NAC Breda midfielder Max Balard said that he was “very honoured” to be called up for the second time by Head Coach Tony Popovic for the Subway Socceroos training camp in Abu Dhabi.
The 24-year-old has helped NAC Breda stay in the Eredivisie this season and his form has earned him another opportunity with the national team.
He touched on his emotions around camp, the opportunity to play in midfield in the upcoming window, and the growth of Australian football more broadly.
Emotions being back in camp
It’s very exciting times. I’m very honoured to be here. I've come here to be ready to play and to win for our country, so I’m looking forward to it.
I’m really happy that my football at club level has been going good. I've enjoyed a good season, played regular minutes, and now it's all about these coming qualifiers and making sure that I'm ready to play for our country.
Opportunities to play in midfield
Jacko [Jackson Irvine] has been immense for the national team for many years now, and to see him go down [with injury] was unfortunate, because you never want to see any players go down. You want our country to have our best players ready to play.
[But] I definitely understand that there's an opportunity, and I'm working hard every day to make sure that I put my best foot forward and show what I can do to the coaches. I'm really excited for this opportunity. Who knows what can happen. Of course, football's a crazy sport, but I'm doing my best out here and just making sure that I'm working hard and am fit and raring to go.
Improvement over the past 12 months
I feel like I've improved immensely. I think my growth has been amazing. The speed of the game in the Netherlands is a lot quicker than what I had experienced in Australia. Thankfully, I was at a club where they gave me my opportunity to play and it's just helped me improve my game even more - both physically and technically.
It’s an experience that I've really taken with both hands. I've really enjoyed it, and I'm very grateful to the club, NAC Breda, for giving me my opportunity in such an amazing league with amazing players. You're playing Dutch internationals every second week, pretty much. It’s been amazing, and I'm really thankful for the opportunity, and I feel like I’ve still got a lot of progress to make. I’m very excited for what the future holds.
Coming back for his second camp
I've got a lot more confidence coming here. I already know how the schedule goes, what to expect from this sort of camp. It’s made me much more comfortable in this second camp. I'm really looking forward to showing that I am a player that deserves to be here, and I'm ready to play. I was very fortunate to be selected in one of the previous qualifiers- it was a dream come true - and now I'm just making sure that I'm ready to play, and making sure I can achieve another dream and get that Socceroos cap.
The rise of Australian football
There's definitely been huge growth. Previously, there were only a few Australian players in Europe, and nowadays, you see pretty much every transfer window there's another Australian player heading overseas. And of course, there's an abundance of midfielders that are ready to play in Europe.
It just goes to show how hungry Australian footballers are, and how much the sport has grown at grassroots level as well, to improve technically at such a level. We've always had the physical nature in Australian football. It just adds another complement when you can add the technical qualities to it.
I'm really looking forward to what the future holds, but I know as well I've got to stay sharp and keep improving, because there are plenty of other players that are knocking at the door as well. So I'm focusing on myself, making sure I can reach the highest level. I still think I've got much more progress to make, and I'm really looking forward to exploiting that.
SUBWAY SOCCEROOS’ FIXTURES | JUNE FIFA MEN’S INTERNATIONAL WINDOW
Subway Socceroos v Japan
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Perth Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 7.00pm local / 9:00pm AEST
Tickets: Available via Ticketmaster
Broadcast: 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
Saudi Arabia v Subway Socceroos
Tuesday 10 June 2025
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah
Kick-off: 9.15pm local / 4.15am AEST
Broadcast: Paramount+