.jpg) Leckie withHertha BSC in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mathew Allan Leckie[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1991-02-04)4 February 1991 (age 35)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Melbourne,Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | 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 | 73 | (18) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Australia U20 | 13 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012– | Australia | 78 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 Nov 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17:25, 30 November 2022 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Mathew Allan Leckie (born 4 February 1991) is an Australiansoccer player who plays forA-League clubMelbourne City and theAustralian national team (for whom, he previously captained).[3] 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[4] and even as a wing-back.[5]
As a child growing up inMelbourne'sWestern Suburbs, Leckie actually aspired to playAustralian rules football, his family supportingEssendon andBox Hill, however at 11 years old a change to a school inSunshine North with a more multicultural student body and close friends inspired him to take up football and he "never looked back".[6]
Leckie was a member ofVictorian State League Division 1 outfit,Bulleen Lions until 2 September 2009, where Leckie was signed to Adelaide United for a two-year professional contract.[7]
.jpg)
He made his A-League debut on 18 September for Adelaide United coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute against Melbourne Victory.[8]
Leckie scored the winning goal in his firstAFC Champions League match on 24 February 2010, against the reigning champions Pohang Steelers at Hindmarsh Stadium.[9] He followed this up by scoring his second goal in as many games againstShandong Luneng in Adelaide's 2–0 win on Match Day 2 of the Champions League.[10] Leckie was considered to be one of Australia's best young players.[11] 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.
At the end of the A-League season he signed for German sideBorussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his first goals for his new club with a double in a 5–2 friendly win againstAberdeen 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.
On 3 June 2013, Leckie made his loan move toFSV 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.[12]
On 7 May 2014, he signed a three-year contract withFC Ingolstadt 04.[13] While playing for Ingolstadt, the club was promoted to the Bundesliga at the end of the 2014–15 season.[14] In the2015–16 Bundesliga season Leckie scored a goal againstFC Augsburg, which was one of three goals he scored that season and one of the season's best goals.
.jpg)
On 22 May 2017, it was announced that Leckie had signed forHertha BSC for the2017–18 season.[15] 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 theDFB Pokal againstHansa Rostock.[16] Leckie scored two goals on his debut for Hertha BSC on matchday one of the2017–18 Bundesliga season againstVfB Stuttgart in a 2–0 home victory.[17] 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."[16]
Leckie scored his first European goal in a 3–2 away defeat toAthletic Bilbao in the2017–18 Europa League on 23 November 2017.[18]
Since the2019–20 season, Leckie has played a combined total of thirteen matches in all competitions for Hertha (excluding his one appearance forHertha BSC II inRegionalliga Nordost [IV]), 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."[19] 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."[20]
On 5 June 2021, it was announced that Leckie had signed a three-year deal to joinMelbourne City FC.[21]
Leckie was awarded theJoe Marston Medal in the2025 A-League Men Grand Final for Melbourne City as they defeatedMelbourne Victory 1–0 in the first everMelbourne Derby grand final.[22]
In August 2009, Leckie was selected to represent Australia in theAFF U19 Youth Championship 2009, where he opened up the score-sheet in the 4–1 win over hosts, Vietnam, in the semi-finals.[23]Mathew was called up to theAustralian Under-19s for the2010 AFC U-19 Championship.
Ex-Australian National Coach,Pim Verbeek, named Leckie in the 25 man Socceroos squad for theAFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier against Indonesia.[24] Leckie didn't make an appearance in the game which Australia won 1–0 to book their place in the Asian Cup.[25]
.jpg)
Ex-Australian national coachHolger 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.
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."[26]
Leckie was named as part of Australia's2015 AFC Asian Cup squad.[27][28] He started Australia's first game of the tournament againstKuwait, hitting the crossbar in the second half, and then providing the assist forJames Troisi to score Australia's fourth goal of the match and helping Australia to a 4–1 win.[29]
Leckie took part in Australia's hopes of success in the2017 Confederations Cup after the squad was announced in May 2017.[30][31] He started the first two group matches and came on as asubstitute in the last group match in the 57th minute againstChile.
On 3 September 2015, Leckie scored his second goal for Australia, and his first since 2013, opening the scoring againstBangladesh in a2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[32] On 5 September 2017, Leckie scored his 6th international goal for Australia against Thailand.
In May 2018, he was named in Australia's 23-mansquad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[33]
In May 2021, he was named the new captain of theSocceroos, replacing the retiredMark Milligan. Later in 2021 Leckie withdrew indefinitely from the national team, due to hotel quarantine requirements imposed on overseas travelers due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[3][34]
In November 2022, Leckie was included in the squad for the2022 World Cup.[35] In the third and final crucial group game againstDenmark, he scored the winner in a 1–0 victory that ensured qualification to the round of 16.[36]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bulleen Royals | 2008[39] | Victorian State League Division 1 | 11 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| Bulleen Lions | 2009[40] | 16 | 14 | — | — | 16 | 14 | |||
| Total | 27 | 15 | — | — | 27 | 15 | ||||
| Adelaide United | 2009–10 | A-League | 20 | 3 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | 15 | 5 | — | 6[b] | 2 | 21 | 7 | |||
| Total | 35 | 8 | — | 6 | 2 | 41 | 10 | |||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 2011–12 | Regionalliga West | 10 | 3 | — | — | 10 | 3 | ||
| FSV Frankfurt | 2012–13 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 30 | 5 | |
| 2013–14 | 31 | 10 | 2 | 2 | — | 33 | 12 | |||
| Total | 59 | 14 | 4 | 3 | — | 63 | 17 | |||
| FSV Frankfurt II | 2012–13 | Regionalliga Südwest | 5 | 4 | — | — | 5 | 4 | ||
| FC Ingolstadt | 2014–15 | 2. Bundesliga | 32 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 7 | |
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| Total | 94 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | 96 | 10 | |||
| Hertha BSC | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | 29 | 6 |
| 2018–19 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 68 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 75 | 8 | ||
| Hertha BSC II | 2019–20 | Regionalliga Nordost | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Melbourne City | 2021–22 | A-League Men | 23 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 26 | 10 |
| 2022–23 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | 24 | 8 | |||
| 2023–24 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| Total | 58 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 67 | 19 | ||
| Career total | 366 | 78 | 19 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 396 | 86 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 12 | 3 | |
| 2018 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 79 | 14 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 October 2013 | Craven Cottage,London, England | 4 |  Canada | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 3 September 2015 | Perth Oval,Perth, Australia | 26 |  Bangladesh | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 4 June 2016 | Stadium Australia,Sydney, Australia | 31 |  Greece | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 23 March 2017 | PAS Stadium,Teheran, Iran | 38 |  Iraq | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 28 March 2017 | Sydney Football Stadium,Sydney, Australia | 39 |  United Arab Emirates | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 6 | 5 September 2017 | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium,Melbourne, Australia | 46 |  Thailand | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| 7 | 1 June 2018 | NV Arena,Sankt Pölten, Austria | 52 |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 8 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 9 | 20 November 2018 | Stadium Australia,Sydney, Australia | 59 |  Lebanon | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 10 | 10 September 2019 | Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City, Kuwait | 62 |  Kuwait | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 12 | 3 June 2021 | Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait | 64 | Kuwait | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 13 | 11 June 2021 | Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait | 65 |  Nepal | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 14 | 30 November 2022 | Al Janoub Stadium,Al Wakrah, Qatar | 76 |  Denmark | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
Ingolstadt 04
Melbourne City
Australia
Australia U-20
Individual
I've played striker in the past.
Australia squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
