Ultimately, Birighitti watched on from the sidelines as NAC fought off relegation to remain in the top flight.

“We have a very young team with many inexperienced players and for a majority of them it was there first season playing at a top level,” he said.

“It was important for a club like NAC to stay in the Eredivisie.

“It’s a great city with passionate supporters.”

NAC return to pre-season on June 28, although Birighitti will be cheering on the Socceroos in the meantime.

“Of course I’ll be watching the World Cup,” he said. “I’ll be supporting our boys for sure.”

The former Jets and Adelaide United goalkeeper remains hopeful of returning to the national set-up with a view to January’s Asian Cup defence in UAE.

“There’s nothing better than representing your country,” Birighitti said.

“My main objective now is to go back in pre-season work hard and cement the number one spot for NAC.”