Mark Viduka
] (born
October 9,
1975 in
Melbourne) is an
Australian
football (soccer) striker of
Croatian and
Ukrainian descent.
[Mark Viduka, EPSNSoccernet Accessed July 2 2006] He currently plays for
Middlesbrough in the
English Premier League, and has also played for
Croatia Zagreb,
Celtic and
Leeds United.
Viduka started his career in Australia (where he is affectionately known as 'Big Dukes') with
Melbourne Knights in 1993, and became an
Australian international in June of the following year. In his two seasons with the Melbourne Knights he was top goal scorer in the
National Soccer League and was twice awarded the
Johnny Warren Medal for
NSL Player of the Year
[Player Of The Year Awards - OzFootballAccessed July 8 2006].
In 1995 he moved to Croatia to play with
Croatia Zagreb, where he stayed for three years and made an appearance in the
UEFA Cup.
Celtic bought him in December 1998 for £3.5 million. He was voted
Scottish Premier League Player of the Year after scoring 27 goals in his first full season at
Celtic Park. He was regarded as a skilled player, able to hold the ball up well and bring other players into the game.
However, Viduka's often lackadaisical attitude infuriated supporters, and a widely-reported quote where he announced that he was "playing to only about 70 per cent of my capacity up here
Scotland" did not endear him to either the fans or his fellow team-mates. Moreover, he exhibited a tendency to play anonymously in big games, and scored only one goal in his six
Old Firm derbies.
The Leeds United manager
David O'Leary swooped for Viduka just before the 2000/2001 season after tracking the big Aussie striker for some time. Leeds paid Celtic £6 million. O'Leary was happy with the outlay however, having been quoted that he believed that the signing was better value for money than any other in the Premiership at the time. It had been apparent for some time that Viduka wanted to leave the club - he ended the 1999/2000 SPL season by failing to score any goals in his final seven appearances of the campaign. Celtic's newly-installed manager,
Martin O'Neill, immediately sold him to the Yorkshire club and spent the fee on
Chris Sutton.
At Leeds he was expected to line up in a three-pronged attack alongside fellow Aussie
Harry Kewell and
Michael Bridges, but injuries to those two saw him form a partnership with
Alan Smith in Leeds
UEFA Champions League matches, while
Robbie Keane also benefited in their
Premiership matches together. In his first
Elland Road season, Viduka scored 22 goals, including all four in a memorable 4-3 win over
Liverpool at
Elland Road. He signed a new five-year deal in the summer of 2001.
In the 2002/03 campaign Viduka scored another 22 goals, forming a good partnership with Smith and feeding off a rich supply line provided by Kewell.
However, Leeds' off-pitch financial troubles prompted the club to sell key players, including Kewell (sold to
Liverpool) and Keane (sold to
Spurs). This prompted speculation that Viduka would join the Leeds exodus with
Barcelona (
Spanish Primera Liga) confirming their interest in the Australian international along with Premiership clubs Liverpool and
Manchester United.
With the relegation of Leeds United to the
Football League Championship, the sale of Viduka's contract during the summer of 2004 became all but inevitable. On
8 July,
2004, Viduka's transfer to
Middlesbrough was completed.
Viduka's debut season at Middlesbrough was initially impressive albeit frustrated by injuries. This season (05-06) however, Mark Viduka has been in sensational form in all competitions for Middlesbrough FC getting into double figures early on in the season. Viduka has also played an important part in spearheading Middlesbrough FC's campaign in the UEFA Cup where they twice had to score four goals in a game to proceed. Middlesbrough FC eventually lost in the final to Sevilla FC of Spain on 10th May 2006.Newly appointed Middlesbourgh FC manager
Gareth Southgate has expressed his interest in keeping Viduka as he thinks he will be a key player for the team. In August 2006, Viduka was awarded the number 9 shirt at Middlesbrough, his preferred number at all his previous clubs, following the departure of
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
He has captained the
Australian national team since September 2005, in place of the injured
Craig Moore, the regular captain. Since the arrival of
Guus Hiddink as coach of the national squad, Viduka has thrived and grown as a leader of the team, as may be expected at the relatively mature age of thirty. He led Australia as it qualified for the
2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany over a two-leg qualifier against Uruguay, the first time in 32 years that Australia qualified to participate in the event. On
May 21,
2006 he was named as the Australian captain for the World Cup.
He led Australia's national team to their first World Cup Finals victory with a 3-1 win over Japan in June 2006, as well as guiding them through a rough Brazilian encounter losing 2-0, following through a controversial bout with Croatia, tieing 2-2. He then led Australia into the second round, where they lost the round of 16 match to Italy by a penalty kick in the 95th minute.However, despite Australia's exceeded expectations, he gave a hint that he could step down as his country's captain and retire from the international scene altogether.
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Statistics at footballdatabase.com
