Opinion
With the bright lights of Glasgow less than ten minutes away, the town of Paisley is often left in the shadows of its bigger brother.
Its large, sprawling countryside is a smokescreen for a town that regularly has areas listed in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and was recently voted in the top five unhappiest towns in the United Kingdom to live.
While it is trying to change, with gentrification starting to bear fruit, vandalism, violence and crime are still common and it’s not the type of place you would like to wander around alone at night.
You need a battler’s mentality to survive and an unbreakable determination to reach the very top. Just ask Paisley’s favourite son, superstar actor Gerard Butler.
The town’s football team, St Mirren, have just signed a young Australian footballer who possesses both those above qualities in spades: Keanu Baccus.
Baccus will join a long list of Australians playing in Scotland, signing a two-year contract to play for St Mirren commencing in the summer.
It’s been quite the journey for Baccus to get to this point in his career.
He was born in Durban, South Africa. The family emigrated to Australia while Baccus was a young boy. They settled in Sydney’s football-mad western suburbs.
Growing up, Keanu lived in the shadow of his older brother Kearyn, who was a much more naturally gifted footballer.
Kearyn has played for three different A-League Men clubs, and had trials in Spain as well as two stints overseas – in France and currently in the country of his birth South Africa with the Kaizer Chiefs.
Keanu’s journey began when he was spotted much later than his brother, playing under-10s for Parklea, before brief stints at Fairfield and Blacktown Spartans.
Then he moved up to Blacktown City, which is a club that has produced many talented Australian players.
A move to the professional system of Australian football came knocking, when the Western Sydney Wanderers signed Baccus as a 15-year-old.
(Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)
Less than two years later he made his senior debut for the Wanderers’ first team, in what was a great season for the player personally. He won the National Youth League player of the year award, as voted by his peers.
In the years since, Baccus has becoming a mainstay for the Wanderers, recently hitting the 100-game milestone.
The past five seasons have seen the Wanderers miss the finals, with many coaches and players coming and going. However, Keanu Baccus has been a quiet success in a period of dysfunctionality for the proud Wanderers.
Baccus has been able to navigate the toxicity within the club to become a Wanderers fan favourite as well as one of the most underrated midfielders in the league.
His dreams of playing in Europe were cruelly taken away from him due to the player being reluctant to leave Australia at the height of COVID-19 in 2021.
Hungarian giant Ferencváros immediately backed out of the deal, such is the cut-throat nature of European transfers.
Several clubs in the UK have been monitoring Baccus for some time now, but it comes as a surprise that St Mirren won the race.
If he becomes homesick or needs help adjusting to the Scottish lifestyle, long-forgotten Australian Matt Millar and young New Zealand tyro Alex Grieve are part of the Saints’ squad.
The Saints are perilously perched just above the relegation zone. Barring a disastrous end to the season, they should be fine to avoid the dreaded drop.
Coach Stephen Robinson is a big admirer and Baccus has been bought to be a starter in St Mirren’s stuttering engine room for next season.
Baccus’ composure, ability to recycle possession and work rate will serve him well in the frantic, hustle-and-bustle style that the Scottish Premiership is known for.
From the mean streets of Durban to the diversity of Sydney’s western suburbs and soon to be the dystopia of Paisley, Keanu Baccus has been fighting all his life for his European football dream.
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