How the uneasy peace of Massimo Luongo’s Socceroos exile was finally broken

The 2015 Asian Cup hero and Ballon d’Or nominee last played for Australia in 2019. The following years were difficult, completing his descent from continental championship star to forgotten man.

Though Australia has been well served in midfield by the likes of Aaron Mooy, Luongo’s absence has nagged given his past exploits. Capped 43 times, he was just 22 when named Asian Cup MVP eight years ago. Socceroos coach Graham Arnold hailed his recall as “thoroughly deserved”.

“I’m buzzing now but I never really got my hopes up or thought it was ever a thing again,” says Luongo, now 31, ahead of Australia’s blockbuster friendly against England at Wembley on Saturday morning (AEDT). “It’s a great surprise, so I’m happy.”

Luongo has been through four clubs since 2015, starting with a £2.5 million move from Swindon Town to Queens Park Rangers after his Asian Cup triumph. Injuries have been a constant; knee, hamstring, ankle and concussion. Sheffield Wednesday, 2020-21, was the toughest season of his career; injury kept him to just 13 appearances, while the club churned through three managers and crashed to relegation.

He began a curious upswing a Middlesbrough, where he played only one game in the first half of last season but regained fitness and purpose. Then came a January transfer call from Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna in League One. He became an integral part of the team, somewhat surprisingly, and Ipswich was promoted to the Championship. The Blues sit a lofty second at this international break, a cautious eye on promotion to the Premier League.

The revival of his club career sparked a resurgence of Luongo’s desire to represent the Socceroos.

“The last time [as part of the Socceroos], I went to Sheffield Wednesday and my injury record wasn’t too great. Every time there was a camp, I picked up a little niggle, then Covid happened and I took pretty much a season out due to one injury. That sort of killed me a little bit and that wasn’t a good period mentally as well,” Luongo recalls.

“I wouldn’t expect anything, I wouldn’t expect to be called up [for Australia] after a little period like that. I know how much the manager (Graham Arnold) values minutes and playing, so even when I was playing, probably needed a little bit more time.

“It was probably good for me, for my head. I can just focus on my club and focus on playing and get back to a decent level.

“I’d say only since probably the success at Ipswich because suddenly it’s like, I’m asking a few questions; ‘What do you think? Have I done enough? Is there a chance?’

“But for a long time, probably no. It was more about, I’m getting on now, I’m getting a bit older and maybe there’s a new pathway that the manager wants to take, or wants to bleed in some younger players.

“It is a difficult one when you’re not part of the set-up for a while, how to get back in. I’ve only been sort of thinking about it for the past year maybe, that maybe there’s a chance.

“It’s great to be back, it’s been a while.”

Luongo, a World Cup player in 2014 and 2018, has returned to a different team. In his last cap, he was a late replacement in the 2019 Asian Cup against Uzbekistan for the just-retired Tom Rogic. Other teammates included Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Robbie Kruse and Apostolos Giannou, among others still in the side.

Australia famously beat England 3-1 last time the nations met in a friendly, back in 2003 at Upton Park. Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton scored in a match also remembered for England manager Sven Goran-Eriksson’s infamous call to substitute his entire team at half-time, which led to a change in FIFA’s sub rules.

KANE & BELLINGHAM

Luongo had remarkable early looks at two megastars who will line-up for England at Wembley: Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. He went through Tottenham as a junior alongside Kane, who is now starring at Bayern Munich after a transfer this season.

“I’m sure he’ll play [at Wembley]. They’ve got massive players obviously, big players, multi-multi-million-pound players. It’s a very good opportunity for us, I think everyone’s excited and I think it’s an opportunity to play against a team that many footballers never get to experience,” Luongo says.

“He (Kane) was in my age group coming through. He was always the first one with the first team before us, his path was already … you could tell. I remember he was exactly the same [then], scores goals, good head, good professional. Everything.”

He faced a teenage Bellingham in the Championship, long before his moves to Borussia Dortmund and now Real Madrid, where he is scoring at record pace for Los Blancos.

“He’s a top player. I played against him when he was at Birmingham, he was 17 and the hype was huge when he was that age. As an experienced Champ player, you’re almost like, ‘Oh, he’s not that good’; then you realise he’s 17 and you think, ‘Oh, he’s actually alright, yeah!’

“They weren’t great to watch, they didn’t do anything amazing, but they had a really good team and he was a young boy around an experienced group. He was able to shine and do what he needed to do, and he looked incredible.

“He’s obviously [now] playing at the best club in the world. I would look forward to coming up against someone like that. No matter who you play, I think Aussies have that DNA that you don’t just roll over and give up.”

ANGE POSTECOGLOU

Luongo’s remarkable first stint with the Socceroos began when he was plucked from the obscurity of League One by Ange Postecoglou, now setting the Premier League alight as manager of his old club, Spurs.

“Ange has his ways, Arnie has his ways; but it was definitely an enjoyable time [under Postecoglou]. I was playing at Swindon Town, League One, and he gave me my chance. What he’s doing now is incredible. I think every Aussie’s following Tottenham now.

“It’s great to watch from afar. I think he’s just a genuine person, you can see that in his media interviews. He’s got so much passion for the game and he’s just hungry for success, and that’s what we had here [under him at the Socceroos].”

While he’s surprised that Postecoglou got such a big chance – he became the EPL’s first-ever Australian manager after a successful stint at Celtic – he is not surprised by what has followed. Spurs sit first in the Premier League and the club is buzzing after years of malaise.

“I think Ange will go on about, never even knew it was a possibility that an Australian will be considered for a Premier League job, so he already blown expectations out by doing that. But I’ve always said, whether he does well or not, I always thought he’d leave an impression; he always leaves an impression. I’ve always said if he gets success as Tottenham or not, everyone will remember Ange there and he’ll definitely leave a massive impression at the club.”

IPSWICH RESURRECTION

Luongo largely credits McKenna for his resurgence at Ipswich, though it has come somewhat against script.

“He’s really good, to be fair. I’d say he probably brought me in knowing that we had a really good chance of promotion and the team was pretty much set [unless] they had a few injuries. I was almost brought in as a back-up, if that. A few things happened, a few injuries and bad form, and I got my chance.

“But he’s been brilliant, especially with me. We crossed paths a little bit at Tottenham when I was younger and he’s in that age where I can talk to him properly; we’re in the same generation kind of and you can relate to him a little bit. But on the pitch, without bigging him too much, he’s top class.”

If the Blues’ form holds, Luongo could get a taste of the Premier League, unthinkable not long ago.

“We’re not really talking about promotion. We’re talking about building or performances. He’s got his way of playing; like most managers, he wants to implement his style on the team and show that this is McKenna style and the new Ipswich style. We’re doing that and we’re getting results, so at the moment it’s positive.

“We’ve just got to keep going and he knows where we’re at. We’re all not stupid, second in the league, but I think we’ve got to stay humble and try to just keep doing the right things, because the minute we let that get away from us, then we lose a few games, which we will, we can see how good we are with our responses.”

Along for the ride is a fellow Socceroo: big defender Cameron Burgess.

“Cam’s top, an old-fashioned centre-half. You don’t get many of them in Australian anymore. Heads everything, built like you wouldn’t believe. Not bad on the turn, once he gets going he’s quick. And I think he’d say as well, under a good manager, under a team that wants to play football, he’s quality.

“If you follow his career path, he’s never had the experience of trying to show how good he is actually on the ball and it’s all coming out now at Ipswich. He’s a good teammate, good guy off the pitch as well, I get on with him really well. Buzzing for him, he deserves this.

“He’s been crying for a call-up for a long time and he’s got it, and he looks like he’s been a part of it. I watch the Mexico game and it was brilliant for him. I’m so happy for him.”

SINGING WITH ED SHEERAN

Pop megastar Ed Sheeran is both a fan and a major sponsor of Ipswich Town, with a promotion for his tours adorning the front of the club’s jersey.

Just a week ago, he was finally lured into the dressing room, after a 3-0 win over Hull. Luongo joined in a rendition of Sheeran’s hit song ‘Perfect’.

“That was brilliant, that was really good. He’s an Ipswich fan, sponsors our shirt and I think over the past year and a half, we’ve been crying out for him to come into the dressing room and see us. But he always nips off from games early, or he’s been busy in his tours and he’s been in America for a long time.

“The people upstairs finally got him down and it was good; and we won the game, so it was even better. He didn’t stay very long … but I’m a massive fan, so that was a good one. The town loves him, the club loves him. Just having a profile like that support you and come to the games as well is massive.”