Irvine says St. Pauli ready 'to rock' the Bundesliga
St. Pauli captain Jackson Irvine said his side is not in the Bundesliga simply to make up the numbers this season, promising an exciting brand of football that will ‘rock the league’.
Speaking on the eve of his side's opening Bundesliga match, against last season’s surprise package Heidenheim, the Socceroos star said excitement is high among the Kiezkicker squad.
“It’s unbelievably exciting,” Irvine said. “It’s a huge opportunity for myself and the club. The chance to test ourselves at the highest level of football in this country. We worked so hard to get here and we want to show that we’re good enough to be here.”
Asked what fans can look forward to about watching St. Pauli this season, the 31 year-old was emphatic: “St. Pauli’s a unique brand of football,” he said. “It’s a one-of-a-kind club, especially here in Germany.
“We haven’t been in this league in a long time and we’re here to kind of rock the league a little bit.
“I think that’s an exciting prospect for anyone who wants to watch us play this year.”
St. Pauli’s assignment faces a challenging start, against an opponent Irvine and his team-mates will be very familiar with.
Led by the longest-serving coach in German professional football, Frank Schmidt, Heidenheim was promoted ahead of the 23/24 season. Playing an attacking and direct brand of football, Der Dino defied expectations to finish eighth in the Bundesliga last season, earning a Europa Conference League play-off berth in the process.
Irvine acknowledged the enormity of the task facing his side, as it looks to emulate the feats of its round 1 opponent.
When asked about the difference between the two divisions, he said: “just more quality. Everything’s five yards quicker, five yards sharper, the touch is better, you have less time with the ball and you’re punished more harshly when you make a mistake by better players.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Irvine’s club and national team-mate Connor Metcalfe, who marked the start of the new campaign by extending his deal at the Hamburg club.
“Just the quality that all these teams have,” Metcalfe said. “You know, playing in the second Bundesliga was hard enough and now we’re going to be playing against players who are on the world class level week in, week out.
“When it comes to taking chances and if you make a mistake, you’ll get punished.
“Obviously Schalke, Hamburg and Berlin, they’re massive clubs. But we’re going to be facing clubs that have been doing it for years and years and years, so I think the experience that these guys have is just going to be very difficult to match.”
Despite the step up in quality, Irvine is adamant his team will thrive under more intense scrutiny, having ended a 13-year wait for a return to the top flight last season.
“We know it’s going to be different,” he said. “It’s going to be a totally different challenge and we’re wary of that.
“But overall, as I said, we worked so hard to get this opportunity and now everyone’s just so excited to get started and really prove that we’re good enough to compete and play week in, week out at this level.”
Of keen interest to both Socceroos stars will be the progress of their countryman, Nestory Irankunda, at Bayern Munich.
The 18 year-old produced a number of eye-catching performances for Vincent Kompany’s men in the pre-season and will hope to garner some first team experience this season.
“It’s the beginning of what’s hopefully going to be an unbelievably exciting journey,” Irvine said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of his story early on in his career, scoring his first goal for the national team in the international break in the Summer.
“He’s a huge talent, he’s gone into one of the best environments you can be in football and he’s going to be learning and playing with the best players in the world.
“For Australian football and footballers to see him on that stage it’s only going to be good things for the game in our country.”
