Michael Stewart (footballer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named Michael Stewart, see Michael Stewart (disambiguation).

Personal information
Michael Stewart
Full name	Michael Stewart
Date of birth	February 26, 1981 (age 25)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Hibernian
Number	6
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1999-2005 2000-2001 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-present	Manchester United → Royal Antwerp (loan) → Nottingham Forest (loan) → Hearts (loan) Hibernian	07 (0) 0? (?) 13 (0) 17 (0) 41 (2)
National team**
2002	Scotland U21 Scotland	03 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:04, 11 December 2006 (UTC). ** National team caps and goals correct as of 22 September 2006.

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.