Socceroo John Iredale on leaving Sydney FC at 17 for Heerenveen, two injuries before 22, Wolfsburg II, the 2. Bundesliga and the K League 1.
John grew up at Gladesville Hornsby, came through Marconi and Blacktown City, and joined the Sydney FC youth setup at 16. Training with the A-League squad, he even scored twice in a friendly at right back, but with Bobo and David Carney ahead of him he chose a move to SC Heerenveen's under-18s in the Netherlands over waiting for minutes as a striker.
In his first year in Europe he could not do a single pull-up. By the end of 2018 he was in Heerenveen's Eredivisie preseason and Graham Arnold's first Socceroos squad at 19. Then came the U20 Asian Cup, a stress fracture, six months out and the end of his contract. John explains how a trial at VfB Stuttgart led to Wolfsburg II, playing alongside Omar Marmoush and Anton Stach, and how a second injury, COVID and missing the Olympics shaped his move to Paderborn and his promotion with Wehen Wiesbaden.
He talks openly about strength and conditioning starting too late in Australia, investing in recovery and mental coaching before things go wrong, why Germany's league ladder means fewer players fall through the gaps, and life and football in South Korea. Plus Mesut Özil, Martin Ødegaard and scoring his first Socceroos goal in Canberra.
