Ange, Nestor and co: These are the Aussies to follow in Europe

The Olympics are over. The Paris flame has been extinguished, which means it’s time to return to your regular sporting rhythms.

For football heads, the timing is delightful. The Premier League starts this weekend, as does Serie A and La Liga. The Bundesliga begins next weekend. The English Championship, which is filled to the brim with Aussies these days, is already under way.

And almost everywhere you look across Europe’s most important leagues these days, there’s a local storyline worth following; one, or more, of us doing something impressive.

We’ve picked the best ones to keep an eye on from a selfishly Australian/Socceroo perspective, and some choice matches early in the season to put in your diaries. (Note: this is focused on men’s football, as most women’s club competitions are still at least a month away.)

Ange’s second dig at Tottenham Hotspur

Ange Postecoglou and Son Heung-min.Credit: Getty Images

Ange Postecoglou is changing the way the rest of the world sees the Australian game. His first campaign as Tottenham Hotspur boss was a tale of two halves: they were unbeaten in their first 10 games, but a series of injuries, suspensions, international commitments and defensive catastrophes saw them slide to fifth on the ladder and miss qualification for the UEFA Champions League. While he might be widely adored, the reality of football at this level is that the pressure will come quickly on Postecoglou if Spurs don’t get off to a strong start, and the same fans who have been singing his praises will turn on him in an instant. Spurs have retooled on the transfer market, bringing in Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke - who seems a perfect fit for ‘Angeball’ - as well as Swedish wonderkid Lucas Bergvall and Leeds United’s teen sensation Archie Gray.

But their biggest improvement should come from within. History shows Postecoglou’s teams always get better with time, once his players have had enough of it to adjust to his high-octane tactics. Here’s a stat for you: Postecoglou has never failed to win a trophy in his second full season in any of his jobs, right back to his first coaching gig at South Melbourne in the old NSL. Winning the Premier League might take a little longer than that, but the Europa League looks there for the taking.

Don’t miss: The first North London derby of the season is at 11pm (AEST) on Sunday, September 15, when Tottenham host last term’s runners-up Arsenal. Stay up. Buy some No-Doz if you have to.

The ultimate Luong(o) shot pays off

Massimo Luongo celebrates Ipswich Town’s Championship victory.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images

Ange might have the dugout covered but as far as Australian players in the Premier League, it’s fairly slim pickings. But it would have been worse were it not for Ipswich Town, whose rise from League One to the top under manager Kieran McKenna over the last three years has been one of the best stories in English football. McKenna, 38, turned down reported interest from Chelsea, Brighton and Manchester United to stick with the ‘Tractor Boys’, who could field as many as two Aussies in their starting side: Socceroos defender Cameron Burgess and midfielder Massimo Luongo, who announced his international retirement in December so he could put all his focus on Ipswich’s push to win the Championship - a massive risk, which may yet cost him a World Cup appearance in 2026, but one that seems to be paying off for him.

Luongo was a total unknown when he became the breakout star of Australia’s 2015 Asian Cup win under Postecoglou, but injuries have derailed his club career to a heavy degree. Now 31, he had verbally agreed to retreat to the A-League and join Perth Glory when an opportunity to sign for Ipswich came out of nowhere. Two years later, he is set to play top-division football for the first time in his career, continuing an unlikely late-career renaissance.

Don’t miss: Welcome back to the Premier League, lads: here’s Liverpool in your first game, 9.30pm (AEST) on Saturday. At least they’re at home.

How quickly can Irankunda crack Bayern Munich?

Nestory Irankunda takes on Ange’s Spurs in a pre-season friendly.Credit: AP

It’s hard to imagine Nestory Irankunda’s first pre-season in Germany going any better. He reported for duty at Bayern Munich direct from earning his first Socceroos cap, having agreed to a life-changing transfer from Adelaide United late last year after establishing himself as Australia’s best male talent in decades. But there were concerns in some quarters, given the 18-year-old’s notoriously short fuse and occasional lack of application, that it was too much, too soon for him, and that going straight to such a big club was a mistake. It’s not looking that way right now. Irankunda may even find himself in the first-team picture imminently; at the weekend, he replaced Harry Kane in a pre-season friendly and smartly set up a goal. Just search his name on any social media platform and you’ll see just how highly thought of he is by fans already.

The question is whether new coach Vincent Kompany is prepared to stick his neck out by picking him for Saturday’s DFB-Pokal cup tie against SSV Ulm 1846, or if he wants to give Irankunda a run with Bayern’s reserves before blooding him at senior level. Either way, it seems he will be involved much sooner than anyone in Australia might have predicted. In retrospect, though, Irankunda’s freakish talent and frighteningly powerful ball-striking technique has always suggested the sky is the limit for him, so this shouldn’t come as a shock if you have been following along. Not since Harry Kewell at Liverpool has Australia had a male player featuring regularly for a club so prominent in global terms; if Nestor can be the next one, it’ll be a game-changer for the sport back home, and for Graham Arnold’s Socceroos, akin to stumbling upon a nuclear weapon.

Don’t miss: Bayern host last year’s surprise champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen at 2.30am (AEST) on Sunday, September 29 - maybe one for kick-ons at a post-AFL grand final party?

Germany’s coolest club are back, thanks to two Socceroos

Jackson Irvine (wearing the flag cape) appeared to be ‘on one’ at St. Pauli’s promotion party.Credit: dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

FC St. Pauli, the militantly left-wing, anti-fascist club from Hamburg you might have heard of, are in Germany’s Bundesliga for the first time since 2011, and two Australians have been at the heart of their comeback journey: Socceroos teammates Jackson Irvine, 31, and Connor Metcalfe, 24. Irvine’s personal vibe is a one-to-one match with this decidedly countercultural institution; he now wears their rainbow-pattered captain’s armband on a weekly basis. He was a bit that way before he arrived, but Metcalfe has now been fully indoctrinated too, judging by his choice of facial hair and tattoos. Both are important players for Australia and Graham Arnold will be hoping they both level-up in the top tier, although St. Pauli have a new manager in Alexander Blessin. He replaces 31-year-old coaching sensation Fabian Hürzeler, who was the driving force behind their return to the Bundesliga, and was subsequently poached by Brighton.

Don’t miss: Irvine and Metcalfe will hopefully have a Socceroos reunion with Nestory Irankunda on November 9 (time TBC) when St. Pauli host Bayern Munich at the Millerntor-Stadion.

Maty Ryan ticks another top-five league off his list

Can Maty Ryan become a regular fixture at AS Roma?Credit: AS Roma via Getty Images

Australia’s captain had spent the better part of three years riding the pine at Arsenal, Real Sociedad and FC Copenhagen until his arrival at Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, where he found regular football again. Now he has turned up at AS Roma, one of Italy’s biggest clubs, making it three out of Europe’s so-called top-five leagues he will have played on… assuming he gets on the park, of course, and therein lies the rub. Ryan has been given no guarantees by Roma boss Daniele De Rossi that he will be their number one goalkeeper, and he says he has not gone there to be a number two. Serbian Mile Svilar, however, has been groomed to become their first-choice custodian and appears to have the edge over Ryan in their pre-season jostling. If Ryan, 32, can supplant him, that would be huge for Australian football and the Socceroos as they look to tackle a difficult road to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. If he can’t, his spot in the national team could be at risk if one of his rivals - say, Joe Gauci at Aston Villa or Denmark-based Paul Izzo - has a run of good form.

Don’t miss: The first Rome derby isn’t until January, but the first showdown with a big club in Serie A is the visit to Juventus on September 2 (that’s a 4.45am AEST on a Monday, very doable).

Alessandro Circati steps up to the big time

Alessandro Circati has admirers at some very big clubs.Credit: Getty Images

There’s another Socceroo with a chance of a regular role in Serie A this season: Alessandro Circati. Born in Italy, Circati grew up in Australia after moving there when he was a year old because his father Gianfranco, also a professional footballer, was signed by Perth Glory. He joined the Glory’s academy at 14, and then made the shift to Parma, the club of his father’s hometown, in 2021. Last season, he made 32 appearances at centre-back for Parma as they won promotion to Italy’s Serie A; they haven’t played in the top division since going bankrupt in 2015, forcing the club to climb all the way back up the football pyramid from the fourth tier. Circati, 20, is very highly rated and is reportedly being monitored by Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Everton and Brentford, so this might not be his ceiling. If he can carve out a regular role for Parma this season, Graham Arnold will be forced to find room for him in Australia’s starting XI.

Don’t miss: Parma take on fellow promoted side Como 1907 (yes, as in Lake Como) on October 20, and surely, there can’t be too many better away trips in world football.

Pompey: Australia’s new favourite team

Kusini Yengi leads a three-strong Aussie contingent at Portsmouth this season.Credit: Getty Images

Not since the heady days of the late 1990s has there been such a strong Aussie flavour at Portsmouth. Back then, Terry Venables was initially still juggling Socceroos coaching duties when he became manager of this English south coast club, and he ushered in an Aussie invasion, bringing in the likes of John Aloisi, Robbie Enes, Craig Foster, Hamilton Thorp and Paul Harries to varying success. This time, the trigger man is John Mousinho, the English coach who has gone on record as declaring the A-League an “undervalued” market for players; we’ve been saying that for years, it’s nice to finally be noticed, thank you. Last season, Mousinho signed ex-Western Sydney Wanderers striker Kusini Yengi, who proved an instant hit and helped spearhead their promotion from League One to the Championship. (They also had the impressive Alex Robertson on loan from Manchester City; he’s since moved permanently to Pompey’s new second-tier rivals Cardiff City). Now Yengi will be joined by former Central Coast Mariners full-back Jacob Farrell and his ex-teammate Sam Silvera (on loan from Middlesbrough) as they aim to reach the Premier League for the first time since 2010.

Don’t miss: Portsmouth are at home to relegated Premier League side Luton Town for their second match on Saturday night (9.30pm AEST), which will be an early measure of their ability to compete for higher honours this season.