BGS to Brazil

By Matthew McKay, First XI Football Coach

Like many families in the BGS community, I woke up early to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

As a former international, I played alongside some of the guys in the current Socceroos squad, including senior players Mat Leckie and Maty Ryan.

I am a few years older than the other two Matthews, but we all made our first World Cup appearance in Brazil in 2014.

It is the dream of every young footballer to play at a World Cup, and I was lucky enough to live out my childhood ambition.

In the final two games of the group stage, we were drawn against the Netherlands and Spain – the runners-up and reigning champions from the previous World Cup in 2010.

Nobody gave us Aussies a chance, but we held our own – especially against the Netherlands. At one point in the second half, we actually led 2-1 before going down 3-2.

The pressure at that level is beyond anything I’ve experienced before or since. The stadiums were packed and there were tens of millions of people watching on television around the world.

It’s not known as the football World Cup for a reason – it’s just the World Cup because nothing else compares. It’s bigger than the Olympic Games or any other sporting event.

The sheer volume of people in Brazil – and the number of Australians who turned up to our training sessions and games –was mind-boggling.

It was a long road from the First XI at Brisbane Grammar School to representing my country at the biggest show on earth, but that journey started at Northgate, in the light dark blue of BGS.

Football – or soccer, as we called it back then – was growing rapidly while I was a student at BGS. Rugby union was still the dominant sport, but you could see football was closing the gap in participation.

When I graduated in 2000, BGS fielded 19 football teams. Now, football is by far the most popular sport, with 47 teams.

I was proud to be part of the First XI. My older brother had played for BGS before I got there, and during the 1990s my father was one of the founders of the Wembley Club that still supports the BGS Football program today.

In 2000, during my final year at BGS, we became the first team to win the ‘treble’: the Uhlsport Cup, the Southern Skies tournament, and the GPS premiership, which is the one that we really wanted. Our team manager that season was current Headmaster Mr Micallef, who is a long-time supporter of the sport.

School football was an important part of my development as a player. Winning titles for BGS really meant something to me, and the experience helped me learn how to perform under pressure.

In club football, the only people who turn up to watch are the families of the players, and even today the elite junior competitions in Brisbane are lucky to attract 50 spectators. But in the GPS competition, our boys have classmates from all different age groups watching on and creating a real atmosphere.

Players who want to go to the elite level, like I did, need to learn to play in front of crowds. For most, playing at Northgate in front of their peers will be a highlight of their football career.

That’s why, after playing more than 400 professional club games in Australia, China, Korea and Scotland, I decided to return to BGS in 2019 as coach of the First XI.

I knew BGS had a good football program, and I thought students would benefit from some of the experience and knowledge I’ve picked up at GPS, state, national and international level.

Over the past three seasons, it has become clear to me that the GPS competition is better than when I was a student. There’s some cracking players and really good teams, so you can get embarrassed if you show up with the wrong attitude.

The GPS football season is short, and players have other commitments, so my main message always comes back to effort.

During my playing career, I was always a runner – the guy that put the extra effort in and played hard. BGS taught me that nothing comes without work, both on and off the field.

I have no ambitions to become a professional coach. I have my hands full as a father, co-owner of our eCommerce business Freddy & Co, and as a board director at Football Queensland.

But I am happy being back here at my old school, working in a great program with a really good bunch of players.