Mr Personality: Ansell says Archie's a card and 'Musky' hates red cards

Melbourne Victory and Olyroos defender Nick Ansell is the latest subject of a regular feature where The World Game has a bit of fun with the game's stars by asking them questions they wouldn't normally be asked and letting their personalities shine.

Melbourne Victory star Nick Ansell in action for the Premier's Plate winner. (Getty) Source: Getty Images

Your coach, Kevin Muscat, has finally lost his share of the A-League red-card record now that Adelaide United's Nigel Boogaard has edged past him. Has he made any mention of that?

I think he'd be pretty happy that Boogaard has taken that one on his own, but it hasn't come up in conversation yet (laughs). Maybe after the season is done someone might mention it to him, but it hasn't been brought up at this stage.

No red cards for Victory for this season. Would "Musky" be happy with that or do you think he might be secretly angry?

(Laughs). Um, I'm not sure - no, he would definitely be happy with that. I've been red-carded before - last season - and I don't think he was too happy with me about that. He wasn't impressed.

Central defender is a sink or swim position, as you well know. How much pressure do you feel, playing there, and have you played there all your life?

I've played it pretty much all my life. Obviously there is a lot of pressure - you make one mistake and there's a goal opportunity for the other team - but I go out there with belief in my team. It's the whole team that defends and when that happens it's much easier. The pressure does come in that position, but I don't go out there worrying about it. I wouldn't do that. I stick to my game and concentrate on playing well.

There is a galaxy of stars among your teammates at Victory and you're only 21. Did you grow up idolising players like Archie Thompson and Carl Valeri?

Yeah, definitely. Archie Thompson's a big one for me. I can remember him when he scored five goals for Victory against Adelaide in a grand final - I was watching that game. All the younger guys at the club look up to him and I think sometimes the young players do get a bit star-struck.

Carl Valeri has been a massive player for the Socceroos - played more than 50 times - and is a massive player for our team as well. I also look up to him. He helps the boys out a lot with their game as well. Also, Adrian Leijer, before he left the club, was a big player for me.

What is Archie Thompson really like?

Archie is definitely the joker of the team. He's always laughing, he's always got a big smile on his face. He's always telling stories from the past, or a brand new story that he's just come up with.

Archie loves Twitter. Are you on there yourself? Do you get involved much?

I'm on Twitter, but I don't post a lot of tweets. I float in and out of it and do a few retweets as well.

Is there a more mild-mannered, respectful player in the A-League than your Victory teammate Gui Finkler?

I don't think so. I don't think I've ever seen him get angry at anyone, to be honest. On the field he can get pretty fired up, but he's a very well-respected player in the A-League and also a very good player. He deserves that respect.

What is it like for a Victory player in Melbourne? Do you get pulled up a lot on the street for a chat with fans?

Every now and then, but I wouldn't say it's a frequent thing. Some of the bigger, more established players will get pulled up more and some of us younger players will get pulled up when we're all together as a team. The older players get pulled up a lot more, definitely.

What do you do on your day off?

Not a lot, actually. I'll just get up, have some breakfast and go from there.

How do you wind down from football? Is it about listening to music, a couple of drinks with the boys, watching a movie, or what?

I like to hang out with my mates. After games I'll normally go and have dinner with them, or go out with my girlfriend somewhere and try to chill out and get away from football. Most of my mates come to the games, so I like to hang out with them because they take my mind off football. That's important to be able to do sometimes, because it's pretty much your life for most of the year. I've obviously got mates at the club, but I grew up here and I've got quite a few mates that I grew up with and it's great to spend time with them.

You must be really excited about the Olyroos recently getting closer to qualifying for next year's Olympic Games?

Yeah, definitely. It's a massive opportunity for all of us who are eligible to participate. To go to an Olympic Games would be an amazing experience. We obviously still have to qualify, but it would be great to play there.

It's a long off-season in the A-League as we all know, unless you've got something on with football. Are you going away anywhere in the off-season?

Yeah, I'm looking at going away to Bali with my girlfriend and Connor Pain and his girlfriend. I haven't been there before, so I'm looking forward to it.

Finally, what are your biggest dreams in football?

Obviously the dream of every kid who plays football in Australia is to go overseas and play for the biggest and best club that you can. I'm really happy at Victory at the moment, so we'll just see where things take us. I just want to have a successful career, really.