Langerak focusing on making new memories at Melbourne Victory
Back home at Melbourne Victory, Mitch Langerak says he’s had no second thoughts about his international retirement, his focus instead on creating new, special memories at AAMI Park.
Back home between the posts at Melbourne Victory, Mitch Langerak says he’s had no second thoughts about his international retirement, content to remain a Socceroos supporter as he focuses on creating new, special memories at AAMI Park, starting with a first-ever Melbourne Derby on Saturday evening.
After spending 15 years across Germany, Spain, and Japan, Langerak returned to where his professional career began in January, signing a deal through to the end of the 2025-26 season after a record-breaking stint with J1 League side Nagoya Grampus. And his impact has been immediate, too, his shot-stopping prowess and command of his penalty area helping to keep three clean sheets in three wins across his first four starts.
Though closing the book on his international career ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 36-year-old’s standout start to life in Melbourne, combined with his exemplary work in Japan and the arrival of Tony Popovic and goalkeeping coach Frank Juric at the Socceroos, begs the question about a return to the international fold.
Admittedly, much of this speculation is born from a place of wishful thinking from supporters hopeful he’ll add to his seven caps rather than anything that Langerak or national team staff have said, and speaking to media on Thursday, the goalkeeper reiterated that he was quite happy to keep his focus on domestic duties.
"No, I'm retired," he said. "I'm happy to be a Socceroos supporter. I'm happy to be watching the boys, and having my fingers crossed every match for the right results.
"And I'm sure they're going to qualify and qualify comfortably, and I'm really looking forward to watching them.
"I think it was the right time for me to call time, and it's also great to watch the next generation of keepers come through.
“I'd love to win some silverware here at the club; be involved in something special and create new memories and new moments.”
One new memory that Langerak will make this weekend is the experience of playing in a Melbourne Derby; his three seasons with Victory at the start of his career all came prior to Melbourne Heart’s entrance into the competition.
That’s not to say he’s going in completely blind, though, having followed the league from afar during his time abroad and played in quite a few heated rivalries during his stints with Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, and Nagoya Grampus – the Baden-Württemberg-Derby rivalry between Stuttgart and Karlsruher particularly notable.
“They're the games you want to play in as a player,” said Langerak. “It's something I'm looking forward to, and I'm sure all our supporters are looking forward to the match. Come tomorrow night, I'm sure there's going to be fireworks.
“I've obviously been watching over all the years and seen all the games. It's going to be a fiery game like it always has been. It's a game I'm looking forward to.”
Indeed, that Langerak has logged appearances against North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United and not the likes of City/Heart or the Western Sydney Wanderers speaks to the generational change that the league has undergone in his absence.
And he’s certainly noticed some changes.
“Oh, the level is unreal. It's fast, it's exciting, the players are very technical,” said Langerak. “We say physical, but when I say that I mean the speed and the agility of the players, it's really gone up a notch.
“You can see in the training, it's very, very intense. And I'm sure most of the clubs in the A-League are doing the same, similar sort of training with that intensity and that physicality.”