"People ask me all the time why I smile so much on the field," says the jungle kid from Cairns, bearing his classic big toothy grin.
 
"My Dad always told me from a young age that when you smile, a good thought pops into your head. Even if it's a fake smile, you'll think something positive.
 
But sometimes the smile can be misleading...
 
He adds: "It's 35 degrees on the field, adrenalin is pumping and instead of getting fired up I usually smile... It can definitely make for an awkward moment among the players."
 
With a career taking him to top leagues in Eastern Europe and back to Australia with 13 caps for the National Team, "Thwaitey" reveals it was the combination of a happy home and some pretty tough times in Romania as reasons for his now light-hearted approach to the game.
 
"I was pretty fiery when I was younger. Romania changed me," he admits.
 
At National Bucharest, he experienced some of the greatest lows of his career. He was only 21, had just made his debut with the Socceroos and his profile was on the rise.
 
"In the last six months of my contract, I legitimately signed with Wisla Krakow in Poland and my current club didn't love the idea," he reveals.
 
"They knew as I had made my debut for the Socceroos leading up to the World Cup, I had to be playing regularly to be in contention for selection and used this against me.
 
"They pretty much tried to manipulate me to stay, saying that I didn't in fact have six months remaining but eight months so my contract with the Polish team was void."
 
Unlike Australia - where all players sign a Standard Player Contract that applies to every competing team in the A-League, specifying start and completion dates -  his contract situation was less clear.
 
"It's not really that simple over there", says Michael. "In Eastern Europe every club has their own form of contract, some are even hand written.
 
"And where I got caught is whenever the club would change hands or business names, they would force me to sign a new contract, in Romanian.
 
"Looking back, I was pretty naive but I didn't know any better."
 
There was also the threat that he wouldn't play - the highest form of punishment for any professional player.
 
"Every time I asked them to take home one of those 'new contracts', they would make me sign it immediately otherwise I wouldn't play that weekend," he reveals.
 
"It was the same threat when I told them I signed with the Polish team only they followed that threat through and I didn't play for the entire six months I had left on my contract, followed by five months into my new one with Wisla Krakow."
 
Once Michael discovered National Bucharest weren't going to accept his decision to leave, he did what thousands of other players and clubs do when disputing a contract and took the case to FIFA.
 
"I couldn't play for as long as the case was open which meant I was fully fit, frustrated and I did not play a professional game for 11 months," he recalls.
 
 
"To make matters worse, the 2006 World Cup was coming up and for as long as I wasn't playing, my chances of being involved became even more remote."
 
But what started as a contract dispute and matter of not playing soon became a situation where Michael became unable to leave Romania after the club took his passport off him.
 
"He was a wreck", says wife, Chantelle. "I was on the phone to him every day and he was completely distraught."
 
"He was away from home, not playing and by then the relationship with the club had completely disintegrated so things were not pleasant for him at all."
 
At the time, Chantelle - now a qualified Nurse and Sonographer - had been with Michael a year but was still living in Australia to complete her studies.
 
"I wanted to be with him to support him but was working towards my own aspirations - I could only offer him three months there and three months home so I could continue uni," she says.
 
"And even then it was difficult for us - but we both understood each other's career goals and made it work to the best we could."
 
Michael adds, " I was thankful I had the support of the other Aussie boys there (Wayne Shroj, Jon McKain and Ryan Griffiths) and of course my family in Cairns - especially my Dad."
 
"But it was a very lonely time without Chantelle."
 
Once Michael moved to Poland - albeit with the case still pending - things were definitely looking up and he began to enjoy being a footballer again.
 
"Krakow was a great time for Chantelle and I," he says. "We got engaged there and all the dramas with the Romanian club were due to be resolved so we got to enjoy ourselves again."
 
Poland was also where Michael caught up with fellow Aussie and current captain of Perth Glory, Jacob Burns.
 
"Jacob and Cecilia Burns lived literally 20 metres from us in Krakow," says Michael. "I had already met him when I trialled at Barnsley FC so of course it was great to have him and Cecilia there.
 
"We are all still great friends."
 
While Krakow presented life in a beautiful city, a new engagement and a sigh of relief once FIFA had decided in his favour, Michael found himself not playing as regularly as he had hoped and contemplated a potential move to Norway - even though the prospect of coming back to the A-League beckoned.
 
"I knew Melbourne Victory had been interested but SK Brann was a great opportunity for me to stay in Europe and so I transferred there for more game time," says Thwaite.
 
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