Kevin Muscat. It’s hard to imagine the Melbourne Victory without Kevin. He is known for fierce tackles, a fiery temper and a perfect penalty-kick record.
Before moving to Crystal Palace (England) in 1996, Muscat played football for a number of Victorian clubs in the old NSL, including Heidelberg United and South Melbourne F.C. When he moved to the UK, he quickly earned himself a reputation as a hard player. Martin Grainger of Birmingham City even went so far as to call him the “most hated man in football”. Maybe so, but Muscat’s skills as a footballer saw him spend 9 seasons in the UK, playing for Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton, Rangers F.C. and Millwall F.C. He captained Millwall to the FA Cup Final in 2004 – a game he missed due to injury.
Muscat played for the Socceroos on 46 occasions and scored 10 goals. He captained them in their unsuccesful qualification campaign for the World Cup 2002, when he scored Australia’s only goal against Uruguay in the 2-leg qualification matchup.
He only scored 5 times during his time in the UK, but his minimal goal-scoring was turned around when he came to the Melbourne Victory in 2005. Since his time with the Victory, he has scored 13 times, 11 of which were by penalty. He is yet to miss a penalty.
One of the key changes between the 2005-06 season and last year’s scorcher was Muscat’s shift from a defensive position to a midfield role. In the first season he played with an attacking mindset anyway, essentially compensating for a fairly lacklustre midfield. But with the move to midfield in 2006, Muscat worked alongside Grant Brebner to form a powerful partnership, controlling the midfield and driving the ball towards Melbourne’s attackers. Better service for strikers Archie Thompson and Daniel Allsopp, as well as Fred, led to a vastly-improved success rate in front of goal, especially for Allsopp. Meanwhile, Muscat’s shift away from the defence saw Adrian Leijer step up to the plate of central defender, as he combined effectively with new recruit Rodrigo Vargas to create a more concentrated and tight defence than the prior year.
In 2007-08, it’s safe to expect that the duo of Muscat and Brebner will continue to reign supreme in the centre of the park. Players like Adrian Caceres, Leigh Broxham, Kaz Patafta and Evan Berger give Merrick plenty of alternatives for the midfield, but I suspect that the Muscat-Brebner combination will not be abandoned in a hurry.
One Kevin highlight from last year:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtUjLTdNoFk[/youtube]
Read more:
- Muscat’s $606,000 tackle, February 25, 2004, The Age
- Kevin on Wikipedia
- Profile at MelbourneVictory.com.au
2 comments ↓
[...] back in round 1, there were also reports of locker-room tension between Milicevic and captain Kevin Muscat during pre-season. And now [...]
[...] leaving Melbourne with a gaping hole in defense. Ernie Merrick has virtually ruled out moving Muscat back into defence. It’s understandable why too – without Muscat in the midfield, Melbourne [...]
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