Western Sydney Wanderers new recruit Patrick Ziegler has revealed how watching the documentary on Brisbane Roar legend Thomas Broich inspired his switch to the A-League.
The former Bundesliga centre back's father was actually born in Australia after his grandparents emigrated here last century.
His father returned to Germany at the age of 18 where he met Ziegler's mother and Patrick was later born in Gräfelfing, West Germany.
But because of his Australian-born father, Ziegler, 28, is eligible for dual nationality and is now just awaiting his Australian citizenship to come through when he will technically become eligible for the Socceroos too.
Despite the strong blood link to Oz though, it was seeing how fellow countryman Broich adapted to life in Brisbane and away from Germany that convinced him to make the move to Sydney.
"Before I decided to move to Australia and join the Wanderers, I watched Thomas Broich’s documentary Tom Meets Zizou," Ziegler told Players Voice.
"If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. It shows a very different perspective on football. It also played a big part in why I chose to come here.
"Thomas had a lot of potential but was never a huge player in Germany. Football is very serious business over there and he is not that kind of guy.
"Thomas is intelligent and a thinker, which is not always seen as a good thing in Germany. But here in Australia, in Brisbane, the style of football and the mentality suited him perfectly. Far more than it ever did in Germany.
"After a few years, his name became very popular in Germany again. The recognition came that he was doing things his own way, winning a lot of trophies and everyone respected him for it."
The laidback attitude to life in Australia was key in persuading Ziegler to try his luck Down Under.
"I saw in the documentary how relaxed the football culture is in Australia.," he said "When you train, you train hard, but you take things as they come as well.
"You can’t control everything in football, so you have to learn to not let anger and frustration get to you. In Australia, Thomas was able to find happiness with his football, which is great.
"That’s what was on my mind when I made this decision to come here because in some ways, he and I are the same.
"Some footballers just want to play the game and not think about anything else. But for me, it can’t just be football, football, football, 24/7. I’d go crazy!"
Ziegler says he's looking to spend more time with his family and get into finance and investment properties. He already has one property for rent in the city where he used to play in Germany.
Although he's yet to make his A-League debut, Ziegler is already impressed by the Aussie way of life...and already started thinking about settling down here for good.
He added: "I’m really enjoying my career right now.
"Who knows, maybe we’ll stay for longer if things work out. My uncle doesn’t reckon we’ll ever leave Australia. Maybe he’s right."
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