Mathew Leckie

Early life

As a child growing up in Melbourne's Western Suburbs, Leckie actually aspired to play Australian rules football, his family supporting Essendon and Box Hill, however at 11 years old a change to a school in Sunshine North with a more multicultural student body and close friends inspired him to take up football and he "never looked back". Leckie was a member of Victorian State League Division 1 outfit, Bulleen Lions until 2 September 2009, where Leckie was signed to Adelaide United for a two-year professional contract.

Adelaide United

He made his A-League debut on 18 September for Adelaide United coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute against Melbourne Victory. Leckie scored the winning goal in his first AFC Champions League match on 24 February 2010, against the reigning champions Pohang Steelers at Hindmarsh Stadium. He followed this up by scoring his second goal in as many games against Shandong Luneng in Adelaide's 2–0 win on Match Day 2 of the Champions League. Leckie was considered to be one of Australia's best young players. Leckie started the 2010–11 season with a bang, scoring twice in Adelaide's first five games, earning wide praise for his entertaining and robust style of play and winning the favour of the Australian U19 side for their competing in the 2010 AFC Under-19 championships.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

At the end of the A-League season he signed for German side Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his first goals…

In August 2009, Leckie was selected to represent Australia in the AFF U19 Youth Championship 2009, where he opened up the score-sheet in the 4–1 win over hosts, Vietnam, in the semi-finals. Mathew was called up to the Australian Under-19s for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. In February 2010, ex-Australian National Coach, Pim Verbeek, named Leckie in the 25 man Socceroos squad for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier against Indonesia. Leckie didn't make an appearance in the game which Australia won 1–0 to book their place in the Asian Cup.

Ex-Australian national coach Holger Osieck included Leckie in the squad for the international friendly against the Republic of Korea on 14 November 2012. Leckie came on as a late substitution with only limited time on the ball. Australian National Coach, Ange Postecoglou, included Leckie in the squad for the international friendly against Costa Rica on 19 November 2013.

2014 World Cup

Leckie had an outstanding World Cup campaign resulting in pundits estimating his worth at $10 million. He was quoted saying he does not regret his decision to sign for German second division club FC Ingolstadt, recognising that he may have had offers from larger clubs following his World Cup performances. "So whether I could have maybe had other offers now after this World Cup if I hadn't signed, I never would have known."

2015 Asian Cup

Leckie was named as part of Australia's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad. He started Australia's first game of the…

Club

As of match played 5 May 2024

International

As of match played 19 June 2026

As of match played 30 November 2022. Australia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Leckie goal.

Ingolstadt 04

2. Bundesliga: 2014–15 Melbourne City

A-League Men Championship: 2025 A-League Men Premiership: 2021–22, 2022–23 Australia

AFC Asian Cup: 2015 Australia U-20

AFC U-20 Asian Cup: runner-up 2010 AFF U19 Youth Championship: 2010 Individual

Adelaide United Rising Star: 2009–10 A-Leagues All Star: 2022, 2024 PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2022–23 Joe Marston Medal: 2025