Jake Girdwood-Reich

Jake Max Girdwood-Reich (born 26 May 2004) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for St. Louis City SC. A versatile player, Girdwood-Reich can also be deployed as a centre-back.

Early life
Jake Max Girdwood-Reich was born on 26 May 2004 in Clovelly, New South Wales to a Australian father and a Jewish Australian mother. His middle name Max is a tribute to his maternal grandfather, a Holocaust survivor who migrated to Australia after World War II. His mother briefly worked with UNICEF in Sydney, which eventually partnered with Sydney FC in 2012. Girdwood-Reich grew up a Sydney FC supporter and became a member when he was six years old.

He is also a supporter of Premier League club Arsenal and Scottish club Rangers through the influence of the Scottish family of his father. Girdwood-Reich attended Clovelly Public School and Endeavour Sports High School, playing for both the school football teams and state school teams. Outside of school, he played junior football for Sydney University, Sydney Olympic and Scottish club St Johnstone. Girdwood-Reich later played in the under-13s for APIA Leichhardt before signing for Sydney FC Youth at the age of 12. He also played futsal for Mascot Vipers and the NSW representative futsal team.

Sydney FC
Girdwood-Reich made his professional debut in an Australia Cup Round of 32 match for Sydney against Central Coast Mariners on 31 July 2022. He made his A-League Men debut for the club as a substitute on 29 October 2022 against Macarthur FC.

Jake won the Sydney FC Rising Star Award at the 2022 Sky Blue Awards night shortly after being promoted to the A-League from the NPL squad. 2024 was selected for the PFA Players A League Team of the Season.

St. Louis SC
After a standout 2023-24 A-League season, Girdwood-Reich was sold to Major League Soccer expansion club St. Louis City SC for an undisclosed amount, believed to exceed the $1.3 million record set by Adrian Mierzejewski.

International career
First representation honours for Girdwood-Reich came in the COVID affected 2019 U17 FIFA World Cup. After playing in all three games in the qualifying tournament in Hanoi, the finals tournament and the World Cup itself were both cancelled due to COVID 19.

Jake's first post-COVID 19 opportunity arose in 2023, with selection for the U20 FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament in Uzbekistan at age 18, where Australia were eliminated by the hosts in the quarter-finals.

In 2024, at age 19, Girdwood-Reich was selected for the U23 Olyroos, to compete in the 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship. He was subsequently selected again for the squad that competed in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup but did not progress beyond the group stage.

Honours
Sydney FC
 * Australia Cup: 2023

Individual
 * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2023–24