Farewell Aaron: What Mooy Meant To Australian Football Fans

Upon his retirement, I've decided to take a look back on the balding baller who holds a special place in the hearts of all football fans down under

Written by Lachlan Sherriff

"Mooy will track it down, and strike it, and bend it, and it's a BEAUTY!"

That was the commentary I heard the moment I became an Aaron Mooy fan. A Sunday afternoon game at AAMI Park in 2015 between Melbourne City and Western Sydney Wanderers. I was watching at home, an eight year old boy who had seen Australia beat South Korea in the Asian Cup final the night before. If the heroics of Luongo and Troisi not 24 hours ago hadn't made me a football fan for life, then this beauty of a strike from Aaron Mooy certainly had. 1-1 in the 73rd minute, Mooy took a touch on the edge of the box and hit a screamer into the top right corner that sent AAMI Park - and me at home - into a frenzy. Not only that, but he did it against the club that had released him only eight months ago. But while Mooy was on top of the world at this point, his career wasn't always like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxLnUB716Lc

Above: Aaron Mooy's winner against Western Sydney Wanderers, my earliest memory of the man who would soon become one of my favourite Socceroos.

Below: A young Aaron meeting a childhood hero in Harry Kewell

Born in Sydney on September 15th, 1990, Mooy entered the world under the name Aaron Kuhlman, his father's surname. However, after seperating from Aaron's father, his mother, Sam Mooy, decided to change her son's surname to match hers. As a young child, Mooy quickly fell in love with football. His favourite team was Manchester United, his favourite player was David Beckham, and he's quoted saying his earliest memories was playing football for the Carlingford Redbacks, who his stepdad coached. Mooy quickly became one of the best young football talents in Australia, and he got his first breakthrough when he was scouted by Bolton's youth manager, Chris Sulley, after spending a year playing for the New South Wales Institute of Sport.

It was at Bolton where he would get his first taste of British football. After three years in the youth academy, Mooy joined Bolton's senior team in 2009, however never played and moved to St. Mirren a year later. St. Mirren was a mixed bag of ups and downs, but eventually Mooy moved on from St. Mirren after two years and thirty games for The Buddies, opting to come home and play for the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Back at home, Mooy began to show his talent for the Wanderers. In his first season he played 23 times and scored one goal, as the Wanderers won the A-League Premiership. In his second season, he played 31 times and scored four goals, including one against Guizhou Renhe in the Asian Champions League. Mooy's form also saw him get called up to the Socceroos twice during his Wanderers career. As his club manager, Tony Popovich put it,

"He was prepared to come back, and he was the type of player we've targeted from the beginning, good young Australian talent. He's a good talent, he can pass the ball, and like everyone else he will have a role to play. What we have to do now is to make that undoubted potential that he has shown into reality. He's always had talent, now he just needs consistency to see it all the time."

- Tony Popovich on Aaron Mooy, 2012

Above: Aaron Mooy celebrates a goal for the Wanderers against Perth Glory in 2014.

When the Wanderers released Mooy at the end of the 2013/14 season, a decision surprising to some, Melbourne Heart (soon to be Melbourne City) snatched him up on the very same day. And it was in Melbourne where Mooy truly broke out on the scene. Oh yeah, and he also decided to go bald.

Seeing his former teammates win the Asian Champions League without him may have been a blow for some, but Mooy focused on his new challenge in Melbourne. Over his two years at City, Mooy played 58 games, scoring 24 times and grabbing fourteen assists. But his game wasn't just based around goals and assists. He could pick passes in midfield and he could run like the wind and win the ball back. His versatility has always been my favourite part about him. There was a reason that even former Socceroos boss and now Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglu described him as, "the best and most exciting player in the A-League".

Watching Mooy play for my Melbourne City was an absolute privilege. As I mentioned earlier, my favourite Mooy moment was his goal against Western Sydney Wanderers, however I also remember the hat trick against Heidelberg United in the FFA Cup and his man of the match performance in a 5-1 win over Perth Glory, in which he scored one and assisted two. While Mooy failed to win a trophy during his time in Melbourne, he did become a two time Melbourne City Player of the Year winner and a two time PFA A-League Team of the Season member, as well as winning the Fox Sports Alex Tobin medal in 2014-15 and the PFA Footballer of the Year in 2015-16. After his incredible 15/16 season, it was clear that it was time for Mooy to move on to bigger things. He was signed by Melbourne City's parent club, Manchester City, but never featured for the Cityzens. Instead, he would be loaned, and later sold, to Huddersfield Town, where he truly would show his talent to the world.

Above: A smiling Aaron Mooy after signing for Huddersfield

In his first season at Huddersfield, in the EFL Championship, Mooy quickly climatized and showed he could indeed do it outside of Australia. Mooy played a huge role in Huddersfield's 16/17 campaign, and scored a penalty in the shootouts in both the semi-final and final of the Championship playoffs, which saw Huddersfield promoted to the Premier League after a thrilling shoot-out win against Reading.

Seeing Aaron Mooy in the Premier League only two years after he was playing for my local team in Australia was a surreal feeling. Huddersfield quickly became my second favourite EPL team, and for some Australians, Mooy turned them into a full Huddersfield fan. And he was making Australia proud. Mooy played 36 times in the league for Huddersfield, and was a key reason why they survived relegation. Who could forget his assist in a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on his Premier League debut, or the winner against Newcastle in the next game, as Huddersfield incredibly sat on top of the league after two games?

Unfortunately, the same magic couldn't be repeated the next season, and Huddersfield were relegated. Mooy briefly went to play with Socceroos teammate Matt Ryan at Brighton the following season, but it's in Huddersfield where the English football fans remember him the best, especially the Huddersfield supporters. It's why after the news of Mooy's retirement, Huddersfield fans were quick to give the Aussie his plaudits, with numerous fans saying that the Aussie was the best player they've ever seen play in a Huddersfield shirt.

Above: Numerous Huddersfield fans took to Twitter to wish Aaron Mooy well after his recent retirement.

After a season at Brighton, Mooy moved to China to play for Shanghai SIPG, but after two years in China, riddled by injury and a contract dispute, Mooy left Shanghai to join Ange Postecoglu's Celtic. It was at Celtic where he would find some old form, not only for club, but also for country.

For a while, Aaron Mooy hadn't had the most exciting international career by any means. He didn't make the 2015 Asian Cup squad, and while he did go to the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup, these were both very forgettable tournaments for Australia.

But in the end, Mooy, along with many others, would get their magical Socceroos moment during the 2022 World Cup. Mooy scored his penalty in the playoff final against Peru, sending the Aussies to their fifth consecutive World Cup. He then started for Australia in the famous wins against Tunisia and Denmark, as the Socceroos made it out of the World Cup group stages for only the second time in their history

Above: Aaron Mooy celebrates after Australia's famous 1-0 win against Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup.

I've been fortunate enough to see some great Aaron Mooy performances. One of those was against Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup. Sure, the likes of Mitchell Duke and Harry Souttar may overshadow his performance, but I truly believe Mooy was a key factor to winning that game. In a game where Australia had less possession then Tunisia, Mooy made sure to make his passes count. And he never stopped running. It was an incredible performance.

It's also worth noting that Aaron Mooy finished strong at club level as well. Postecoglu managed to get the best out of Mooy, and in his final season, Mooy played 42 times and scored seven goals. Mooy's Celtic went on to win the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup, and the Aussie even made his UEFA Champions League debut aged 31. Mooy went on to feature five times for Celtic in the UCL, including a match at the historic Santiago Bernabeu.

On the 30th of June, 2023, Aaron Mooy announced his retirement from the game at only 32 years old. This shocked many, including me, but at the end of the day, Aaron Mooy had an incredible career. He played 367 times over his club career and scored 57 goals, while also winning four trophies. He made 57 appearances for Australia, including seven in the World Cup, and scored seven goals.

As I mentioned earlier, I first became an Aaron Mooy fan in 2015. I've had the absolute privilege of watching his career go all the way to the Premier League, the Champions League, and the World Cup. He was a joy to watch, and someone who won't be easily replaced, by Celtic, or by Australia.

So for one last time, thank you Aaron Mooy.