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London: <\/b>Life as a footballer has its pluses and minuses. For recalled Socceroo Massimo Luongo, it comes with a few other mathematical symbols, too – specifically, the equals, divide and multiply signs. And they\u2019re scrawled across the jersey he is lucky enough to pull on every weekend.<\/p>\n
Ipswich Town kits are flying off the shelves these days – and not only because they\u2019re the most talked-about team in England outside the Premier League, firmly in the hunt to secure back-to-back promotions and a return to the top flight for the first time in over 20 years.<\/p>\n
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Massimo Luongo is thriving at Ipswich Town.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n It\u2019s also because one of their major sponsors is none other than Ed Sheeran.<\/p>\n For the past two seasons, the acclaimed singer-songwriter has taken out the club\u2019s front-of-shirt sponsorship to promote his global +\u2013=\u00f7\u00d7 Tour (or Mathematics Tour) and has made the occasional appearance in the stands at Portman Road for matches. A lifelong supporter of the club, Sheeran has also honourably been designated squad No.17, but was yet to actually pop his head into the dressing room.<\/p>\n Ed Sheeran is a lifelong fan of the \u2018Tractor Boys\u2019 and, for the past couple of years, has been their major sponsor.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n That was until last week\u2019s 3-0 win at home to Hull City – at which Sheeran was presented with a token League One promotion winner\u2019s medal – when the players finally got their way.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s obviously a fan, he\u2019s from the area,\u201d Luongo said.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the years, he\u2019s followed from afar, but with our success last year in League One, he\u2019s been to a few games, and we were getting on our CEO, saying, \u2018Bring him in!\u2019 Like, \u2018Any chance of you bringing him in?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd to be fair to him, he doesn\u2019t like a lot of attention on himself and tries to leave after 80 minutes, and I think he was trying to come to the dressing room at half-time because he always leaves quite early.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we couldn\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n After pulling pints for fans at a stadium bar before the match, Sheeran spoke to Ipswich Town\u2019s official media channels about his love for the club and for Suffolk, where he grew up.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said if we win, that he\u2019d come in – and we did, and it was brilliant,\u201d Luongo said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been pushing so long for him to come in and to meet everyone. I\u2019m a massive fan, my wife\u2019s a massive fan – she\u2019s always said, \u2018If you don\u2019t meet Ed in your time at Ipswich, then it\u2019s a failure.\u2019 So I\u2019ve ticked that off the list.\u201d<\/p>\n A sheepish Sheeran, who was back home on a quick break from his ongoing US tour, sung along with the team as they belted out one of his trademark hits, \u2018Perfect\u2019, to celebrate their return to the top of the table.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said a few words to us, and you could tell he was embarrassed,\u201d Luongo said. \u201cHe shut off pretty quickly because he\u2019d probably get mobbed outside if he got caught for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n When Sheeran first took out the sponsorship, Ipswich Town sold more shirts that season that it had done in 15 years. The deal is emblematic of the shrewd approach the \u2018Tractor Boys\u2019 have taken across all departments since a group of US investors took over in April 2021, and set about reinventing a daggy, underachieving club.<\/p>\n \u201cThe club, the marketing department, they\u2019re very clever with how they\u2019re doing things. They\u2019re trying to make it – well, they have, they\u2019ve made Ipswich entertaining, in a fashionable kind of way,\u201d he said. \u201cEven match days are like a day out. They\u2019ve done it really well. Any supporter coming to Portman Road, they know it\u2019s going to be a good day. The whole ethos of the club is really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n The football they\u2019re playing helps, too. Luongo is thriving under 37-year-old boss Kieran McKenna, a former assistant to Jos\u00e9 Mourinho at Manchester United who he described as \u201cthe coach of his generation\u201d, and whose swashbuckling, progressive style – which stood out like the proverbial in England\u2019s industrious third tier last season – has been at the heart of Ipswich Town\u2019s comeback tale.<\/p>\n Luongo, who famously earned a Ballon d\u2019Or nomination after being named the player of the tournament at the 2015 Asian Cup, has been off the Socceroos\u2019 radar for the past four years. He had all but accepted that his days at international level were over – but the 31-year-old\u2019s move to Ipswich Town, joining Australia teammate Cameron Burgess there earlier this year on an initial short-term contract, has reinvigorated his career, and helped him earn a recall for this week\u2019s historic friendly against England at Wembley Stadium (Saturday morning AEDT).<\/p>\n Suddenly, he is one of the senior members of a squad that is being regenerated at pace by coach Graham Arnold. Following the recent retirements of Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic and with the next Asian Cup just around the corner, a big opportunity beckons for Luongo in midfield.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a nice reward for the past few years. It\u2019s been a bit up and down for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say for the past few years, I\u2019ve not really regarded coming back to Socceroos as a possibility. When I hit 30, I probably thought I\u2019m getting to an age where maybe there\u2019s another direction for everyone. But it\u2019s happened, and I\u2019m buzzing off it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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