Massimo Luongo facts for kids
Luongo with Australia in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Full name | Massimo Corey Luongo | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 September 1992 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||
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Current team
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Millwall | ||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Ipswich Town | 69 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2025– | Millwall | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||
| 2014– | Australia | 45 | (6) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:08, 26 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 December 2023 |
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Massimo Corey Luongo (born on September 25, 1992) is an Australian professional soccer player. He plays as a defensive midfielder for the Australia national team and for the Millwall club. A defensive midfielder helps protect the team's goal and also starts attacks.
Massimo was born in Sydney, Australia. He played youth football for APIA Leichhardt Tigers before moving to England. There, he joined Tottenham Hotspur to start his professional career. He also played for Ipswich Town, Swindon Town, Queens Park Rangers, and Sheffield Wednesday.
Luongo played for the Australia national team from 2014 until December 2023. He played in 45 games for his country before deciding to stop playing international football. He was part of the team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and helped Australia win the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In that tournament, he scored a goal in the final game and was named the best player. He also played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. In October 2024, he returned to play for Australia again.
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Early Life and Family
Massimo Luongo was born in Sydney, Australia, on September 25, 1992. His father, Mario, has Italian family roots. His mother, Ira, has Indonesian family roots. Massimo went to Waverley College. He is the youngest of three children. He has an older sister named Angela and an older brother named Tiziano. Besides his Australian passport, Massimo also has an Italian passport.
Massimo has shared that his great-grandfather on his mother's side was Sultan Ambela Abu'l-Khair Sirajuddin. He was a ruler from the Bima Sultanate in Sumbawa, Indonesia.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Tottenham Hotspur
Massimo Luongo joined Tottenham Hotspur in January 2011. He had impressed them during a trial. He played nine games for the club's under-18 team in the 2010–11 season and scored three goals.
He played his only game for Tottenham's main team on September 20, 2011. It was a League Cup match against Stoke City. The game ended in a 7–6 penalty shootout loss. Massimo came into the game after 70 minutes. He took a penalty kick, but the opposing goalkeeper saved it, and Tottenham lost.
Loan to Ipswich Town
On July 23, 2012, Luongo moved to Ipswich Town on a loan deal for the 2012–13 season. He played his first game for Ipswich on August 14 in the League Cup. Ipswich won 3–1 against Bristol Rovers. Four days later, he played his first league game.
On August 28, he scored his first professional goal for Ipswich. It was a shot from outside the penalty area against Carlisle United in the League Cup. However, Carlisle scored late and won the game. His loan ended on November 9, 2012, because the new Ipswich manager wanted different players.
Playing for Swindon Town
On March 28, 2013, Luongo joined Swindon Town on loan. He played his first game for Swindon the very next day, a 1–1 draw against Oldham Athletic. On April 16, he scored his first goal for Swindon in a 4–1 win over Crewe Alexandra.
He signed another loan deal with Swindon Town on July 2, 2013. By the end of August 2013, Swindon signed Luongo permanently. They paid £400,000 to Tottenham. He scored six goals in 44 league games during the 2013–14 season. This included two goals in one game against Port Vale. In the next season, he scored six goals in 34 games. Swindon reached the play-off final but lost to Preston North End at Wembley Stadium.
Time at Queens Park Rangers
On May 28, 2015, Luongo joined Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He signed a three-year contract. The head coach at QPR, Chris Ramsey, had been Luongo's youth coach at Tottenham. Massimo played his first game for QPR on August 8, 2015, in a 2–0 loss to Charlton Athletic. In his first season, he played 30 league games but did not score.
He scored his first goal for QPR on March 18, 2017, in a 5–1 win against Rotherham United. In November of that year, he became the team captain after another player was injured.
Moving to Sheffield Wednesday
On August 8, 2019, Luongo joined Sheffield Wednesday. He made his first appearance for them the next weekend against Barnsley. He scored his first goal for the club against Wigan Athletic, which was also his first game starting for the team.
During his second season, he had several injuries. He returned to play in December 2020 but was injured again in February 2021. After another injury break, he played very well at the start of 2022. He won the club's Player-of-the-Month award for January. He was offered a new contract but decided to leave the club on June 22, 2022.
Short Spell at Middlesbrough
On September 8, 2022, Luongo joined Middlesbrough on a short contract until January 2023. However, he did not play any games for them. His contract was ended by agreement on January 5, 2023.
Return to Ipswich Town
On the same day he left Middlesbrough, Luongo signed a short-term deal with Ipswich Town. He had played there on loan over ten years earlier. He played his first game back on January 28, 2023, in an FA Cup match. On March 18, he scored his first goal since returning to Ipswich in a 2–0 win over Shrewsbury Town.
On June 9, 2025, Luongo left Ipswich when his contract ended after the 2024–25 season.
International Career
Massimo Luongo played twice for the Australia under-20 team. He made his debut for the senior Australian national team, known as the Socceroos, on March 6, 2014. He came on as a substitute in a game against Ecuador.
He was chosen for Australia's team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, he did not play in any of their three matches. Australia was eliminated in the group stage.
Luongo was also part of the team for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which was played in Australia. He scored a goal in Australia's 4–1 win over Kuwait in the first game. He also helped set up Australia's first goal in that match. He was named the man of the match. Massimo also helped set up another goal in Australia's 4–0 win against Oman. In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final against South Korea, he scored the first goal from outside the box. Australia won the final 2–1. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He scored two goals and helped with four others during the competition.
Luongo was selected for Australia's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He had a very successful season with QPR before this. He did not play in any games as Australia was knocked out in the group stage. He also played in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
In December 2023, Luongo announced he was stopping international football. He wanted to focus on playing for his club, Ipswich Town, and help them get promoted to the Premier League. He had played 45 games for the Socceroos. However, in October 2024, Luongo decided to return to international football. He was named in the Australian squad for World Cup qualifying games.
Career Statistics Summary
Massimo Luongo has played many games throughout his career for various clubs and the national team.
- Tottenham Hotspur: 1 appearance, 0 goals.
- Ipswich Town (loan): 11 appearances, 1 goal.
- Swindon Town: 102 appearances, 14 goals.
- Queens Park Rangers: 152 appearances, 10 goals.
- Sheffield Wednesday: 73 appearances, 4 goals.
- Middlesbrough: 0 appearances, 0 goals.
- Ipswich Town: 75 appearances, 5 goals.
In total, he has played 414 club games and scored 34 goals.
For the Australia national team, he has played 45 games and scored 6 goals.
International Goals
Here are the goals Massimo Luongo scored for Australia:
- January 9, 2015, against Kuwait (2015 AFC Asian Cup)
- January 31, 2015, against South Korea (2015 AFC Asian Cup Final)
- March 24, 2016, against Tajikistan (2018 FIFA World Cup qualification)
- March 29, 2016, against Jordan (2018 FIFA World Cup qualification)
- September 1, 2016, against Iraq (2018 FIFA World Cup qualification)
- November 17, 2018, against South Korea (Friendly game)
Achievements and Awards
Ipswich Town
- Second place in EFL League One: 2022–23
- Second place in EFL Championship: 2023–24
Australia
- Winner of the AFC Asian Cup: 2015
Individual Awards
- Named in the PFA Team of the Year: 2014–15 League One
- AFC Asian Cup Most Valuable Player: 2015
- Named in the AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2015
- Third place for AFC Asian International Player of the Year: 2015
- Queens Park Rangers Player of the Season: 2017–18
See also
In Spanish: Massimo Luongo para niños
