Jackson Irvine: ‘This Bundesliga experience is what I’ve always craved’

The streets surrounding the Millerntor-Stadion, deep in the heart of the St Pauli district of Hamburg, are blanketed with stickers. There are posters and other decorations too, but it is the sheer volume of brown, white, red and black decals dotting the walk from the Reeperbahn that catches the eye. They’re celebrating FC St Pauli, as well as the numerous fan and ultra groups that pledge their allegiance to the Bundesliga club and the values that have helped it gain a level of global standing that far outweighs its accomplishments on the pitch. Rainbow flags and anti-fascist messaging also stand out on the walk to the ground, as do warnings that Nazis have no place here.

On a roller door next to a coffee shop is a sticker featuring captain Jackson Irvine alongside four teammates, their heads drawn on a mountainside to create a version of Mount Rushmore. The caption is a rallying cry “geht nicht zu bruch!” which roughly translates to “this won’t be broken!”. It’s one of several decorations to be found bearing the Socceroo’s likeness in the vicinity, but given that he’s a regular at this cafe – some of the staff even wearing his wife’s Ur So Cool brand of clothing – it seems an apt place for the homage to be found.

Related: Socceroos lay foundations for new era with World Cup destiny back in their own hands

Leading St Pauli in their first season in the German top-flight in 14 years, Irvine assisted both his side’s goals in a 2-0 victory at Hoffenheim last weekend to move them out of the relegation zone. Nine weeks into the 2024-25 season, a dearth of goals means wins have proven difficult for Die Kiezkicker to come by but as Irvine observes, defensively, they’ve proven stout. Their 11 goals conceded is equal-fourth best and belies their status as a newly promoted outfit.

Much has been written about Irvine and St Pauli being a match made in footballing heaven. And given their values, it’s an accurate assessment. Once a month he hosts a radio show on local station Byte FM, broadcasting out of a massive converted second world war-era flak tower that looms large over the Millerntor. Broadcasting in English, he spends the month between shows curating a playlist – something, he grins over his coffee, he’d probably be doing anyway – for the next time he’s on the air, with songs from Down Under serving as a staple.

But much like his club, Irvine’s off-field reputation, especially in his native Australia, has almost come to obfuscate his accomplishments on the pitch. The Melburnian is playing regularly in one of the world’s best leagues, while leading a side at a level where any mistake or any mismatch is ruthlessly punished. “To get anything in this league, you have to be perfect on the day,” Irvine says. “And sometimes it’s not even always enough. We’re doing all the right things in terms of working for it, but it takes your absolute maximum to get anything.”

The 31-year-old believes the level of competition he’s faced over the last few years, first during St Pauli’s promotion push and then the current season, has raised his game to a level he’s never reached before. Since returning from Socceroos duty in the October international window, he’s faced the might of Borussia Dortmund away on a Friday night as well as RB Leipzig in the DFB Pokal.

“This Bundesliga experience is what I’ve always craved,” Irvine says. “That chance to test yourself week in, week out, against the best players, in the top level. And not only am I finding that I’m capable of being competitive, but I’m getting better. As a footballer, that is what you always want: to just keep developing, keep improving. I feel like I’m still learning more every week. I feel like I’m not standing still, I’m not here and getting there, but I’m still improving as well.”

But a new test awaits. Possibly the biggest test in Irvine’s 12-year club career. For the first time since 2011, when they left with an 8-1 win, Bayern Munich are coming to the Millerntor and seeking to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga. Meetings between the clubs have been relatively sparse given St Pauli’s extended periods in the second flight and the side in brown has emerged triumphant just twice in 50 years. The last win was notable enough that the club’s shop sells a T-shirt commemorating the side that took the field in a 2-1 win in 2002.

Games against the likes of Bayern give St Pauli a chance at something more; to manifest their values on the pitch. This is a club that has made resistance, of being anti-establishment, its Weltanschauung. This isn’t a team with a proud on-field tradition and they were expected to battle relegation this season, especially after losing coach Fabian Hürzeler, but battling is what they’ve come to do.

The Millerntor is expected to be packed when Bayern visit on Saturday. At 46,500, the club has 15,000 more members than the Millerntor can hold and match tickets on the secondary market are snapped up quickly – and the club’s ultras don’t take too kindly to scalpers.

Related: Fabian Hürzeler: ‘When I see myself on the sideline I sometimes think: are you crazy?’

Inside the Millerntor, the stickers and graffiti intensify, with the ultras section of the ground placed directly to the right of where the two sides emerge before kick-off. That’s after they’ve made their way out from the dressing rooms and through a tunnel lit in a dim red, with graffiti designs lining the wall and the club’s rebellious skull and crossbones symbol projected on to the exit door. It feels just as much an extension of the club and its supporters as it does a venue, a manifestation of who and what they are in concrete and steel.

“That’s all [the supporters] ever really expect from you, that maximum effort, that fight,” Irvine says. “And they will go through it with you. Everyone wants to see the best level of football and the best kind of football, but there’s an element of realistic expectations. And when they see the players leave it all out there … even when we were winning every week, that was still always the bare minimum that they expected.”