee injury in Leeds' 2–1 win over Burnley. In April, Kisnorbo revealed he had stepped up in his comeback and had started running again in training, but there was no timescale put on his return.
Kisnorbo made his first start of the season on 28 August 2012 in a League Cup match against Oxford United.
In January 2013, he signed for Ipswich Town on a one-month loan.
On 3 May 2013, it was announced that Kisnorbo, along with 10 other players were being released from the club.
In 2004, Kisnorbo was again selected for the squad for the OFC Nations CupCup, where he received two yellow cards against the Solomon Islands. He declined to join the Olyroos for Athens 2004, electing to concentrate on cementing a place at Hearts in the pre-season. This decision harmed his international aspirations, as he was left out of the squad that eventually lost to Iraq in the quarter-finals.
Kisnorbo appeared for Australia in Exhibition game against Ghana, Denmark, China and Uruguay. These performances led to his selection for the Australian 2007 AFC Asian Cup squad; he played the first two group matches against Oman and Iraq. After Australia tied the first match and lost the second, amongst a host of changes, Kisnorbo was dropped from the starting lineup in favour of a 21-year-old Mark Milligan. He played no further part in the tournament as Australia were eventually knocked out by Japan.
It was widely regarded that Kisnorbo's poor performance at the Asian Cup had ruined his chances of ever returning to international level. He remained outside the Australian national squad for over two years; however, following admirable performances with his new club Leeds United, Kisnorbo regained his international place in 2009 and started in a 3–0 friendly win over Republic of Ireland on 12 August 2009, nearly scoring a goal in the 22nd minute when his header was saved at point-blank range by Shay Given. On 5 September 2009, Kisnorbo scored his first goal for Australia in a game against South Korea. Kisnorbo was subsequently selected in the Australian squad for a friendly against the Netherlands on 10 October 2009.
Kisnorbo's ruptured Achilles tendon injury suffered against Millwall in March 2010 ruled him out of the 2010 World Cup for Australia.
In June 2011, Kisnorbo was recalled to the Australia national side for the first time since recovering from his Achilles tendon injury when he was called up to train with the national side in a non-playing role ahead of the friendly against Serbia.
In July 2018, Kisnorbo was appointed assistant coach of the Melbourne City men's team, with Rado Vidošić replacing him as manager of the W-League team.
In September 2020, Kisnorbo was appointed head coach of Melbourne City, following the departure of Erick Mombaerts.
In May 2021, Kisnorbo led Melbourne City to their first ever A-League trophy in that team's eleven-year history by claiming the A-League Premiers Plate. There was much admiration for the way Kisnorbo had instilled in the Melbourne City team a level of determination and fighting spirit which many attribute as characteristics that Kisnorbo himself had during his playing days.
In June, Kisnorbo then guided City to their first A-League Championship, winning the double in his debut A-League coaching season. Again, he was credited with instilling a tenacious work-rate and hardened sense of self-belief in a very young team, made up partly of the club's academy graduates.
Under his management, Troyes was relegated to Ligue 2. After winning only twice in the first 15 games of the 2023–24 season and dropping to relegation zone in Ligue 2 as well, Kisnorbo left Troyes by mutual consent on 6 December 2023.
After only seven league games, including five wins, one draw and a loss, Melbourne Victory announced that Kisnorbo had departed the club effective immediately on the 17th of December.
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| 1 | Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea | 1–2 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| Melbourne City Women | 12 July 2017 | 18 June 2018 | |
| Melbourne City | 3 September 2020 | 22 November 2022 | |
| ES Troyes AC | 23 November 2022 | 27 November 2023 | |
| Melbourne Victory | 25 June 2024 | 17 December 2024 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 18 April 2025 | 19 June 2025 | |
Leicester City
Leeds United
Australia
Australia U-20
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Melbourne Victory
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