Mathew Allan Leckie (born 4 February 1991) is an Australian Association football, soccer player who plays for A-League club Melbourne City FC, Melbourne City and the Australia men's national soccer team, Australian national team (for whom, he previously captained). Leckie, being a quick and agile player, is usually placed on the wing. However, he has previously been deployed as a midfielder, striker/second striker and even as a wing-back.

Club career

Early life

As a child growing up in Melbourne's Western Suburbs (Melbourne), Western Suburbs, Leckie actually aspired to play Australian rules football, his family supporting Essendon Football Club, Essendon and Box Hill Hawks, Box Hill, however at 11 years old a change to a school in Sunshine North with a more multicultural student body and close friends inspired him to take up football and he "never looked back". Leckie was a member of Victorian State League Division 1 outfit, Bulleen Lions until 2 September 2009, where Leckie was signed to Adelaide United for a two-year professional contract.

Adelaide United

He made his A-League debut on 18 September for Adelaide United coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute against Melbourne Victory. Leckie scored the winning goal in his first AFC Champions League match on 24 February 2010, against the reigning champions Pohang Steelers at Hindmarsh Stadium. He followed this up by scoring his second goal in as many games against Shandong Luneng in Adelaide's 2–0 win on Match Day 2 of the Champions League. Leckie was considered to be one of Australia's best young players. Leckie started the 2010–11 season with a bang, scoring twice in Adelaide's first five games, earning wide praise for his entertaining and robust style of play and winning the favour of the Australian U19 side for their competing in the 2010 AFC Under-19 championships.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

At the end of the A-League season he signed for German side Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his first goals for his new club with a double in a 5–2 friendly win against Aberdeen F.C., Aberdeen on 9 July 2011. In early 2013, he was loaned out to Frankfurt and has since scored 3 goals in only 2 appearances for the reserve team.

FSV Frankfurt

On 3 June 2013, Leckie made his loan move to FSV Frankfurt permanent, signing a three-year contract that would run until 2016. Leckie stated the move was made to maximise his personal development and to build on the successes of his first season spent at FSV on loan where he made 28 appearances and scored 4 goals.

FC Ingolstadt 04

On 7 May 2014, he signed a three-year contract with FC Ingolstadt 04. While playing for Ingolstadt, the club was promoted to the Bundesliga at the end of the 2014–15 season. In the 2015–16 Bundesliga season Leckie scored a goal against FC Augsburg, which was one of three goals he scored that season and one of the season's best goals.

Hertha BSC

On 22 May 2017, it was announced that Leckie had signed for Hertha BSC for the 2017–18 Bundesliga, 2017–18 season. He began his spell positively, appearing in many pre-season matches and assisting two goals in his first competitive appearance for the club in the first round of the DFB Pokal against Hansa Rostock. Leckie scored two goals on his debut for Hertha BSC on matchday one of the 2017–18 Bundesliga, 2017–18 Bundesliga season against VfB Stuttgart in a 2–0 home victory. After the game Leckie said: "It's probably one of the best weeks of my life, so I'm definitely a happy guy at the moment." Leckie scored his first European goal in a 3–2 away defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, 2017–18 Europa League on 23 November 2017. Since the 2019–20 Hertha BSC season, 2019–20 season, Leckie has played a combined total of thirteen matches in all competitions for Hertha (excluding his one appearance for Hertha BSC II in Regionalliga Nordost []), compared to his forty-eight in the previous two. Leckie has also scored zero goals in the latter two seasons and eight in the former. It was reported in early 2020 that Leckie wanted to leave Hertha BSC, with Leckie stating: "[I'll] do everything I can to leave," adding that "I wanted to leave [before this season] and I had the feeling a lot would change." In May 2020, Leckie decided to stay with Hertha BSC for another season when he stated on the Fox Football Podcast, "...so for family reasons I decided to stay here for another season."

Melbourne City FC

On 5 June 2021, it was announced that Leckie had signed a three-year deal to join Melbourne City FC. Leckie was awarded the Joe Marston Medal in the 2025 A-League Men Grand Final for Melbourne City as they defeated Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory 1–0 in the first ever Melbourne Derby (A-Leagues), Melbourne Derby grand final.

International career

In August 2009, Leckie was selected to represent Australia in the AFF U19 Youth Championship 2009, where he opened up the score-sheet in the 4–1 win over hosts, Vietnam, in the semi-finals. Mathew was called up to the Australia men's national under-20 soccer team#U-18, Australian Under-19s for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. Ex-Australian National Coach, Pim Verbeek, named Leckie in the 25 man Socceroos squad for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier against Indonesia. Leckie didn't make an appearance in the game which Australia won 1–0 to book their place in the Asian Cup. Ex-Australian national coach Holger Osieck included Leckie in the squad for the international friendly against the Republic of Korea on 14 November 2012. Leckie came on as a late substitution with only limited time on the ball. Australian National Coach, Ange Postecoglou, included Leckie in the squad for the international friendly against Costa Rica on 19 November 2013.

2014 World Cup

Leckie had an outstanding World Cup campaign resulting in pundits estimating his worth at $10 million. He was quoted saying he does not regret his decision to sign for German second division club FC Ingolstadt, recognising that he may have had offers from larger clubs following his World Cup performances. "So whether I could have maybe had other offers now after this World Cup if I hadn't signed, I never would have known."

2015 Asian Cup

Leckie was named as part of Australia's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad. He started Australia's first game of the tournament against Kuwait national football team, Kuwait, hitting the crossbar in the second half, and then providing the assist for James Troisi to score Australia's fourth goal of the match and helping Australia to a 4–1 win.

2017 Confederations Cup

Leckie took part in Australia's hopes of success in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2017 Confederations Cup after the squad was announced in May 2017. He started the first two group matches and came on as a Substitute (association football), substitute in the last group match in the 57th minute against Chile national football team, Chile.

2018 World Cup qualification

On 3 September 2015, Leckie scored his second goal for Australia, and his first since 2013, opening the scoring against Bangladesh national football team, Bangladesh in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round, 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier. On 5 September 2017, Leckie scored his 6th international goal for Australia against Thailand. In May 2018, he was named in Australia's 23-man Australia men's national soccer team, squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Captaincy

In May 2021, he was named the new captain of the Australia men's national soccer team, Socceroos, replacing the retired Mark Milligan. Later in 2021 Leckie withdrew indefinitely from the national team, due to hotel quarantine requirements imposed on overseas travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 World Cup

In November 2022, Leckie was included in the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2022 World Cup. In the third and final crucial group game against Denmark national football team, Denmark, he scored the winner in a 1–0 victory that ensured qualification to the round of 16.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Ingolstadt 04 * 2. Bundesliga: 2014–15 2. Bundesliga, 2014–15 Melbourne City *A-League Men Championship: 2025 A-League Men Grand Final, 2025 *A-League Men Premiership: 2021–22 A-League Men, 2021–22, 2022–23 A-League Men, 2022–23 Australia *AFC Asian Cup: 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 2015 Australia U-20 *AFC U-20 Asian Cup: runner-up 2010 AFC U-19 Championship, 2010 * AFF U-19 Youth Championship, AFF U19 Youth Championship: 2010 AFF U-19 Youth Championship, 2010 Individual * Adelaide United Rising Star: 2009–10 Adelaide United season, 2009–10 *A-Leagues All Stars Game, A-Leagues All Star: 2022 A-Leagues All Stars Game, 2022, 2024 A-Leagues All Stars Men game, 2024 * PFA Footballer of the Year Awards, PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2022–23 A-League Men, 2022–23

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leckie, Mathew 1991 births Australian people of Scottish descent Australia men's international soccer players A-League Men players A-League Men All-Stars Adelaide United FC players Borussia Mönchengladbach players Borussia Mönchengladbach II players FSV Frankfurt players FC Ingolstadt 04 players Hertha BSC players Melbourne City FC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Soccer players from Melbourne Living people AFC Asian Cup–winning players Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Australian men's soccer players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century Australian sportsmen