2005 Champions League winner (Liverpool) 2005 League Cup Finals (Liverpool)
Biography
Harry Kewell (born September 22, 1978 in Smithfield, Sydney), is
an Australian football player regarded by many as Australia's
all-time best. He currently plays for Liverpool F.C. and was
part of the Australian squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics in
Sydney.
He joined the English Premiership football club Leeds United on
trial at 16 from New South Wales Academy. He made his Leeds
debut as a 17-year-old on 30 March 1996 in a 1-0 home defeat by
Middlesbrough. He made his Australia debut in April 1996 in 3-0
defeat by Chile. The first goal he scored for Leeds came some
time later, in October 1997, in a 3-1 League Cup victory over
Stoke City.
In November 1997 Kewell was selected to play for Australia in
the country's upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Iran.
At the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, in front of an estimated crowd
of 120,000, Kewell scored his first ever goal for his country
and gave Australia a 1-0 lead. But Iran eventually drew level
and the game resulted in a 1-1 draw. This set up a tense return
game in Melbourne.
A record crowd of 85,000 - at the Melbourne Cricket Ground -
witnessed the second leg of this World Cup qualifier against
Iran as well as Kewell's second goal for his country. The
Socceroos eventually streched their lead to two goals. But Iran
fought back and scored two vital away goals to finish the game
2-2 and qualify for the world cup.
Playing mostly in a left midfield role and in attack, Kewell
became one of Leeds's young stars in a troupe of highly
promising youngsters, eventually forming a striking partnership
with fellow Australian Mark Viduka. The high point of this
period was when they helped Leeds to the semi-final of the UEFA
Champions League in 2000-01. However, the club began to suffer
financial difficulties and, by 2002-03, having sold many of
their best players, Kewell and Viduka's efforts in front of goal
merely prevented Leeds side from being relegated from the
Premiership.
Kewell moved to Liverpool for the start of the 2003-04 season,
reportedly snubbing an offer from Manchester United. The
transfer was highly controversial, with claims that Liverpool
paid Kewell's manager a substantial fee to ensure that he ended
up at Anfield. (It is alleged that, of the £5 million that
Liverpool paid for Kewell, £2 million went to his non-FIFA
registered agent.) Kewell sued Gary Lineker in 2005 for
defamation around such claims made by Lineker, but after the
jury failed to agree a verdict, the two parties settled out of
court.
On May 25, 2005 Kewell became only the second Australian (behind
Craig Johnston) to win the UEFA Champions League, playing in
Liverpool's narrow win over A.C. Milan in penalties, thus
winning the coveted cup. Kewell was controversially selected by
Benítez ahead of the defensive midfielder Hamann, with the aim
being to attack AC Milan from the start. The gamble failed, and
a limping Kewell was substituted early in the first half with a
torn groin muscle, causing some sections of the Liverpool
support to boo him, as Kewell had a reputation of not being
willing to try hard for the sake of the club. Since October
2004, Kewell had to play through a number of injurys, often only
playing a handful of games before the injuries forced him back
on the sidelines.
In November 2005, after recovering from the injury sustained
during the final, Kewell voiced out to Liverpool FC official
website www.liverpoolfc.tv, saying that he had a strong desire
to repay his manager Rafael Benitez for showing confidence in
him by fielding him in the Uefa Champions League Final. He also
thanked his wife and friends for the support given to him during
his injury period. In response to the booing fans at the Uefa
Champions League Final, Kewell also stated that if the fans knew
the state he was in when the injury plague struck him again on
the pitch after 20 minutes in the Final, perhaps people would
think otherwise about him instead of the thinking of him as
being a player with no desire to play for the club.
In November 2005, Australia, aided by Kewell's efforts,
qualified for the 2006 World Cup taking place in Germany. It was
the first time Australia had qualified for the World Cup since
1974 when it was held in what was then known as West Germany.
Kewell was instrumental in the Socceroo's home leg defeat of
Uruguay, with the Uruguayans being in firm control of the match
until he entered the fray.
Kewell's form for Liverpool in the 2005/2006 English Premier
League season has seen a significant improvement in his form,
supporting claims that his previous form problems were the
result of injuries as opposed to a lack of interest. He scored
the match-winning goal at the Kop end against Tottenham in a
Premier League match in January 2006, his first goal for the
club since December 2004.
