Mitch Langerak is back at Melbourne Victory and shining as he gears up for his maiden Melbourne Derby. The Socceroo speaks to aleagues.com.au about coming home, the quality of the Isuzu UTE A-League and the appetite for Japanese players to move Down Under.
The Japanese market has long been one fans and pundits have been desperate to see Isuzu UTE A-League teams invest in.
This season, there has been an influx of Japanese players gracing the A-Leagues; headlined by Samurai Blue legend and inaugural Auckland FC captain Hiroki Sakai, there are 10 former J.League players running around in 2024-25.
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Sakai is joined by former Yokohama F.Marinos star Kota Mizunuma, who has transformed Newcastle Jets, Western United trio Tomoki Imai, Hiroshi Ibusuki and Riku Danzaki, Perth Glory trio Hiroaki Aoyama, Yuto Misao and Takuya Okamoto, and Wellington Phoenix pair Hideki Ishige and Kazuki Nagasawa.
Now, step forward agent Mitch Langerak.
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Back at Melbourne Victory after a history-making spell in the J1 League with Nagoya Grampus, the Australian star revealed more are keen to make the move Down Under. The calibre of player inquiring about the competition has taken the eight-time Socceroo by surprise.
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“The Japanese players are technically, tactically, exceptional,” Langerak told aleagues.com.au ahead of Saturday night’s blockbuster derby against rivals Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
“They’re very, very good players, and you can see that with what they’ve contributed to the league already over the last couple of seasons, particularly.
“I’ve had a lot of players contact me. A lot of players speak to me about wanting to come to Australia and wanting to play in the A-Leagues.
“It’s quite surprising that the calibre of player and the people who have contacted me, not only just recently, but over the last couple of years.
“So, wow, I always think there’s a lot of potential throughout the world and for players who do have that drive and that intention to want to play in the A-League at some point.”
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It’s the result of a number of factors, including the growing standard of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Langerak knows all too well about the A-Leagues and J1 League.
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The 36-year-old made a name for himself in Australia, where he debuted for Victory in 2007 before earning a life-changing move to Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund three years later.
A lot has changed for Langerak, Victory and the A-Leagues in that time. The evergreen goalkeeper has gone on to play under Jurgen Klopp in Germany and become a legend in Japan with Nagoya in a stellar six-year stint.
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Having observed from afar after 14 years abroad and now back in the thick of it with Arthur Diles’ Victory, Langerak said: “It’s a very talented league.
“I was actually really surprised at the speed of the games. There’s not a lot of stoppages, which I find really, really exciting for the supporters, for the players.
“It’s very difficult because the games are so fast with the the ball in play. The ball is in play, probably more than in other places. So there’s a lot of football being played. There’s a lot of intensity.
“I think the physicality and the speed and the quality of the players has absolutely improved no doubt over the last 10 years or so. The athleticism and the speed of the players, it’s really high level.”
Langerak has barely missed a trick since returning home once the mid-season transfer window opened in January.
While it took him “less than 24 hours” to agree to re-join Victory after the opportunity arose in July last year, it was hard to say goodbye to Nagoya and Japan.
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Four months into his Spanish adventure, Langerak became aware of interest from the J1 League – and the rest is history.
At Nagoya, he became a true club great, amassing over 200 appearances – the first Australian to do so in Japan’s top flight – winning a pair of cup titles and twice breaking the J1 League record for most clean sheets in a single campaign.
Named captain for the 2024 season, Langerak is also the foreigner with the most appearances for Nagoya.
“It was really hard when I made the decision and it was sort of set in stone, the next step was to tell Nagoya and make it official on that side, which was obviously a very hard conversation to get out,” Langerak recalled.
“I think all good things have to come to an end eventually. So for us, it was difficult, but it was also a lot of excitement as well.”
Such was Langerak’s standing within the club, he was treated with somewhat of a farewell tour as fans received t-shirts and posters to honour the outgoing Aussie.
It was an emotional goodbye for the Nagoya skipper.
“It was surreal,” Langerak recalled.
“It was very difficult to find the right words to describe it because it’s not normal.
“It’s not something that many people experience in their lifetime. So it’s hard to comprehend, particularly with the the last game and the farewells and and all these sorts of things. It was hard.
“On an emotional level, it was very difficult, because you’re still trying to have success, you’re still trying to win matches and things like this but it was a challenge.
“However, looking back, I really enjoyed it, and I’m happy that I had the opportunity to say goodbye in the right way to the Nagoya supporters.”
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” he said.
“It was my ambition to come back from the moment I left. There was always the hope that eventually I would return, and the possibility to return would be there and it was.”
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He continued: “It’s just the perfect timing, the perfect opportunity. I still want to come back and contribute for a few years and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.
“I want to come back and bring my best performances and things like that. From a family perspective, it was the right time to bring my children home to Australia as they are at the time when they’re starting school and things like that. So from a family side, it was also the right time.
“Everything just sort of lined up for me, to be honest. I took that as sort of a sign that it was the perfect opportunity and the perfect timing to come home.”
“Walking through the doors (at Victory) was really nice,” Langerak added. “It was a beautiful moment to to see a couple of familiar faces, but to also meet a lot of new people.
“The culture that we have at Melbourne Victory is first class. It’s something that we should pride ourselves on because the culture here is fantastic.”
Now, Langerak is gearing up for his first taste of the Melbourne Derby.
The inaugural derby took place in 2010-11, when Melbourne City were known as Melbourne Heart, but Langerak had already made the move to Klopp’s Dortmund.
This weekend’s fixture will pit third-placed Victory and against fourth-placed City, with only a point separating the two sides, though the latter have a game in hand heading into Round 20.
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“I’m excited,” he said. “I think it’s important just to sort of keep the emotions and everything in check leading into that, leading into the match.
“The excitement and the emotions, the fireworks, everything’s going to kick off on Saturday night, so we have to just stay calm until then as best we can. However, in saying that we’re all under no illusion that it’s a derby, and it’s very important to our club and this city.”
