Aaron Mooy is a man of few words but there’s every chance he could have the biggest say in how the Socceroos perform at this World Cup.
As Graham Arnold puts it, Mooy is a lead-by-actions guy who “doesn’t say boo”. That seemingly applies even when there’s only positives to discuss, as is the case right now amid his stunning career resurgence at Celtic under Ange Postecoglou.
“I don’t like to talk about myself,” a smiling Mooy squirmed as he spoke with Australian media in Doha, four days out from the Socceroos date with destiny and reigning World champions France.
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“I’m not much of a big talker around the room. Everyone that knows me knows that. But I just try and do the right things off the pitch and on the pitch … just try and play well and then hopefully I can inspire people.”
The fact Mooy has gone from being clubless and training in a park by himself to starting against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in the space of four months should suffice as inspiration for his Socceroos teammates.
And with a stack of star teammates battling injury and struggling for game time, quiet maestro Mooy represents exactly what Australia needs right now — fit and firing world class talent — and the potential gamebreaker against France with fellow midfielders Martin Boyle (knee) and Ajdin Hrustic (ankle) under injury clouds.
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Mooy’s club career was in limbo after Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG activated his release clause when he took the bold move to train by himself outside of China to prepare for June’s World Cup qualifiers.
Many questioned Mooy’s move from England to China, where he earned a reported $100,000 a week and while it became a frustrating experience, he has no regrets.
“It was something different in my career .. and I played with some of the best players I’ve played with over there,” Mooy said.
“So there’s quality over there but the only difficult thing was the Covid restrictions and everything was difficult on my family because they couldn’t come so I was doing long periods without seeing them.
“But yeah, I enjoyed that experience and it is cool to live in Shanghai. It’s an amazing city. It’s something I can always look back on in life and said I did.”
Postecoglou pounced on the “unique” situation of one Australia’s best being a free agent and it’s proved a timely reunion for the Socceroos.
After a slow start Mooy has grown into an important first team player featuring regularly in both the Scottish domestic league and Champions League – the perfect preparation for facing France’s star-studded squad spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe.
“It’s a testing place to be every day,” Mooy said of Celtic.
“We go in with the boys and train a hundred mile an hour. That’s the way Ange likes it and there’s no days where it’s just chill. So it’s intense and it’s a good place to be.”
Someone getting a result against France on Wednesday (AEDT) would go along way to helping Australia
“We want to surprise a few people. That’s the goal,” Mooy said.
“We wanna play well and get points. There’s no point being here if you don’t believe that.”
