The motivation of Aaron Mooy
Aaron Mooy is not a big talker off the pitch. Well, not to the media anyway.
He prefers his football to do the talking on the pitch.
But in his press conference on day five of Australia’s pre-World Cup preparation, he gave us a very small glimpse into his mindset before the FIFA World Cup 2022 Playoffs that ultimately decided the Socceroos qualification fate.
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Without a club at the time and training on his own following a COVID affected stint in China, Mooy was asked where his mind frame was, and what motivated him to continue.
He gave a surprisingly revealing answer.
“Probably the little boy inside of me that started playing football, that's probably what motivated me,” he said.
Mooy didn’t give too much away in that moment, but it did reveal in its most simplistic form why we all love the game.
It’s that little boy or girl inside of us all that dreams of scoring the winning goal, making the game saving tackle, standing tall on the decisive save, playing in a World Cup.
“Always the World Cup was, we were close to qualifying,” added Mooy.
“And then yeah, we got to the playoff games, which was so important.
“I knew that if I was going to be involved, I didn't want to let anyone down. So that was another big motivation for me.”
He didn’t want to let anyone down. Who of any of us wants to let anyone down?
Both of his reasons for motivation are that simple and that relatable and it sums up Aaron Mooy the player.
He is fuelled by an innocent love for the beautiful game, fostered as a child. He is reliable. A facilitator, he tries to bring his teammates into the game, but he is also capable of breaking a match wide open with a venomous strike.
The Celtic midfielder has World Cup and UEFA Champions League experience, and is now one of the wiser heads in this Socceroos squad with over 50 caps.
He doesn’t talk much off the pitch, not publicly anyway, and comes across as shy or intensely focussed.
But he is sharing what he knows with the younger players in camp, and has led by example by committing himself to remaining fit and ready without a club to play a part back in June.
“We're lucky to be here, there's only 26 of us,” he said.
“When you put the jersey on, you’ve got the responsibility to do the best for the nation.
"So yeah, I do speak to the lads.
"Sometimes we have little chats, and I might give them a few pointers or something.
“But I'm not a dancer and screaming, shouting at people, not that type of guy.
“I'm not much of a big talker around everyone.
“Everyone knows that that knows me.
“But I just try and do the right things off the pitch (and) on the pitch.
“And yeah, I don't like to talk about myself. I just try and play well and then hopefully that inspires people.”