Melbourne City captain Aziz Behich says his age won’t stop him from fighting for a Socceroos swan song at the postponed Asian Cup.
Behich will be 37 at the start of the tournament after conflict in the Middle East forced the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to push the Saudi Arabia-hosted tournament back by 11 months.
The Asian Cup is expected to kick off in the 2027 Christmas break with a December 23 start date leading up to a January 21, 2028 final, pending approval from FIFA.
A member of Australia’s winning 2015 Asian Cup squad, Behich is backing himself to round off his career with a fourth appearance at the AFC-run tournament after playing at his third World Cup this year.
If anything, Behich - who turns 36 in December - believes more game time in the A-League Men will keep him sharp.
The prospect of becoming a Socceroos centurion, should he remain a mainstay under national team coach Tony Popovic, adds further incentive.
Behich is expected to soon add to his 87 Socceroos caps after making the 25-man squad for this month’s friendlies against Qatar and Jordan.
The friendlies in Doha and Amman were initially meant to serve as preparation for the Asian Cup and have come under scrutiny due to safety concerns.
“Everyone always speaks about my age. I keep proving people wrong,” Behich said.
“Age is just a number. You know, I played with players in Europe that were much older than me and playing internationally.
“It's for the safety of nations, and if Saudi made that decision, it's for a reason. It is what it is.
“I would have loved for it to go ahead and be there, but the positive side is I get to stay with City and continue fighting for a championship here.”
Behich heads to Socceroos camp after a 10-man City overcame the loss of Awer Mabil to hold on for a 2-1 win over Western Sydney.
Fellow Socceroo Mabil was bumped in the back by Dylan Scicluna, then whipped around and swiped at the Wanderers midfielder's face.
Wanderers star Nicolas Milanovic then had a late would-be equaliser ruled out for offside.
“He's (Mabil) experienced enough, but things like that happen,” Behich said of the red card.
“Everyone’s human, everyone makes mistakes.
“As a team, it was to dig deep for him and make sure we got the win for him so he can go to bed pretty comfortable.”
City sit fourth (2-1-1) on the table after back-to-back wins and will face seventh-placed Macarthur (1-2-1) following the international break.
