In Defense of Muscat

Long before he was known as a gnarly, tough guy enforcer who could make silky strikers shake in their boots, Kevin Muscat was just a baby-faced kid from Melbourne who carried the hopes of a nation.

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Young Socceroo Kevin Muscat, complete with Mullet, ahead of the match between Australia and Korea in 1993.

The year was 1993 and Muscat was captain of an Australian under-20 side that was over-performing on home soil at the world youth championships. For a very small window, football rode an unfamiliar wave of popularity as the young Socceroos defied predictions to reach the semi-finals with victories over Colombia, Russia and Uruguay. Muscat, along with future senior internationals like Craig Moore, Paul Agostino and Ante Milicic, stood tall. Not even a semi-final loss to Brazil and subsequent defeat to England in the third-place playoff could dim Australia's bright overall performance and excitement about the sport's future. The tournament turned out to be another of Australian soccer's false dawns - pre-World Cup 2006 - but it did signal Muscat's unquestioned captaincy qualities. Even at the age of 19, Muskie was a born leader. I covered the Brisbane games of the tournament for Australian broadcaster SBS-TV and distinctly remember fellow defenders Muscat and the much younger Moore sitting together at the front of the team bus. Even then, Muscat oozed confidence and spoke assuredly in front of our cameras. Fifteen years later, the pair are back from long careers in Europe and playing out their twilight days, captaining rival A-League teams as football across Australia enjoys a surge in interest that few people would have predicted 15 years ago. Muscat, who turns 35 in August, shows no signs of easing up as he leads Melbourne Victory in their inaugural AFC Champions League campaign during the second year of involvement by Australian clubs. The tournament promises to be a chance of instant redemption for the men from Melbourne after finishing an unsatisfying fifth in the A-League after sweeping all before them the season before. And Victory made a perfect start to their campaign with a 2-0 home win against Korea's Chunnam Dragons, with Muscat scoring a first half penalty. For some, the Melbourne captain is no more than an on-field bully boy, whose career, at club and international level, is littered with crude challenges, terrible tackles and a raft of red cards. Former French coach Roger Lemerre once described a tackle on Christophe Dugarry that left the striker with a serious knee injury in a 2001 friendly as 'an act of brutality'. From his playing days in England, he had high-profile run-ins with the likes of Ian Wright and Craig Bellamy. Former Birmingham manager Martin Grainger dubbed Muscat as 'the most hated man in football' and in 2004 he reached an out-of-court settlement reported to be £250,000 with ex-Charlton player Matty Holmes from an incident six years earlier. But to dismiss Muscat as a terrorising thug who resorts to brute force to make up for a lack of finesse is as inaccurate as it is unfair. His European club highlights include winning the treble with Rangers in the 2002-2003 season and captaining Championship side Millwall to the 2004 FA Cup final (although Muscat missed the 3-0 loss to Manchester United because of a knee injury.) Fellow Socceroo Tim Cahill was a teammate. While there is no doubt that he has overstepped the mark too many times, Muscat is also a clever, influential and versatile player who can seamlessly switch from the Melbourne defence to midfield when the need arises. The ultimate pro, he also has an enviable penalty-taking record in the A-League, having never missed a spot kick in 15 attempts over three years. Former Sydney FC coach Terry Butcher, who, like Muscat, was a defender in successful Rangers teams, is a big admirer. 'Every manager in the A-League would love to have Kevin, and I'm no exception,' Butcher, the ex-England defender, told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2006. 'He's the Roy Keane, the Graeme Souness. He rules by fear to a certain degree.' At international level, Muscat was capped 51 times, scoring 10 times, including the goal that gave Australia a 1-0 first-leg victory in Melbourne against Uruguay in a play-off for the 2002 World Cup. The South Americans ended up winning the play-off 3-1 on aggregate after a 3-0 romp in Montevideo a few days later. A year before Australia's successful run at the 2006 World Cup, Muscat was a regular member of the Socceroos side, one of the first picked by Frank Farina. But after Guus Hiddink's arrival, the defence was reshaped and Muscat was discarded.

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Skipper Kevin Muscat receives his marching orders back in 2005 with Melbourne

He did earn a recall for an Asian Cup qualifier in August 2006, captaining the Socceroos to a 2-0 victory over Kuwait when many of Australia's European-based stars were unavailable. And, in February of this year, after being part of Pim Verbeek's expanded training squad for the opening World Cup qualifier, he seemed on the verge of a bench spot in a full strength Socceroos line-up, only to miss the final cut again. An understandably disappointed Muscat announced his international retirement immediately afterwards. His loyalty to his country, and countrymen, has been at the heart of Muscat's colourful career. He admits: 'Most of my best times in football have been shared with fellow Aussies.' The comment took me back to that bus in Brisbane 15 years ago where Muscat sat in the front seats with Moore, whose face was bruised and bloody after an off-the-ball incident involving a Uruguayan midfielder in the quarterfinals of the world youth championships. Earlier that day, as Moore - who was barely 17 and more than two years younger - stood dazed and bloodied on the Lang Park pitch, Muscat vowed to his teammate that he'd settle the score. But from a corner soon afterwards, the same Uruguayan punched Muscat in the face, dislocating his jaw. Even so, both Muscat and Moore helped Australia win the game, 2-1, after an Anthony Carbone golden goal in extra-time. And the opposing midfielder? He left the field injured after coming off second-best in a tackle with the young Socceroos' captain. Now Asia's best are getting a dose of Melbourne's 'Muscat love'.

Q: Kevin, you've played in various leagues and cups in Europe. What are your expectations of the AFC Champions League and how high should the Victory be aiming in this uncharted territory?
A: Uncharted territory it certainly is, but we're embracing the challenge. We ended the season quite well but missing out on the A-League finals left a bad taste in our mouths. This gives us a chance to show our fans - the best in the country - what we can do. But it's tough as we're competing against teams with a much broader base and foundations with no salary caps and no restrictions.

Q: You've reached veteran status yet you show no sign of slowing down. How have you matured and developed as a footballer and what are your thoughts on the growth of football in Australia since the A-League?
A: I don't think I've changed too much as a player but obviously my body doesn't allow me to do the same things as it used to. The first A-League season was bitterly disappointing but it was great to help Melbourne become the first club in the country to win the final and the league competition in the second season. As for the crowds and support, they've been a blessing. How many Aussies playing around the world can say they play regularly before 40-50,000 crowds as we did in the second season?

Q: Your career has stretched almost 20 years now. What would you consider to be your top 3 career highlights?
A: I haven't given it too much thought, but I would say scoring in that 2002 World Cup qualifier when we beat Uruguay in Melbourne, the FA Cup run with Millwall when we made the 2004 Final, a great achievement for a Championship side, and winning the treble with Rangers (in the 2002-2003 season). Craig Moore was part of that team too. Most of my best times in football have been shared with fellow Aussies.

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Muscat celebrates with Shaun Murphy after the win against Uruguay in 2001.

Q: You've often had the job of being a kind of enforcer at your respective clubs. Do you have any regrets, looking back over your career?
A: Not really. I don't think you can look back like that. Maybe there are several things you may have changed if you could, but no regrets.

Q: How disappointing was it not to make the final Socceroos cut for the World Cup qualifier against Qatar? Would you consider making an international comeback if your country needed you?
A: That's water under the bridge now. I was bitterly disappointed at the time, but it was just one of those things. I had a lot of discussions with the manager and I was there (in the squad) right until the last day. Then he changed his mind. But I have the utmost respect for Pim Verbeek. He pulled me aside and showed a lot of respect. I'm not bitter and twisted about what happened. But at this point, I can't see myself changing my mind (about coming out of international retirement). My main priority at the moment is Melbourne Victory and helping them become the first Australian team to make the second round of the Asian Champions League.