Massimo Luongo facts for kids
Luongo with Australia in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Massimo Corey Luongo | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 September 1992 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||
| Current club | Ipswich Town | ||||||||||||
| Number | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2010 | APIA Leichhardt Tigers | ||||||||||||
| 2011 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2012 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2013 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2013 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 5 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Swindon Town | 73 | (10) | ||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Queens Park Rangers | 145 | (10) | ||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Sheffield Wednesday | 64 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2023– | Ipswich Town | 63 | (5) | ||||||||||
| National team‡ | |||||||||||||
| 2014– | Australia | 45 | (6) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Massimo Corey Luongo (born 25 September 1992) is an Australian professional football player. He plays as a defensive midfielder for Ipswich Town and the Australian national team.
Massimo was born in Sydney, Australia. He played youth football for APIA Leichhardt Tigers. Later, he moved to England to play for Tottenham Hotspur. He started his professional career there. After playing for several clubs, he joined Sheffield Wednesday in 2019.
Luongo played for the Australia national team from 2014 until December 2023. He played 45 games for his country before he stopped playing international football. He was part of the team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also played a big part in Australia winning the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In that final game, he scored a goal and was named the best player of the tournament. He also went to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Massimo Luongo was born on 25 September 1992 in Sydney, Australia. His father, Mario, has Italian heritage. His mother, Ira, has Indonesian heritage. He went to Waverley College for his education.
Massimo is the youngest of three children. He has a sister named Angela and a brother named Tiziano. Besides his Australian passport, Luongo also has an Italian passport.
Club Football Journey
Starting at Tottenham Hotspur
Luongo joined Tottenham Hotspur in January 2011. He had impressed them during a trial. He played nine games for their under-18 team, scoring three goals. He made his only appearance for the main team on 20 September 2011. This was in a League Cup game against Stoke City. The game ended in a penalty shootout, which Tottenham lost.
Loan to Ipswich Town
On 23 July 2012, Luongo went on loan to Ipswich Town. This was a team in the Championship. He played his first game for them on 14 August in the League Cup. Four days later, he played his first league game. On 28 August, he scored his first professional goal for Ipswich. He shot from outside the penalty area. His loan ended in November when a new manager took over.
Time at Swindon Town
On 28 March 2013, Luongo joined Swindon Town on loan. He played his first game the very next day. On 16 April, he scored his first goal for Swindon. He headed in a cross in a 4–1 win. He scored again in a play-off semi-final game.
Luongo signed a full contract with Swindon Town in August 2013. He played many games for them. In the 2013–14 season, he scored six goals in 44 league games. He scored two goals in one game against Port Vale. The next season, he scored six goals in 34 games. Swindon reached the play-off final but lost.
Moving to Queens Park Rangers
On 28 May 2015, Luongo joined Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He signed a three-year deal. QPR's coach, Chris Ramsey, had been Luongo's youth coach at Tottenham. He played his first game for QPR on 8 August. In his first season, he played 30 league games. His good performances even got him on a longlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award in 2015.
He scored his first goal for QPR on 18 March 2017. Later that year, he became the team's captain.
Playing for Sheffield Wednesday
On 8 August 2019, Luongo moved to Sheffield Wednesday. He made his first appearance the next weekend. He scored his first goal for the club against Wigan Athletic. He was sent off in one game, but the red card was later removed.
In his second season, he had several injuries. He returned to play at the start of 2022. He played very well and won the club's Player-of-the-Month award for January. He was offered a new contract but decided to leave the club in June 2022.
Brief Spell at Middlesbrough
On 8 September 2022, Luongo joined Middlesbrough. This was a short-term deal. However, he did not play any games for them. His contract ended in January 2023.
Return to Ipswich Town
On the same day he left Middlesbrough, Luongo signed a six-month deal with Ipswich Town. This was the club he had played for on loan over ten years earlier. He made his first appearance on 28 January 2023 in an FA Cup game. On 18 March, he scored his first goal since returning to Ipswich.
International Career for Australia
Luongo played for the Australia under-20 team twice. He made his debut for the senior Australian team, known as the Socceroos, on 6 March 2014. He was chosen for the Australian team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, he did not play in any of their games.
Luongo was also picked for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which was held in Australia. He scored in Australia's 4–1 win over Kuwait in the first game. He also helped set up another goal. He was named the best player of that match. He also helped set up a goal in Australia's next game against Oman. In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final against South Korea, he scored the first goal. Australia won the game 2–1. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He scored two goals and helped with four others.
Luongo was part of Australia's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He had a great season with QPR before this. He did not play in the World Cup games, which he said was frustrating. He was also chosen for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
In December 2023, Luongo announced he was stopping international football. He wanted to focus on helping his club, Ipswich Town, get promoted to the Premier League. He had played 45 games for the Socceroos. However, in October 2024, Luongo returned to the Australian team for World Cup qualifiers.
Achievements and Awards
Ipswich Town
- EFL League One runner-up: 2022–23
- EFL Championship runner-up: 2023–24
Australia
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015
Individual Awards
- PFA Team of the Year: 2014–15 League One (This means he was chosen as one of the best players in his league that season)
- AFC Asian Cup Most Valuable Player: 2015
- AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2015
- AFC Asian International Player of the Year third-place: 2015
- Queens Park Rangers Player of the Season: 2017–18
See also
In Spanish: Massimo Luongo para niños
