Harry Kewell played a starring role in the best moment of my life. When he volleyed home that equaliser against Croatia, he fulfilled every childhood wish I’d ever had about the Socceroos.
Of all the goals Kewell scored in his long and storied career, his coolly-taken volley in the white-hot atmosphere of the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion at the World Cup in 2006 will forever be my favourite.
It’s partly because of the goal’s significance, and partly because I was one of the 20,000-odd Australian fans massed along the terraces at the time, that this pivotal moment in Australian football history means so much to me.
Fresh out of university, I had grown up thinking it inconceivable that Australia would ever qualify for the World Cup, let alone knock out an established European nation en route to the second round.
When Kewell’s volley hit the back of the net and a sea of Socceroos supporters exploded into utter delirium, he proved beyond any reasonable doubt that Australia belonged on the world stage.
To me, that was the magic of Kewell.
He had a knack for scoring big goals, but more importantly he often scored them on the big stage, and in the process he transformed the image of Australian footballers overseas just when the English Premier League was becoming a global phenomenon.
Who could ever forget Kewell mugging Rio Ferdinand and simply waltzing past goalkeeper David James to score Australia’s second goal in that famous 3-1 friendly win over England at Upton Park?
Kewell was absolutely mesmerising that day, even if it was the start of the downward slide which followed his summer move to Liverpool.
His nadir was reached at the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul just over two years later, when a clearly injured Kewell limped from the pitch midway through the first half to a chorus of jeers.
A lesser man might not have been able to put behind him the pain of missing out on Liverpool’s astonishing comeback, yet Kewell shook off his incessant injury concerns to play a key role in the Socceroos’ 2006 World Cup campaign.
It was Australia’s talisman to whom coach Guus Hiddink turned for inspiration in the playoff decider against Uruguay, and Kewell rewarded him by springing from the bench and immediately setting up Mark Bresciano to level the tie.
However it was his intervention against Croatia, some nine years after he famously scored his first goal for the Socceroos as a teenager in Tehran, which cemented Kewell’s place in the record books.
From the national team to the Premier League, Galatasaray to Al-Gharafa and a couple of stints in the A-League, he scored goals wherever he went and proved that Australians belong on the world stage.
Yet to eulogise Kewell’s career is to overlook the fairly obvious fact he wasn’t always loved by all.
A taciturn character at times, the die was cast when Kewell occasionally started to miss trivial Socceroos encounters, often at the behest of various club sides.
Even then it’s hard to doubt Kewell’s commitment to the cause, and it was surely no better illustrated than by his epic stoush with long-time critic Mike Cockerill at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which descended into the sort of slanging match soap opera scripts are made of.
There’s no doubt that Kewell could be a divisive character, and even when he came back to the A-League he alienated many supporters.
The manner of his departure from Melbourne Victory and subsequent resurfacing at rivals Melbourne Heart irritated some, while the failure to replicate his early-career form annoyed others.
But if football is for the fans – and too often that’s a premise overlooked by the mass media – then Kewell deserves to be remembered as one of Australia’s very best.
He may not be everyone’s favourite, but he’ll always be the player whose goal took us to the last 16 of a World Cup.
For that, he deserves our acclaim.
Andyroo
Guest
The only interesting part was about Wilkshire. I have been out of the loop. Is he likely to miss out on Brazil?
Roger
Guest
Cockerill is a self-important hack.
apaway
Roar Guru
Wonderfully said, Fuss. Harry has never sought the spotlight, it chased him incessantly. He never spoke ill of a manager, coach or team mate, at club or national team level. A lot of the time, stories were invented to give scribes something juicy to write about, such as his non-existent feud with Mark Viduka at Leeds. There was this ill-deserved reputation of Harry missing "non-important" Socceroos games but in all honesty, he was not alone in that, and given the rules of the time in relation to releasing players, why would Frank Farina have played Kewell against American Samoa in 2001 when Archie Thompson could score 13 times??
holly
Guest
When it comes to Harry Kewell (and some other matters) the Rooster always lets his bitterness get in the way of any journalistic objectivity or professionalism. He has become a parody.
Arto
Guest
@ Mike Tuckermann: I don't think Michael Cockerill will agree with you on this!!! ;-) http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-golden-generation-fall-one-by-one-to-the-sniper-20140328-zqnd8.html The line about Harry trying to steal attention from the Asian Cup draw for his own ego is a classic! He seriously needs to get over that pre-WC 2010 spat, as it detracts from what he's trying to say!
Brick Tamland of the Pants Party
Guest
Well im glad they ended up going back to the tried and trusted Harry Cool song the "I love you Harry Kewell" one was abit crap really.
Midfielder
Guest
Phil Like wow .... let me put it this way and HHHMMMMM aprt from being facts it does if nothing else puts Harry's achievement's into context .. At the end I will attach a youtube of a well over 60K crowd in Turkey signing the Harry song that was sung in England and by Australians ...however let me put into context the AFL / NRL claim... bear in mind I am not saying that great AFL or NRL players could not have made it in Football but maybe to be considered one of the best needs some real skill .. explained below... Football has roughly 360 million players and 11 players per side ... so in rough terms say 32.72 million per position ... On the left side of a football team you have two left side players ... left back and left mid... Harry was voted as one of the top five left sided players in the world so one of the top five players in say 65 million or there about's AFL has what 400, 000 players and NRL about 550, 000 [world wide counting NZ & England] ... Phil its a numbers game if AFL had the player numbers football had it is highly doubtful at any point in time Australia would have a top ten player ... As for not known outside Australia ... like wow he sits or was invited onto a FIFA panel consisting of some of the worlds best players to discuss football ... he is rated in England by many as one of the top ten mids ever to play in England.. But back to my youtube .. it shows both his class and how all these Turkish folk just start signing his song... they start signing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRhGCuE0MQ4
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Phil McGrawhan It's not yet 1 April ... you sound like you've had too many hits to the head - on & off the field? Or, perhaps, we blame flawed genetics rather than knuckle-head trauma?
Brick Tamland of the Pants Party
Guest
Thanks for the chuckle Phil
Dog
Guest
Kewell always hinted that he would wait until retirement before discussing the controversy around the transfers / his injuries etc. Will be interesting to see whether he reveals more...
Phil McGrawhan
Guest
I have my doubts TBH, I firmly believe many AFL-NRL players would have surpassed anything he did if they chose that route , I'm not bagging what he did BTW, but damn, he didn't exactly have a lot of competition domestically and it's not like he was a household name outside of Oz.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Harry is the most talented Australian player I have watched, when fit he was a joy to watch. The goal in Tehran and Stuttgart were absolute standouts. Also his performance in Sydney in the epic 2005 World Cup qualifier, he was superb. As a Liverpool fan I appreciated his time there despite the frustrations with injury. He still came away with an FA Cup and Champions League winners medal. His best football was played at Leeds. Congrats on a great career Harry Cool !
Bondy
Guest
Graham whatever sport you follow its small and insignificant . He'll retire with over $60 million go and cry in your beer .
Bondy
Guest
Nice read Mike, the memories, hopefully it won't be our last tilt as a nation in the round of 16 at a world cup, 2018 perhaps. Just on the match in Tehran I have to mention Bozza that was one of the best goalkeeping displays I've witnessed in 30 yrs of football and an awesome two legged tie,unfortunately we copped in the neck. I see Kewell as a very mentally tough footballer you know the type that soughts the men from the boys, his deft touch was also exquisite I should also mention a great passer of the football as well.
Brick Tamland of the Pants Party
Guest
Yes we always talk about his unbelievable strikes but how many has he put on a platter for others,brilliant passer of the ball and great vision.The pass at 1:30 of this clip is a bit specialhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtOQx20Q0g
Brick Tamland of the Pants Party
Guest
Yeah there's plenty of "he had one good year at Leeds" delusionals out there I hope those stats shut some people up.The failure tag at Liverpool is extremely harsh as well,he scored 11 goals in his first season there and then was injured for over a year before coming back and having a great season during his double ponytail era.Went to the World Cup after that and got that weird toe injury and never really played for them again.
1860melbourne
Guest
A legend of the game and I hope he has a role to play in the future of Australian football. Whether it is mentoring the younger guys at underage level or even managing an A league team one day. I want to seem him involved in the game. A great career but his days at Leeds were special.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I've never understood why fans continue to bear grudges for a player even 10 years after he leaves the club. For me, football is a job for the professional players. Like all of us, players must decide which job is best for them: their development, their lifestyle, their family & their bank account. As a fan, all I expect is the player to give 100% when he's representing my club. When a player leaves ... so what? It's not as if your wife has left for another man! Fans really need to stop taking player transfers so personally.
Sledgeross
Roar Rookie
He has pretty much burnt bridges at a fair few former clubs I suppose, but when you look at his highlight reel, you cant deny his impact. Im a Leeds fan, and I cant warm to the bloke, but you have to reapect his talent and dedication to playing at such a high skill level.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
So "just ask fans of every team he has played for since Leeds" unless the fans support a side other than Liverpool?