Australian international Harry Souttar who featured in Leicester City’s defeat to Manchester United participated in that encounter with the image of his late brother Aaron engraved on his left arm.
The remembrance of giving Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe an hard time during the 2022 FIFA World Cup also offered him a reminder that he is cut out for the top level.
The defender for Leicester City was born in Aberdeen and raised in Luthermuir, near Brechin, where his father Jack played professionally for Brechin City.
However when Australia came calling, the 24-year-old decided to play for the country of his mum Heather, who was born and raised in Western Australia.
It’s why he also has a tattoo of the Australian crest with his official Socceroos number “international No 606” engraved on his calf.
But it is the image of his loved brother Aaron, who sorrowfully passed away after a courageous battle with Motor Neurone Disease in July 2022, which pushed Souttar to giant strides in Qatar.
Souttar helped Australia make it to the last 16 before going down after fighting hard 2-1 to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Before their last Premier League visit to Old Trafford, Leicester City’s latest £15 million acquisition from Stoke City put out the information on how having his brother’s picture on his arm gives him inspiration.
Souttar’s statements before the encounter
Harry Souttar said: “I had the tattoo done a month or two after his passing.
“It is just him golfing at St Andrews. He was a massive golfer, he was club captain at the local club in Brechin, near where we grew up.
“St Andrews was his favourite course. His memory drives me on massively since he passed.
“Before all the games at the World Cup my dad would just give me a text and say, ‘Aaron would be wanting three points or a win tonight’.
“Even before the Tottenham game last weekend he gave me a text just to say, ‘He’ll want a win on your home debut’.
“I’ve got the tattoo on my arm so that he’ll always be with me.
“He would have been so proud to have seen me play at a World Cup or at Old Trafford now.
“Before one of our games, the Aussie boss Graham Arnold did a great speech about who you are doing it for.
“It was pretty simple for me who I was doing it for.”
The death of Souttar’s brother came during one of the rugged times in the footballer’s early career as the former man of Stoke City faced a lenghty time on the sidelines after aggravating an injury which ruptured his cruciate ligament during a World Cup qualifier for the Socceroos.
The moment Harry Souttar thought his world cup dreams were over
He disclosed that the horrific moment was a point in time when he feared his World Cup dream was over.
Harry Souttar said: “It happened in Sydney against Saudi Arabia. I went to block a shot, he feinted and moved, I tried to go again and it just gave way and popped.
“The physios wanted to see if it was stable and my kneecap was going halfway down my shin and halfway up my thigh, so I knew something was bad!”
The 24-year-old has played for five clubs in his career, notably, Dundee United in Scotland, Stoke City in England, Ross County (on loan from Stoke City), Fleetwood (on loan from Stoke City) and presently Leicester City which he joined from The Potter’s.
He has made three (3) appearances for The Foxes and fourteen (14) appearances for Australia scoring six goals so far.
