From Casey Fields at Melbourne City to German football’s cult club, A-Leagues graduate Connor Metcalfe is impressing in an unfamiliar role. As the 2.Bundesliga team fight for promotion in 2023-24, the Socceroo speaks to the A-Leagues’ Sacha Pisani about overcoming early doubts, the St Pauli dynamic and playing against Lionel Messi.
Connor Metcalfe had just stepped off a gruelling flight from Australia. He was watching his new St Pauli teammates train and the self-doubt had kicked in.
“I’m not good enough. I’m thinking I’m not good enough,” he recalled to aleagues.com.au, having made the move to link up with Socceroo Jackson Irvine in Germany last year.
“I’m watching them all train, and I’m like far out, they’re all really good. There’s not one player that’s bad. They’re all big, strong and fast. My first training session, I hadn’t kicked a ball for like three weeks – it was my off-season.
“I was like, I’m not good enough. I’m thinking I’m not good enough. Obviously that changes over time as you slowly get used to training, the tempo of the game etc. You get up to speed with it.”
The former Melbourne City midfielder is right, that does change.
Metcalfe made 30 appearances and scored three goals in his debut season as St Pauli missed out on promotion for 2.Bundesliga in 2022-23. For the second consecutive campaign, ‘Kiezkicker’ finished fifth, eight points adrift of the play-off spot.
However, on a personal note, Metcalfe went on to establish himself in the starting XI as the season progressed.
That has continued under head coach Fabian Hurzeler into the new season, with the 23-year-old starting the opening two matches of the 2023-24 2.Bundesliga campaign.
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“The game is just so much more intense,” he said. “The Germans just love pressing, they love running like crazy which is not too different to what I’m used to. But everyone is fit, strong and young too. It’s really good.
“The football is really nice. I didn’t really want to come to a league where it was long balls or something like that. Where I’m at and the coach we have, he really wants to play football, no matter what or where.
“If we’re away or playing against Hamburg in a derby, he really wants to play football.
“It develops your confidence and skills to be able to handle the ball under pressure because you’ve seen the crowds are a lot more intense here. It’s ridiculous to be honest. You can definitely hear them when you’re playing. Each game is a challenge.”
Connor’s new role but his hope
Metcalfe progressed through the system at City, making a name for himself as a midfielder in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The Newcastle-born Australian was awarded the 2021 Harry Kewell medal for the best young player in the A-Leagues or abroad after scoring five goals and winning the Isuzu UTE A-League Premiership and Championship with City.
He was again a driving force behind another Premiership, though City lost in the Grand Final as he earned a move to Germany’s second tier.
Metcalfe, however, has found himself playing either out wide or in a forward role for St Pauli.
“When the coach first told me I’d be playing there, I was sort of shocked,” he recalled. “I was a bit like, this is unfamiliar for me.
“But he just said he believes in me and I can do the job. I just said no problem, I’ll do my best.
“I think I’m getting used to it game by game. There’s still some situations I feel I can do better in but at the end of the day, I just try to do my best.”
St Pauli have four points from their first two league games, and Metcalfe has started both.
In those matches against Kaiserslautern (2-1) and Fortuna Dusseldorf (0-0), he has been deployed on the right of a front free, with captain and countryman Irvine sitting in midfield.
Metcalfe added: “I’m hopeful of getting back into midfield.
“I understand that here our midfield is one of the strongest in the league with Jacko (Irvine), (Eric) Smith and (Marcel) Hartel. All individually really good players.
“But my goal is to get back into midfield and progress where I feel most natural.”
‘Just be who you are’
St Pauli are no ordinary club. As their self-styled description reads, “FC St Pauli is a way of life”.
They have only spent eight seasons in the Bundesliga, with their last top-flight appearance coming in 2010-11, while they have no major titles.
Yet, the Hamburg outfit have one of the most loyal fanbases across the globe.
St Pauli are a club known for their distinctive social culture and focus on social issues and political activism. Their 29,500-capacity stadium is always full, and the atmosphere electric.
Socceroos star Irvine symbolises what St Pauli stand for.
“It’s very, very different let’s say to your normal club,” said Metcalfe, whose ultimate goal is to play in a top-flight competition. “There’s a lot of politics and things the club believes in.
“I think that’s what gets a lot of fans to games and want to follow St Pauli because there’s a lot of people who believe in all the things the club are trying to do.
“Even with Jackson Irvine, being who he is. He plays football with pink hair and his fingernails painted.
“Here, it’s not frowned upon at all. It’s a club to just be who you are. I see kids when I’m walking to my car after the game, they are like five-years-old and have painted fingernails and stuff like that.
“It goes to show the effect it has on kids and everyone in the stadium. Jacko being himself, they absolutely love him. It’s a very special club.”
World Cup disappointment & facing Messi
Metcalfe’s first season abroad was a bit up and down.
While he impressed at St Pauli, he was overlooked for the Socceroos’ 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup squad in Qatar, despite featuring in the pre-tournament friendlies against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand.
Metcalfe watched from afar as Graham Arnold’s side captivated a nation with their run to the last 16, which was ended by eventual champions Argentina.
“I was obviously disappointed but I had to look at it in a way that was fair,” he said. “There were other boys that I’m very close with who played a lot more than me.
“At the end of the day, you’re going into a tournament where you need players who are match fit and ready to go.
“I was a bit disappointed but for me, it was a lot easier than I expected because I got to go home for three weeks. It was the first time in a long time I was able to go home for that long of a period. Watch the games with my dad.
“For a footballer, I always say it’s like a rollercoaster. There’s always going to be ups and downs but it’s part of the job. You have to get used to it.
“You learn it from a young age, whether you go on trial at an academy and don’t make it. That sort of builds character. It was disappointing but I know I’m young and I know there’s the next World Cup and the Asian Cup is coming up. That’s a focus for me now to get into the team.”
After Qatar 2022, Metcalfe has forced his way back into Arnold’s calculations.
He featured in a pair of friendlies against Ecuador in March before going up against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in June.
That Beijing showdown against the world champions is something Metcalfe will never forget, having come off the bench to play the final 17 minutes.
“It was pretty special. I’ve always wanted to play against Messi,” he said.
“It was crazy. There was maybe 50,000 fans but there was not one other Argentina shirt other than no.10 Messi.
“No joke, we went out for warm-up and we got a clap. We started to warm-up and then we hear them come out. It’s probably the loudest roar I’ve ever heard from a crowd. It was just insane.
“Every little thing he did they would just go nuts. They would scream. He would tie his shoelace and they’d go nuts.
“Just to see him and shake his hand. Sometimes I feel like we take that stuff for granted. I grew up watching YouTube videos on this bloke and then I’m playing against him. It was a real surreal moment. I was like wow.
“There’s so many other players too. Even (Alexis) Mac Allister. I versed him at the Olympics. I see him there and he’s just made a £55 million move to Liverpool and I’m like, far out.
“All these players, this is ridiculous. An unbelievable moment for me. Even though we lost, I was like wow. My parents are really proud. It’s one for the kids in the future.”
‘I’m happy we’ve all made that step’
A lot has changed since Metcalfe made his Isuzu UTE A-League debut for City against Central Coast Mariners in January 2018.
Not only has he moved overseas, but so have a number of his former teammates.
Marco Tilio completed a record-breaking move to Scottish champions Celtic this off-season, while Thomas Glover joined Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship after Nathaniel Atkinson moved to Hearts in Scotland a year earlier.
“All my close mates have made a move now from City – Tills, Nate, Glover, (Stefan) Colakovski is in Perth now.
“Whenever we go into camp, I always speak to Lecks (Mathew Leckie) and Macca (Jamie Maclaren) to see what’s going on. But, I still speak to the boys a lot.
“I’m very happy we’ve all made that step to Europe. It’s exciting and a little proud moment.
“We always talk about when we were at City, we were 15, starting there and playing at the lower fields, to now where we are. It’s pretty special. Being close to those boys. It’s a special feeling.”
City have continued to provide a pathway for exciting prospects. Jordy Bos broke into the first team and quickly earned a transfer to top-flight Belgian outfit Westerlo this season.
Tilio was also given a platform to shine, just like Metcalfe, while fellow Socceroo Aiden O’Neill flourished before returning to Europe with Standard Liege in Belgium.
“They have a real positive mindset of creating young talent and when they see players that are ready to step into the first team, they don’t shy away from it. They don’t give any excuses,” said Metcalfe.
“I was 17 when I started training with the first team and from there, you develop and become a man a lot quicker than other 17 year olds.
“You get that first chance to play A-League and you feel like you’re a lot more ready than you expected.
“City know what they’re doing. They have a lot of facilities that are great. Their staff, physios, sports trainers are all very switched on. I really appreciated what they did for me.”
