Mr Football, signing off in true style

In the same week where we remembered a true great of the game, Johnny Warren, perhaps the only man his equal said an emotional goodbye to the football public.

Les Murray, known in tandem with Warren as Mr and Mrs Football, signed off from SBS for the final time after 35 years promoting the game.

His career and life will go down in Australian media folklore. Like Warren, Murray lived and breathed football and was a pioneer of the world game – a term he himself coined.

While Johnny was the celebrity face football needed to grow, Les was the intelligent Hungarian-born migrant who knew what football could mean to Australia. He was at times the calm and relaxed foil to Warren’s boisterous and opinionated persona.

Together, they helped transform the game.

Fleeing communist Hungary in 1957, at just 11 years old, Murray struggled to accept that football was virtually non-existent in his new home. Like many migrants, Murray used the game to socialise, assimilate and learn English.

But like most fans, Murray soon discovered his talents weren’t suited to the field and so dedicated his life to the next best thing – commentating.

Starting out as a print journalist, he soon found his way to SBS as a Hungarian subtitler before being asked to call the 1980 NSL grand final alongside Johnny Warren.

That began the long journey for both men, and without them it’s unlikely football would have risen to the level of popularity it currently holds.

Murray was not just a commentator and presenter in the early years, he was effectively an executive producer, dictating what football content was to be screened to the public.

No one at SBS had a clue about the game and Murray was their brain. It was his vision that saw SBS first grab the broadcast rights to the 1990 World Cup, which they’ve held ever since.

The World Cup in Brazil this year was his last as an SBS presenter and commentator, a fitting place to bow out. It was his eighth World Cup broadcast, accompanying six European Championships and countless NSL, Champions League and English Premier League telecasts.

Not just a pretty face, with that evergreen grey hair, bushy eyebrows and signature oversized glasses, he was also highly intelligent and business savvy in how football needed to be marketed to the public.

In a day when the exploits of footballers at home and abroad were nowhere to be seen in the newspapers, you could be assured they would be celebrated on SBS. Les fought the battle for every football fan in the media.

His vision and sense for marketing and brand-building helped turn SBS into one of the leading forces for not just football, but sport. While new football fans will rightfully hold Fox Sports as the major source for their daily fix these days, older fans will know how much SBS meant.

Who could forget World Soccer, which ran for 22 years and was on every football fan’s schedule – 5.30pm every Saturday. Without that one-hour show, early fans would have had little exposure to football overseas.

Les worked tirelessly on that show, scripting, voicing, producing and presenting. It’s fair to say that without his dedication it would have ceased to exist.

Without Murray we wouldn’t have a clue about Arrigo Saachi’s AC Milan or Real Madrid’s Galaticos. Not through video clips anyway. Without Murray vision of Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff wouldn’t be imprinted in our memories.

On the Ball with Johnny Warren, Fan’s Corner with Damien Lovelock, The World Game every Sunday with Futbol Mundial. They were all of Les’ making, as was SBS World Sport, which tragically merged with the nightly news wrap recently.

Similarly, the reason so many fans are obsessed with the English Premier League is because of the one-hour highlights show screened on Monday nights. Starting out in a slot closer to midnight it gradually managed to occupy the prime time.

Fox Sports holds most of the football coverage these days, but SBS did all the groundwork with Murray at the fore.

Murray was a linguistic genius, too. When Australian fans think of the great football moments, Murray’s face and voice will undoubtedly pop up.

Not just an expert of football, he was an expert at calling the great game. He will go down as one of the best commentators the world has seen, not just in Australia. The respect he holds extends internationally.

His pronunciation of words foreign to the English language is legendary, the way syllables slipped off his tongue was a joy to hear. The reason Australian football fans can correctly pronounce Santiago Bernabéu and Ferenc Puskás is most likely down to Murray.

Away from football, Murray was also a champion. He has been a constant voice of reason in the ongoing discussion over asylum seekers.

As a refugee himself, Murray brought awareness to the subject, calling out Australian governments that cultivate fear and xenophobia through disgraceful rhetoric, scare campaigns and policies.

The Sudanese, Pakistanis, Iraqis and Afghanis are the Italians, Croats, Greeks and Vietnamese of today. Murray is a firm believer in assisting those in danger, and his mission to find the man who saved his life is a journey everyone should be aware of.

Murray’s name will forever be synonymous with football in Australia. He is a true great of the game, and is unrivalled in the entire sports broadcast industry. Les Murray and Johnny Warren took on a mission that many thought impossible.

“The mission should not be wrongly defined,” he said.

“The mission was not to simply build or promote football, but rather to enrich Australia through the medium of football. To bring our country to being a true citizen of the world and converse with it in the only true universal language.”

Next week, Brazilian legend Pelé will send Les Murray off in style, coming to Australia for two interviews in Melbourne (November 19) and Sydney (November 20). Hopefully a recent health scare doesn’t curtail his visit.

It will be a fitting end to an outstanding career, one that lasted 35 years and into Les’ 69th birthday.

Here’s to a truly great man, and here’s to enjoying your retirement, you deserve it. You can never retire from football, but good luck anyway, Les. We’ll miss you.

If, like Les, you want a say in how football in this country can move forward, take your time to complete this survey. The FFA are seeking information from every football fan to help them complete their National Plan for the Whole of Football. Get involved, it takes roughly 25 minutes.

Follow Janek on Twitter @JanekSpeight