Melbourne Victory-bound goalkeeper Mitch Langerak delivered an extraordinary performance for Nagoya Grampus in the J.League Cup, saving two penalties and scoring one of his own to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Watch here.
Melbourne Victory fans, get excited!
Mitch Langerak is set to return to the Isuzu UTE A-League in January but before then, the star Australian goalkeeper continues to make headlines in Japan following his latest exploits.
Langerak not only saved two penalties in a shoot-out against Tolgay Arslan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but converted one of his own as Nagoya Grampus reached the J.League Cup semi-finals in Japan on Sunday night.
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After losing the first leg 1-0 on home soil, Nagoya sent the tie to penalties in Hiroshima thanks to their 2-1 extra-time triumph.
Nagoya captain and legend Langerak made himself a hero in the shoot-out – saving two penalties while also stepping up to emphatically one of his own as the club set-up a semi-final showdown with John Hutchinson’s Yokohama F.Marinos.
“It’s great to have this opportunity as a goalkeeper. I was able to take the penalty calmly without feeling any stress,” said Langerak, who won the J.League Cup with Nagoya in 2021.
“A few months ago, there was talk about me being the kicker, but I didn’t end up doing it, but I was thinking about kicking in today’s match. I had some idea of the direction I would kick, and I think I was able to express that well.
“I consider myself good at penalty kicks, so I was able to take it with confidence.”
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Langerak is on his farewell tour with Nagoya, where he has cemented his status as a club legend since arriving in 2018.
The Socceroo and former Borussia Dortmund shot-stopper will leave as Nagoya’s most-capped foreign player, while he twice broke the J1 League’s clean sheet record.
Langerak, who was named captain this season, is also the first Australian and only the 13th non-Japanese player to reach 200 top-flight league matches in Japan.
Of Langerak’s goalscoring heroics in the penalty shoot-out, Nagoya head coach Kenta Hasegawa said: “I knew that Mitch was the best, so I had no objection to letting him kick.
“All that was left was the order, and I said, ‘Let’s make him second’. He scored after the other team missed, so I think Mitch was on board in a really good way.”
Langerak has not played club football in Australia since Dortmund prised him from Melbourne Victory in 2010.
But the 36-year-old will return to the Isuzu UTE A-League and Victory in the New Year.
With a new head coach at the helm in Patrick Kisnorbo, the 2023-24 Grand Finalists have brought in Josh Rawlins, Alex Menelaou (academy graduate), Luka Kolić (academy graduate), Daniel Graskoski (academy graduate), Jing Reec, Reno Piscopo, Jack Duncan (Wellington Phoenix), Brendan Hamill, Langerak and Nikos Vergos.
Victory, who are in the quarter-finals of the Australia Cup against NPLM QLD side Moreton City Excelsior, face defending champions Central Coast Mariners in Round 1 on October 18 – a Grand Final rematch.
