Mathew Leckie finds himself in contention to lead Socceroos

Mathew Leckie finds it hard to believe he is a contender to captain the Socceroos.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, right, with Mathew Leckie, during a training session in Brisbane earlier this week. Picture: AAP

Mathew Leckie would have settled for just being a Socceroo, so he still finds it hard to believe he’s a genuine contender to captain his country.

Growing up in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Leckie, like every other talented young footballer, dreamt of representing his nation.

And since achieving that goal at senior level in 2012, Leckie has never taken his next cap for granted.

But 57 Socceroos appearances and two World Cups later, it’s fair to say the 27-year-old winger is entrenched in Australia’s best XI.

National coach Graham Arnold confirmed as much recently when he mentioned Leckie among the candidates to replace Mile Jedinak as Socceroos captain.

Leckie, who plays his club football in Germany with Hertha Berlin, may even wear the captain’s armband tomorrow night when Australia host South Korea at Suncorp Stadium.

Other players in contention to captain the Socceroos at January’s Asian Cup include Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Mat Ryan and Robbie Kruse.

For Leckie, any of those players are worthy, and to be named among them fills him with pride. “You dream as a kid to be a Socceroo,” Leckie said.

“I’ve been very privileged and honoured to represent the country so much, and I love every game and every moment.

“I never would have thought the opportunity to be a captain for a game would be there, but if it would come around it would be something that I would take very seriously and just cherish.

“Arnie’s going to make the decision after these camps. I’m sure he’ll pick the best player for the job.

“We don’t really have one leader, it’s more just a collective thing, and the mentality and workrate in camp is always great.

“It’s always nice coming into camp. We’ve got a good group and it’s always good fun.”

Leckie has endured a tough start to the season at club level in Germany, with a knee injury putting him on the sidelines for two months.

It has led to him being among the substitutes too often for his liking since returning to action for Hertha in late September.

“I haven’t played as much as I would have loved to, but that’s football,” said Leckie, who has made just four appearances, all off the bench, during the 2018-19 Bundesliga season.

“The team’s started well, and the boys playing at the moment are doing the job, so I just need to wait for my opportunity and be patient, and that’s what I’m doing.”