Mathew Leckie facts for kids
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Leckie with Hertha BSC in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mathew Allan Leckie | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 February 1991 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward, winger | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Melbourne City | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Brimbank Stallions | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Bulleen Lions | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Bulleen Lions | 27 | (15) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Adelaide United | 35 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 10 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | → FSV Frankfurt II (loan) | 5 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | → FSV Frankfurt (loan) | 28 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | FSV Frankfurt | 31 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | FC Ingolstadt 04 | 94 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Hertha BSC | 68 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2019 | Hertha BSC II | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2021– | Melbourne City | 59 | (17) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Australia U20 | 13 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2012– | Australia | 78 | (14) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Mathew Allan Leckie (born February 4, 1991) is an Australian soccer player. He plays for A-League club Melbourne City. He also plays for the Australian national team, known as the Socceroos. Mathew is known for being fast and agile. He usually plays as a winger. He has also played as a midfielder or a striker.
Contents
Mathew Leckie's Soccer Journey
Starting Out in Melbourne
Mathew grew up in Melbourne, Australia. As a child, he first wanted to play Australian rules football. His family supported teams like Essendon. But when he was 11, he changed schools. His new friends got him interested in soccer. He quickly fell in love with the sport.
Leckie played for a team called Bulleen Lions. On September 2, 2009, he signed his first professional contract. He joined Adelaide United for two years.
Playing for Adelaide United
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Mathew made his first A-League game on September 18. He came on as a substitute for Adelaide United. This was against Melbourne Victory.
He scored his first goal in the AFC Champions League. This was on February 24, 2010. It was against the champions, Pohang Steelers. He scored again in his next Champions League game. This helped Adelaide win 2–0 against Shandong Luneng. Many people thought Leckie was one of Australia's best young players.
He started the 2010–11 season very well. He scored two goals in Adelaide's first five games. People praised his exciting style of play. He also joined the Australian Under-19 team.
Moving to Germany
After the A-League season, Mathew moved to Germany. He signed with a club called Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his first goals for them in a friendly game. He scored twice in a 5–2 win against Aberdeen. In early 2013, he was loaned to Frankfurt. He scored 3 goals in just 2 games for their reserve team.
Playing for FSV Frankfurt
On June 3, 2013, Leckie officially joined FSV Frankfurt. He signed a three-year contract. He said he made this move to improve his skills. He wanted to build on his success from his loan period. During that time, he played 28 games and scored 4 goals.
Time at FC Ingolstadt 04
On May 7, 2014, Mathew signed with FC Ingolstadt 04. He signed a three-year contract. While he was there, the club got promoted to the Bundesliga. This is Germany's top soccer league. In the 2015–16 season, Leckie scored a goal against FC Augsburg. It was one of his best goals that season.
Joining Hertha BSC
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On May 22, 2017, Leckie joined Hertha BSC. He started well, playing in many practice games. He also helped with two goals in his first official game. This was in the DFB Pokal cup. Leckie scored two goals in his first Bundesliga game for Hertha BSC. This was a 2–0 win against VfB Stuttgart. He said it was "one of the best weeks of my life."
He scored his first goal in a European competition. This was in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. It was in a 3–2 loss to Athletic Bilbao.
After the 2019–20 season, Leckie played fewer games for Hertha. He also scored no goals in his last two seasons there. In early 2020, he wanted to leave the club. But in May 2020, he decided to stay for another season. He said it was for "family reasons."
Returning to Melbourne City FC
On June 5, 2021, it was announced that Leckie signed a three-year deal. He joined Melbourne City FC back in Australia.
Playing for Australia
Youth and Early Senior Career
In August 2009, Leckie played for Australia's Under-19 team. He scored the first goal in a 4–1 win against Vietnam. He also played in the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship.
Mathew was called up to the senior Australian national team, the Socceroos. This was for an Asian Cup qualifier in 2011. He didn't play in that game. He later made his debut in a friendly game in 2012.
World Cups and Asian Cups
2014 FIFA World Cup
Leckie played very well in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Experts thought he was worth a lot of money. He said he didn't regret signing with a German second division club. He knew he might have had offers from bigger clubs after the World Cup.
2015 AFC Asian Cup
Leckie was part of Australia's team for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He started in the first game against Kuwait. He hit the crossbar and then helped set up a goal. Australia won that game 4–1. Australia went on to win the tournament!
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
Leckie also played in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He started in the first two group games. He came on as a substitute in the last game against Chile.
2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification
On September 3, 2015, Leckie scored his second goal for Australia. This was in a World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh. On September 5, 2017, he scored his 6th international goal against Thailand. In May 2018, he was chosen for Australia's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Becoming Captain
In May 2021, Mathew Leckie became the new captain of the Socceroos. He took over from Mark Milligan, who had retired. Later in 2021, Leckie took a break from the national team. This was because of strict hotel quarantine rules for travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 FIFA World Cup
In November 2022, Leckie was part of the team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In a very important group game against Denmark, he scored the winning goal. Australia won 1–0, which meant they qualified for the next round of the tournament!
Achievements and Awards
Here are some of the awards and championships Mathew Leckie has won:
Ingolstadt 04
- 2. Bundesliga: 2014–15 (This means his team won the second division league in Germany.)
Melbourne City
- A-League Premiership: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 (His team finished first in the regular season of the A-League.)
Australia U20
- AFF U19 Youth Championship: 2010
- AFC U19 Championship runner-up: 2010 (His team finished second in this championship.)
Australia
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015 (His national team won this major Asian tournament.)
Individual Awards
- Adelaide United Rising Star: 2009–10 (Award for a promising young player.)
- A-Leagues All Star: 2022, 2024 (Chosen as one of the best players in the A-League.)
- PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2022–23 (Chosen as one of the best players in the A-League for that season.)
Images for kids
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Mathew Leckie playing for Australia against Cameroon at the 2017 Confederations Cup.
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See also
In Spanish: Mathew Leckie para niños
