BERKELEY, Cal. - The past year has been a tough one for Jackson Irvine. A series of foot injuries, carried over from 2024-25, hampered his ability to contribute as St Pauli unsuccessfully attempted to stave off the drop in the Bundesliga. These same issues restricted his time with the Socceroos to the extent that there were fears he'd miss the FIFA World Cup. And he became the subject of controversy off the field, sweeping up not just him but his family. But after the "most challenging" period of his career, he's "grateful" to be back on the world stage.
One of the key leaders named in coach Tony Popovic's 26-player squad, Irvine will saddle up for his third FIFA World Cup in the coming weeks; expected to start in the midfield alongside either New York City FC's Aiden O'Neill or Sydney FC's Paul Okon Jr. Coming off the bench during his first tournament in 2018, the Victorian started all four games for then-coach Graham Arnold at the 2022 iteration, including the round of 16 clash in which the Socceroos almost took eventual champions Argentina to extra time.
As recently as February, however, there were serious concerns that Irvine wouldn't be available for the World Cup: a recurrence of the stress reaction in his foot leading St. Pauli to declare that the 33-year-old would be out "until further notice." And while further notice ended up being just two games, Popovic admitted that it was only when the veteran started to put together a consistent run of games - doing his best to manage his foot as St Pauli unsuccessfully fought relegation - that his concerns he wouldn't be available for the World Cup were assuaged.
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"This has been the most challenging [season] of my career," Irvine told ESPN. "I've had on- and off-field situations to deal with. I've had injuries, a difficult season for the club overall. But that's the nature of football, it's a roller coaster, not a straight ride. It's been a difficult year, but at the same time, I've managed to find moments of good form in my own performances, and it's allowed me the trust from the staff to still be here, sitting here, and give myself the opportunity to be a contributor while we're here over the next month.
"I think it becomes more special [being at a third World Cup]. Like anything in life, context and experience just allow you to see it through a different lens, [I'm] coming into this with a kind of different frame of mind. It's been so enjoyable to be a part of this buildup and to be sitting here again, so grateful, and it's gonna be, it's gonna be amazing."
Adding to Irvine's challenges over the past year were a series of controversies following his expressions of solidarity with the population of Gaza, in keeping with his longstanding practice of advocating for human rights causes. Historical legacies meaning there are heightened sensitivities surrounding the Israel and Gazan war in Germany, a picture posted of him wearing an FC Palestina shirt - a fashion brand which sells soccer-style jerseys and donates a percentage to Palestinian relief- at a music festival in June of 2025 led to accusations of antisemitism, labels he defended himself as being "deeply offensive and hurtful".
This was followed by René Born, a member of the club's supervisory board targeting Irvine and wife, Jamilla Pir, through a comment left on her Instagram in early October.
"This is our club, not yours," Born commented. "You'll be gone in a few months playing somewhere else for one euro more. We'll always be here when you're nothing more than a footnote."
The remarks were highlighted by Pir on her Instagram account, stating that "bullies need calling out" while Irvine would tell on an ABC podcast it was "wild" that an attempt had been made to "intimidate me from [his] position of power." After an investigation, the club later confirmed, without mentioning Born by name, that he had been sanctioned, while a written letter of apology was also sent to Irvine.
"It wasn't easy, for sure," he recalled. "When it comes to yourself, it's easy to handle. When it comes to your family, it's something else entirely. But at the same time, we always tried to put it into the context of the situation itself, and then around what you're actually talking about. And when you really compare, it becomes easy to handle it. Because what you're up against is a completely different kind of challenge.
"So, of course, it took a lot of energy from us over that time. And it didn't help, especially as that was during the rehab time. But in the end we found a really good balance, we were really supported by the local community and by the people in the city. Of course, there's a minority, but overall our experience in the actual public was incredibly supportive, and we really felt the love when I came back into playing as well. So that was great, and that really helped kind of kick start what came after that."
Irvine has made his home in Hamburg's north, with the bohemian St Pauli neighbourhood embracing him just as much as he has it. And while there had been speculation about his future even before Die Kiezkicker's relegation, he has no intention of making a premature exit.
"This club's been such an incredible part of my life, I'm still deeply embedded in the community, and I've got friends for life; people I consider family that have been part of this journey," Irvine said. "For now, I've still got another year, and I fully intend to... it would take something dramatic for that situation to change.
"But that's football, and I know it doesn't always go exactly as you plan. But we're totally settled there, we're comfortable there. It's still our life, and we feel we still feel very much part of the community. So that's never been lost on us."
A staunch unionist who serves as Co-President of Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and a member of FIFPRO's Global Player Council, Irvine hasn't been dissuaded from using his voice, either.
In the hours ahead of his interview with ESPN, he posted on his Instagram calling for the protection of Palestinian women's national team players Rand Halawani and Natalie Abu Diyeh, following their detention by Israeli authorities on allegations of "promoting terrorist activities and additional terrorist-related activities". Halawani's mother told the AFP on Monday that her daughter had been released the previous day with a five-day house arrest order. Reports indicate Abu Diyeh remains in custody.
"Especially from a player's [perspective]," Irvine said. "As someone who's part of the players association with Australia, and also on the Global Players Council board, when ultimately, first and foremost, players' associations are about workers' rights and the rights of our people, of people in our industry.
"We have to do our utmost to make sure that those players are protected. It's those things that I'll always continue to talk about and support, even when it's difficult, because that's part of the job."