This week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access centres on Sydney FC goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne. Watch Episode 15 | Mr. Normal, from 7:30pm AEDT Thursday on KEEPUP.
Andrew Redmayne is many things.
A five-time Isuzu UTE A-League championship winner. A Socceroos legend, after his heroics against Peru. More recently, even a member of The Wiggles!
But he’s also a soon-to-be qualified teacher, a husband, a father – and a very normal bloke.
That is perhaps the biggest takeaway from this week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access; just how humble and grounded the Sydney FC goalkeeper is.
It’s summed up perfectly in a five-second stretch of footage, where Redmayne takes his dog to the local park. ‘Andrew’, he introduces himself to a fellow dog walker – as if he isn’t the man who got Australia to what became the most successful World Cup in the nation’s history only last year. ‘(And) this is Gilly… (he’s) four’.
“I kind of always maintained I fell into the profession (football), just kind of enjoyed working hard and having a kick around with the boys,” Redmayne explains. “That’s kind of my mentality.”
Examining Redmayne’s football journey, you begin to understand how he became so grounded.
“Any professional sportsman has their setbacks and tough times,” he says. “I always tell (my daughter) Poppy to keep working, don’t give up on your goals.
“But that would be a bit hypocritical, because I did.
“Leaving Melbourne City, I was told I wasn’t good enough to play in the A-League at the time. I came to try and rebuild at Western Sydney, I was ready to give the game away.
“I was just fortunate that Graham Arnold and John Crawley brought me to Sydney FC.”
Even the way he met his wife, Caitlin, is just like so many others you hear these days. By swiping right.
“How did we meet?” Caitlin says.
“At a bar, wasn’t it?,” Redmayne responds.
“It was right when Tinder started launching. The good old love story!” Caitlin chuckles.
Redmayne describes his wife as one of the greatest supporters of his career, particularly when it comes to raising their young daughter, Poppy, while he spends days on the road during the season on away trips across the country.
“I’m really blessed that Caitlin supports me,” Redmayne said.
The A-League being the A-League, an away game means three days away. Caitlin believes in me enough to allow me to do these kind of things and keep kicking on.
Add in the fact Redmayne has recently become a qualified primary school teacher and you get a better understanding of an A-Leagues and Socceroos star with his feet on the ground.
“Still got a few subjects to get my Bachelor of Education, so I’m a fully qualified primary teacher. Mr Redmayne might have to wait a little bit longer,” he says.
“Kids just gravitate to him!” Caitlin chimes in.
Watch A-Leagues All Access Episode 15 | Mr Normal from 7:30pm Thursday night on KEEPUP.
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Sunday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.
