Hearts ace Nathaniel Atkinson hits key checkpoint on epic journey from humble beginnings

A quick search reveals Nathaniel Atkinson has yet to compose such a self-congratulatory message on his @NattyAkka account, but if he did decide to celebrate the acceleration of his professional life over the past few years then it would reveal quite the contrast.

The Hearts defender is from Australia, but more specifically than that, he’s from Tasmania. The island off the south coast counts as the country’s sixth and smallest state, both in terms of populace and land mass. It’s a beautiful place but also seen as something of a footballing backwater.

Soccer players don’t tend to come out of “Tassie” too often. Dominic Longo was the last player to emerge and represent his country as a full international, and his final cap came 24 years ago.

Making it as a professional in the sport he grew up adoring took an incredible amount of determination and self-belief from Atkinson, but he wasn’t alone in his quest.

Though his parents split before he was born and he initially didn’t have a relationship with his father, he grew up in a household obsessed with the beautiful game. His grandmother is a legend at the local club, while his mother and uncles are keen fans as well. They did whatever they could to encourage as he rose through the age ranks before making the difficult decision to move 125 miles away from home as a 14-year-old to give himself a better chance at success.

Therefore, upon hearing he’d been called up to the Australian squad for the first time in his career there was little doubt where the first outgoing call was heading.

"The first thing I did was phone my family to tell them the news because obviously they've been there through the whole journey since I was little, driving me up and down the state of Tasmania and