Jackson Irvine’s dad, Steve, is extremely proud of his son and his achievements in the game and indeed for his country.
The recently turned 30-year-old has been a regular in the national team set-up since 2016, appearing at two FIFA World Cups and an AFC Asian Cup in the process after debuting in October 2013 against Canada.
His role and status within the team has only increased in the past few years, transforming into a pivotal cog in the Australia midfield under Graham Arnold.
Following Australia’s 3-1 friendly win over Ecuador in Sydney last month, captain Maty Ryan would be unavailable for the subsequent clash at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, providing an opportunity for Joe Gauci to make his debut.
It meant a new stand-in captain was required for the clash with Graham Arnold deciding to bestow the honour to the hometown hero.
It was certainly a fitting moment for the Melbourne-born midfielder, who wore the armband with immense pride, while demonstrating his strong leadership qualities.
Irvine had amassed 54 caps prior to being named the 63rd captain in Socceroos history.
Steve revealed how he found out about the news speaking to Socceroos.com.au at a pre-match family and friends’ function across the road from the venue.
“Well he got a knock in the first game, so he had to stay in Sydney and get some treatment,” he recalled.
“And then he was actually supposed to come down Sunday morning.
“But Graham Arnold said, if you can get a flight, you can come back there and see your family, which was fantastic.
“So I picked him up at the airport, we were on our way back and we got home and Danielle, my wife, we made some dinner we sat down he said, ‘Oh, there might be an opportunity for me to be captain on Tuesday, because Maty is not playing.
“And he said it was a dream come true (to have the opportunity to captain the team).
“When he got his first cap it was 2013 by the way… He said I want to play 50 games for the country and then my next ambition is to captain the country… It's his dream come true.”
Steve discussed how impressed he has been with Jackson’s career and form over the last few years and said remaining patient has been key to his success.
He revealed he relayed some of that advice to fellow Socceroos parents, whose sons were in the squad but did not see any minutes on the pitch, insisting their time will come.
“I was speaking to a few parents in Qatar whose sons never got an opportunity in the World Cup that had been a part of the squad,” he continued.
“And Jackson was out for a long time as I said 2013 when he made his debut, but he came on for Mile Jedinak.
“So you've got these guys who are at their prime, so you just got to bide your time and wait for it and even in the World Cup in Russia, he was a big part of the squad and came on every game but never started a game.
“So since then he's established himself in the midfield and for club and country he's doing really well at the moment.”
At club level, Jackson is certainly thriving and recently experienced a 10-game winning streak with FC St Pauli in the 2. Bundesliga, propelling them up the table as they push for promotion.
Steve believes his move to Germany has further improved him both technically and tactically.
In the 2022/23 campaign, he has eight goals in 29 matches.
“I think since he moved to move to Germany, I think it's a different game from playing in the Championship when he played over 100 games for Hull and I went and watched a few of the games,” he revealed.
“It's a bit more physical, whereas in Germany it's a bit more technical and the coaching and he said every minute of every game you know what you're supposed to do.
“I think he's blossomed with that because he's got this reputation of being box-to-box but I think he's quite comfortable on the ball as well.
“So I think St Pauli has brought that out of him as well.”
