Keanu Baccus
Baccus playing for Western Sydney Wanderers U21 in January 2017
Personal information
Full name Keanu Kole Baccus[1]
Date of birth (1998-06-07) 7 June 1998[1]
Place of birth Durban, South Africa
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
St Mirren
Number 17
Youth career
Parklea FC
Fairfield Hotspurs
Blacktown Spartans
Blacktown City
2014–2016 Western Sydney Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 32 (3)
2016–2022 Western Sydney Wanderers 106 (6)
2022– St Mirren 52 (3)
International career
2016 Australia U20 5 (1)
2017–2021 Australia U23 13 (0)
2022– Australia 11 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Australia
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Third place2020 ThailandU-23 Team
AFF U-19 Youth Championship
First place2016 VietnamU-20 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 November 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2023

Keanu Kole Baccus (born 7 June 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. Born in South Africa, he is an international with the Australia national team, where he made his full international debut in September 2022.

Early life

Baccus was born in Durban, South Africa but moved to Australia before his first birthday where his family settled in western Sydney.[2] Baccus attended Kings Langley Public School where he was inspired by Socceroo Mark Schwarzer to participate in the sport.[3][4] He is the younger brother of Macarthur FC player Kearyn Baccus.[5]

Club career

Western Sydney Wanderers

After rising from the Wanderers Academy to serve as co-captain of the youth team, Baccus signed a two-year senior contract in May 2017.[6]

St Mirren

In April 2022, St. Mirren boss Stephen Robinson announced that Baccus was joining the Scottish Premiership club following the conclusion of the 2022 A League campaign.[7] A few months later, the signing was confirmed by the club as a two-year deal.[8]

International career

Baccus qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as part of the Australia under-23 team. The team beat Argentina in their first group match but were unable to win another match. They were therefore not in medal contention.[9]

In September 2022, Baccus debuted for the senior team as a second-half substitute in a friendly against New Zealand.[10] On 8 November 2022, Baccus was named in Australia's World Cup squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[11] Baccus was used as a substitute in Australia's first three games in the tournament, before making his first senior international start in Australia's loss in the round of sixteen to Argentina.[12]

Honours

Australia U20

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Squad list - Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  2. ""It's Keanu, not Keano!" — why St Mirren's new general is putting his foot down". thetimes.co.uk. 9 April 2022.
  3. "Home - Kings Langley Public School". kingslangl-p.schools.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. "Mark Schwarzer Profile, News & Stats | Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  5. Staff reporter. "Durban-born Keanu Baccus joins St. Mirren". Kickoff.
  6. "Keanu Baccus earns first team contract". Western Sydney Wanderers. 5 May 2017.
  7. Burns, Scott (25 April 2022). "Western Sydney Wanderers star Keanu Baccus agrees St Mirren pre contract". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  8. "Keanu Baccus agrees two-year deal". St Mirren. 27 June 2022.
  9. "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  10. "New Zealand vs Australia, International Friendlies, Round 1, 25th Sep 2022". Socceroos. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  11. "Socceroos Squad Announced for FIFA 2022 World Cup". 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  12. James, Euan (7 December 2022). "'Dream come true': Baccus over the moon after Socceroos starting debut". Socceroos. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  13. "Young Socceroos win AFF U19 title". Goal.com. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2017.


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