Massimo Luongo will soon celebrate his first anniversary as a Town player – and what a year it has been for the Australian midfielder who recently announced his retirement from international football, which means he won’t be joining clubmate Cameron Burgess at the Asian Cup when it gets under way next month.
The Blues bring down the curtain on a very eventful 2023 tomorrow night when one of Luongo’s former clubs, Queens Park Rangers, are the visitors to Portman Road in the third of four league games in nine days for manager Kieran McKenna and his players.
This time last year Luongo was training with Town following his release from Middlesbrough, where he only signed a short-term deal and never made a first-team appearance, and when the January transfer window opened, he accepted a contract offer through to the end of the 2022/23 campaign, going to become a regular in the side that won promotion to the Championship.
"This year has been brilliant, one of the favourite years of my career, and I’ve been a member of one of the favourite groups in my career,” said 31-year-old Luongo.
"For me, personally, it has been a great contrast from 2022, like night and day. This year has been a big moment in my career, not just winning promotion or playing well and winning games, but for being part of a tremendous group of players, enjoying my football and being happy.
"I’ve said it a few times, that it was always a risk to come to Ipswich, because I didn’t think I was going to play as much. I backed myself and in the new season, signing again and again, you never know what’s going to happen, how the manager is going to play or the people he brings in, so there was another risk.
"I’ve always backed myself – that’s the most important thing – but I backed myself at Middlesbrough and it didn’t work out. It’s come good this year and I’m really happy.”
Asked what was going through his mind when he agreed to become an Ipswich player, Luongo added: "I was speaking to the manager and the team was doing so well. I think we were second at the time and Dom Ball got injured.
"I knew there were injuries and I thought I would be coming into the side but when I trained with them and saw how good they were I was thinking ‘Okay, maybe I’m not going to be playing. They do things properly here and it’s not just going to be come in, play, get promoted easily.’
"I had at least two weeks before I was even considered fit enough to play and then the schedule here, with the training even harder, I had to adjust to that as well.
"There were other clubs I could have gone to and I knew I would play every week, so half of me was saying I didn’t want to miss out on something good and the other half was saying I should go elsewhere and play every week.
"It was a tough decision but, as I’ve said, I’ve always backed myself and I felt all I needed was a chance. I didn’t get a chance for a little while and then I got a little stint against Burnley in the FA Cup.
"After that, I thought I’d set the tone and people, the manager, knew what I was about. I thought I could be used off the bench at least and really help with the team, but it still took a little while after that before I was starting and doing well enough to keep my place in the side.”
Luongo made 16 appearances last season, scored twice and never finished on the losing side, while in the current campaign he has taken his tally of senior outings to 40 in all competitions, added two more goals and has only started two losses – the home and away defeats to promotion rivals Leeds.
The Sydney-born midfielder, who has also played for Swindon, QPR and Sheffield Wednesday, was also on loan at Town from first club Tottenham early in the 2012/13 season, playing on 11 occasions and scoring once – but it is since joining almost 12 months ago that he has underlined his value.
Luongo added: "Ipswich were a top team when I came in and they’re still a top team. I’m just glad it has worked out so well here for me and the team. I never got injured at QPR, then I went to Sheffield Wednesday and I was away from my family, plus it was my first experience of being up north.
"I was in a group I didn’t know; I was playing one in every three games at first and because of that I was training harder and I probably wasn’t used to training so hard and so often.
"Was I truly happy up there? Probably not, and it probably reflects on my injury record up there.
"Coming down here, I’m at an age where I look at the bigger picture and I’ve been really happy, I’ve enjoyed my football and I want to play and win.
"It reflects on my home life – the kids are happy, my wife is happy, it’s all good. Mind you, I still have to look after my body but the manager and the staff here are good at managing me.
"There are a lot of factors, not just me and my body, it’s physically and mentally as well, everything. I think it’s all come together at a good time.”