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The Melbourne derby has truly become an Australian sporting spectacle. Last night, over 32,000 fans packed Etihad Stadium, a strong crowd considering it had competition from both the Australian Open and the Bushrangers Twenty20 match.
Football won on the night, showcasing a wonderful game, highlighting the skill and tactical knowledge from both the Melbourne Victory and Heart. The roof was closed, creating a truly memorable atmosphere which is so iconic to local derbies. The game had plenty of goals, chances and the typical spice on the pitch that is always evident on derby day.
One thing, one man, however, spoiled this wonderful night – Kevin Muscat. Twelve minutes from time, Muscat showed once again his lack footballing ability and poor state of mind, making an absolute horrendous challenge on young Adrian Zahra. This piece of stupidity will most likely see the 20-year-old sidelined for the remainder of the season, and could even harm the future of his promising footballing career.
Now I’m not saying things like this don’t ever happen in football, because they do. Sometimes, players make mistakes, and I for one believe players should be given a second chance. But this isn’t Muscat’s first time. Throughout his career, Muscat has always been in the spotlight for his mindless actions and lack of care.
Muscat was dubbed the ‘most hated man in football’ by then Birmingham City player Martin Grainger in 2000 after a horrible challenge on his Australia teammate Stan Lazaridis, as well seriously injuring Craig Bellamy in 1998. Muscat also nearly ended Christophe Dugarry’s aspirations of playing in a World Cup, seriously injuring his knee in an international friendly. French coach Roger Lemerre dubbed the tackle an “act of brutality.” Fortunately, Christophe recovered and went on to win the World Cup with France later that year. Muscat went one further when he injured Charlton midfielder Matty Holmes, forcing him into early retirement at the age of 30, as well as Holmes having to have four operations on his leg in order to walk again.
So how can we stop Kevin Muscat from doing this again? Well, he will now have a three-match suspension, although I believe that the the incident is definitely worth much more than that. Perhaps Mark Bosnich’s idea should be explored, which he expressed post-game, that the offender should be suspended until the player recovers from his injury. We need to find something that will reduce these incidents from happening, otherwise the idea of playing in the A-League will be considerably less attractive. Young players from around the world have come to play in the A-League in order to strengthen their game and try and make a future move to Europe, such as Flores, Terra, Traore etc. In doing so, these players have helped strengthen the A-League. However, seeing young players like Zahra having their careers put in jeapordy because of players like Muscat will certainly give footballers second thoughts when deciding whether to ply their trade in Australia.
Fortunately, Muscat is now 37 and his contract with Melbourne Victory expires at the end of the season. Hopefully we will see the last of him, however you never know what will happen. All I know is, if I were Ernie Merrick, I would take a leaf out of Alex Mcleish’s book and never let him play another Melbourne derby again. Mcleish never picked Muscat for an Old Firm derby for he believed he did not have the temperament to play in such a game. Turns out he doesn’t have the temperament for the Melbourne derby either.
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