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Former Socceroos coach and current Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou believes midfielder Aaron Mooy will be crucial to Australia’s success at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Mooy, who joined Celtic in July, is starting to find his groove with the Scottish champions, having played the full 90 minutes in the past three SPL matches.
The 32-year-old started all three group stage games under Bert Van Marwijk at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and is likely to be one of the first names on Graham Arnold’s team sheet in Qatar.
After missing all of Celtic’s pre-season, Postecoglou has been impressed at how quickly Mooy has regained full fitness since a frustrating two-year stint in the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Port FC.
“It was going to take him a little time to get up to speed and I’ve been really pleased with how quick that’s happened to be honest,” Postecoglou told SBS Sport.
“I’ve been thinking he would probably hit these levels after the World Cup, but he’s really worked hard within the environment to get himself right.”
“The one thing when I was national team manager, you really understand that players having good form and being in good physical fitness leading into games is really important. Sometimes, particularly for a nation like us, that’s not always the case.”
“The ones who are fit and are in good form become really important and the great thing about Aaron being one of those players is that he’s experienced and not one of the younger ones.”
Mooy is one of 13 Australian players currently plying their trade in the Scottish Premier League with fellow World Cup hopefuls Aziz Behich, Nathaniel Atkinson, Cam Devlin, Martin Boyle, Ryan Strain, Kye Rowles, Keanu Baccus and Ryan McGowan also featuring regularly in the SPL.
“The key for them is they are getting match minutes,” Postecoglou said about Australia’s SPL contingent.
“We know that’s so important for Australian football. A lot of them end up at clubs and don’t get a lot of match minutes in Europe particularly. The fact these guys are playing, I think it will be a bonus for Arnie.”
Postecoglou will be in Australia during the early stages of the FIFA World Cup with Celtic to face Everton and Sydney FC as part of the Sydney Super Cup with European leagues on hold during football’s showpiece event.
The 57-year-old will also conduct a series of speaking events during his visit to Australia with his experience leading the Socceroos at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil to be a prominent feature.
“It was just a special experience and for me the overriding thing I guess is one of missed opportunities,” Postecoglou said.
