Bundesliga-bound Leckie is ready to shine at top

Australia winger Mathew Leckie is set for a second coming to the Bundesliga and the 24-year-old insists he is far better equipped to flourish in Germany’s top flight this time around.

Bundesliga-bound Socceroos winger Mathew Leckie in action for Ingolstadt. (Getty) Source: Getty Images

With unheralded FC Ingolstadt 04 seven points clear at the top of the 2.Bundesliga with five games remaining, Leckie can almost hear the champagne corks popping as he readies himself to return to the division he had a brief taste of with Borussia Monchengladbach back in 2012.

After 10 appearances there he switched to second tier FSV Frankfurt, admitting he lacked the maturity to shine in the top division at the time.

But with the experience of FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil and 2015 AFC Asian Cup glory with Australia in January to draw on, the Socceroos attacker looks destined to deliver should Ingolstadt seal the deal and win a Bundesliga spot for the first time in its short history.

“When I was at Gladbach I probably wasn’t really ready for the top level, but I’ve been in Germany a few years now and have grown as a player and I feel I’m ready to step up," Leckie said.

“I always said when I left Gladbach that I wanted to go back and establish myself in the first league - and hopefully that chance is coming.

“I played against some of the world's best at the World Cup and also have that experience from the Asian Cup.

"I play with no fear. I know what I can do when I am at my best and if I can take that into the Bundesliga I don’t see why I should lack the quality.

“The Bundesliga is a physical league and you need strength and power there. I believe I have that in my game,” added Leckie, who according to in-house testing was Australia’s fittest player at the Asian Cup.

“I think my speed helps me a lot. I back myself to be quicker than a lot of defenders I face and maybe it’s something that’s always in the back of their minds."

Leckie has attracted attention well beyond the confines of the small Bavarian town of Ingolstadt, with several bigger clubs monitoring his rise.

But he is in no hurry to move on from the side he joined only last year, explaining: “If we can go up as a group it’s a special thing and the facilities and attitude around this club are excellent.

“I see no reason to leave – obviously you keep your options open – but my thoughts are that if we go up I want to stick by this club.

“That was always my intention… I knew they had great ambition and we would be in the fight to go up but I didn’t quite expect it to be as good as it has been so far.”

As fellow Socceroos attacking weapon Robbie Kruse recuperates from his snapped Achilles tendon and goalkeeper Mitch Langerak continues as the designated No.2 at Borussia Dortmund, Leckie looks set to become Australia's standard bearer in the Bundesliga.

He believes his club is only a couple of signings short of being able to make its presence felt at a higher level.

His star in Germany is on the rise too, with many locals nodding sagely as he tortured Die Mannschaft with his pace and evasiveness as Australia held the world champion to a 2-2 draw in Kaiserslautern last month.

Both creator and finisher for his club, Leckie has netted six goals in 27 games Ingolstadt - the most recent of which came in last weekend’s 3-2 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf, sealed with two goals in the final five minutes.

The win, according to Leckie, was pivotal to its season.

“It’s given us that extra motivation to go on with the job now,” he said. "We’ve put ourselves in the perfect situation now and two wins will probably do the job for us (starting at Union Berlin on Sunday).

“If we lose it from here we really have nobody to blame but ourselves.

“We have a few young guys who learning the basics and I am sure the club would be looking to strengthen the depth a bit next season if we do go up.”