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Another red card, another lonely walk down the player’s tunnel. That was the outcome for Kevin Muscat last Sunday when he was sent off for striking Adelaide midfielder Adam Hughes in the face during the Victory’s 4-1 loss to the Reds.
It adds to Muscat’s dubious “hit list” which has seen him make enemies across two continents and several countries. Former Birmingham City player Martin Grainger once dubbed Muscat “the most hated man in football.”
His tackle on Christophe Dugarry during a “friendly” against France at the MCG in 2001 was labelled an “act of brutality” by then-French coach Roger Lemerre. In 2004, former Charlton player Matty Holmes took Muscat to court after a 1998 tackle resulted in Holmes having four operations on his leg.
Without condoning the result of Muscat’s wild side, there are other distinctions that can be attributed to the player: Played in both the English and Scottish Premier Leagues, one of only three Australians to do so. Scored the goal in the Socceroos first leg World Cup play-off win against Uruguay in 2001.
Only prevented by injury from being the first (and so far only) Australian player to captain an FA Cup final side when Millwall made the final in 2004, although ironically it was a bad tackle by Muscat in the semi final against Sunderland that caused his injury. (More ironically, team mate Tim Cahill scored the winner for Millwall that day to take the team to the final against Manchester United).
Currently the only player to twice captain a side to the A-League championship.
What does that leave us with, an asset to the current game or a liability?
I know what Ernie Merrick thinks, and you can bet Sydney FC are quietly talking up their chances as they approach this round’s A-League clash knowing that Muscat will be watching from the stands. I suspect that Kevin Muscat is well aware of his reputation, and like all good sporting showmen, plays it to the hilt.
He’s by no means a mindless thug.
Off field he is an entertaining and thoughtful talker, quick to promote the qualities of the A-League. When Melbourne and Sydney drew that staggering 50,000 crowd to a regular season game in 2007, Muscat rightly pointed out there were few Australian players that weekend in Europe who played in front of a crowd as big.
If sport is theatre, and at times a clash of good vs bad, Muscat can be counted on to “don the black hat.” His persona and self-appointed role is no different to Anthony Mundine, who polarises opinion but approaches his boxing matches knowing there has to be an antagonist, willing to play the role of the cocky loudmouth, the man the crowd loves to hate.
On the field, Muscat is the A-League equivalent of former Western Bulldogs tagger Tony Liberatore, or Manly forward “Rambo” Ron Gibbs, prepared to do get dirt under his nails, to put himself around, even if that means that his performances are often remembered for snarl and bite rather than skill and speed of thought – and he most certainly has ample qualities of the latter.
There remains the perception that he has carried on for a season too long, that at 37 he has lost a step and is being exposed for it by younger, fitter players, that perhaps the bitter memory of a losing Grand Final was no way to bow out, and influenced his decision to carry on.
If that was the case, Merrick would not be bemoaming his absence this weekend against the side his detractors feel he should have played his last game against. Former Parramatta great Mick Cronin once said, “I’d rather play one game too many than one game too few.”
Maybe that was Kevin Muscat’s thinking too.
What would the A-League have been like without Kevin Muscat in it? Some players might say “less dangerous.”
If you support any team other than the Victory, and a Muscat action has you out of your seat screaming (navy) blue murder and shaking your fist at the man, you might also admit that it would have been less interesting.
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