There will be blood (but no lollies): The 1 percenters driving Popovic’s Socceroos

Jackson Irvine has given plenty of sweat and tears to the Socceroos’ cause over the years – and now, finally, blood.

It wasn’t spilled on the field but rather drawn from his arm while at his club FC St. Pauli, as advised by coach Tony Popovic and the national team’s new dietician Julie Meek, to help further understand his body, how it works and what to feed it to reach peak performance.

The gains are marginal, but they add up. Such is the Popovic revolution and the finer details he insists upon, from nutrition to sleep and everything in between.

At 32, Irvine is one of the older dogs in the current Australian set-up, but not so old he isn’t open to learning new tricks in accord with whatever his blood test results dictate.

“I’ve tried to adapt things into my life and game to make myself better as well. You can’t stand still in football,” he said.

“There’s always young guys performing that are ready to come in and take that next step. I’ve been a part of this team a long time, but if you want to remain a part of it, you’ve got to be able to adapt and change and improve, and I’m constantly looking to try and do that as well.

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic.Credit: Getty Images

“Even at club level, taking on a new challenge this year, I’ve looked for any per cent that I can add to my game, to my life, to make sure that I’m playing at my very best.”

For players like Irvine, who are fairly new to Popovic’s hardline methods, playing under him can be a difficult adjustment, particularly the finicky focus on food and drink, which has led to notorious prohibitions on things like bacon (when he was at the Western Sydney Wanderers) and now pasta sauce and lollies within Socceroos camp.

These things, Popovic insists, are essential for players to reach the “elite level” he is demanding of them and are the difference between those who can turn up and play well and those who can do that and then do it again four or five days later after a long-haul flight somewhere across Europe or Asia.

Is it working? Well, Irvine has played every minute of every match for his club in the German Bundesliga, and save for the last 30 minutes against Bahrain, every moment of Popovic’s six-month tenure in charge of the Socceroos.

Jackson Irvine is having a career-best season in Germany.Credit: Getty Images

This is, by far, the best season of his career and at the highest level he’s ever played at.

“Obviously, the things that I’m doing are working, but you need to continue to build on that,” he said. “You don’t just want to be able to do it. You want to be able to do it stronger, better, perform, push yourself even further.”

For those like Jason Davidson, who is past the initial “culture shock”, as he described it, a degree of amusement is sourced from watching other players what he went through years ago when he played under Popovic for the first time.

Then, at Perth Glory, Popovic brought Davidson to the A-League for the first time back in 2018.

It’s been a long time between drinks for Jason Davidson.Credit: Getty Images

“Yeah, I’ve got a few stories,” Davidson said with a grin.

“He gave me a phone call. I was in Croatia at the time on loan, and yeah, let’s say the call didn’t go as I expected. I thought he was going to try and persuade me to come back, and he was just telling me everything he expected from me in a very direct way. That was something that I had never been used to, someone just being so direct.

“But I thought ‘OK, he’s being honest,’ so I took that gamble, and I’m very happy that I made that decision because that kind of changed my career.”

Popovic signed Davidson for a second time at Melbourne Victory and has now called him up for the first time on the back of his consistent form at Greek club Panserraikos.

Each time they have worked together, Davidson reckons he has become more demanding.

In fact, he described his attention to detail as “nothing like I’ve ever had”, which is some statement considering Davidson was part of the team that won the 2015 Asian Cup under Ange Postecoglou.

Most of the stories about Popovic, particularly when it comes to policing what players eat and drink, are true, he said.

“He just wants discipline - and I understand him because when this is your job, and this is your livelihood, your body is your tool, so you need to maximise everything possible,” Davidson said.

“One per cent here, one per cent there … little details about meals and lollies or sugar or whatever it is, or sleeping - anything that can help. Obviously, it’s the third time now with him, so it’s something that I enjoy. It pushes you, and I know it comes from a good place with him because he wants that for his players and his staff because he expects that from himself as well.”

Given Australia’s defensive injury crisis, Davidson could play an important role as either centre-back or left wing-back on Thursday night against Indonesia at Allianz Stadium or in China five days later - two matches the Socceroos must win to keep their direct qualification hopes alive for the 2026 World Cup.

“I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t make any squads after that because I was playing regularly in Belgium,” he said. “The boss [Popovic] got the opportunity now, and then I thought, OK, I’ve worked under him, but who knows? I never really thought about it much more than that. To get that call … it was a proud moment for me.”

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