Jackson Irvine moved to FC St. Pauli on a free transfer in 2021, after a spell at Hibernian FC.
The midfielder spent most of his playing career in the UK before moving to Germany to join St. Pauli.
Thursday’s edition of Die Welt has published an interview with the former Hibernian man to review his career and his time with the Bundesliga club so far.
The Australia international has been a regular at St. Pauli, having played 126 games so far, managing 15 goals and 20 assists in the process.
When asked to describe his current club in three words, he said: “Community, respect and attitude. It’s really hard to say just three words.”
The 32-year-old has explained he’s known St. Pauli for long from this time at Celtic and Hull City.
“I’ve known the club for a long time; I’ve seen friendly matches between the two clubs with Celtic Glasgow,” Irvine explained.
“In 2020, my wife and I were in Hull at a Black Lives Matter demonstration. The St. Pauli fan club Yorkshire was there with the skull on flags and shirts, and we took photos. That must have been a sign.”
According to the Australian, he’s been able to enjoy life at St. Pauli because Hibernian helped him get out of a dark place.
Irvine spent three years at Hull City before he was released at the end of the 2019/20 season. He failed to find a new club in the summer of 2020 and had to wait until January 2021, when Hibs signed him for free.
When asked if it’s a dream for him to play in the Bundesliga and potentially the World Cup with Australia, he opened about his struggles in 2020.
“It’s more the other way around: Looking back feels like a nightmare. I was without a club for almost ten months and trained alone in the park. That was a phase when I feared I’d never be able to play at the top level again,” he added.
“I never talked about it much because other people had completely different worries due to the coronavirus pandemic. But my family, my agent, and Hibernian FC in Edinburgh believed in me and helped me come back. And now I’ve even reached a higher level.”
