Kevin Muscat

Kevin Vincent Shaun Muscat (born 7 August 1973 in Crawley, England) is an Australian football (soccer) player, who currently plays for, and is captain of, Melbourne Victory in the Australian Hyundai A-League. He is of Maltese people descent.

Club career

He has spent most of his career in Britain, playing for Crystal Palace F.C., Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Rangers F.C. and Millwall F.C.. In 2004, he captained Millwall to the FA Cup Final for the first time in their history. He missed the final itself, after suffering a knee ligament injury in the semi-final against Sunderland A.F.C., although the Millwall manager Dennis Wise insisted on him being presented with a medal. He left Millwall for a return to Australia to become Melbourne Victory's inaugural captain in the 2005/6 season. Under Victory manager Ernie Merrick, Muscat, who has been known as a defender for virtually his entire career, moved to the midfield for the 2006-7 season. By statistics he is one the A-leagues most undisciplined players
having collected a total of 18 yellow and 3 red cards over the course of three seasons

International career

Muscat made his international debut for Australia national football team on the 24 September, 1994 against Kuwait national football team. He represented Australia in the U/23 football competition in the Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He also represented Australia in the U/20 1993 World Youth Cup Finals in Australia. When playing for Australia in 2001, they faced Uruguay in a playoff for a spot in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In the first leg in Melbourne, Australia won 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Kevin Muscat. However Australia went down 3-0 in Montevideo to miss out on qualifying for the World Cup.

Despite being a regular in the Australian national team, Muscat found himself dropped from the squad when coach Guus Hiddink took over in 2005. He played no part in Australia's qualification for the 2006 World Cup.

In August 2006, Muscat was given a lifeline back into the national team. Lacking experienced players for the Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait, coach Graham Arnold recalled Kevin Muscat and handed him the captaincy. Australia won the match 2-0 to qualify for the 2007 Asian Cup.

On January 2, 2008, when Muscat's international career appeared all but over, newly appointed Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek selected Muscat in a squad of 22 A-League based players to train at Marconi Stadium in preparation for Australia's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

Reputation

Muscat was branded a “lowlife” and a “nobody” by ex-England striker Ian Wright, then of Nottingham Forest F.C., in September 1999. Wright claimed he was about to shoot when he heard Dougie Freedman, Forest's other striker, shout "leave it". Wright stepped over the ball to allow Freedman to hit it, but instead Muscat (who had, according to Wright, merely impersonated Freedman) appeared to clear the ball.

Muscat has a reputation as a football 'hard man', and was dubbed the "most hated man in football" by then Birmingham City F.C. player Martin Grainger in 2000. This was due to his many encounters with opposing players with the view being that he was unnecessarily physical and dirty in his play. He has previously seriously injured both Craig Bellamy and Christophe Dugarry, the latter in a friendly international between Australia and France national football team in 2001 with a sliding tackle from behind. The French manager Roger Lemerre dubbed the tackle "an act of brutality", particularly given the friendly status of the match which was designed to prepare Australia for the two-legged playoff against Uruguay. Dugarry was sidelined with a serious knee ligament injury for several months. Many people then suggested that Kevin Muscat must be banned for the period Dugarry was out for, however this was rejected by FIFA tribunal.


In 2003 Kevin Muscat was targeted for his rough, physical and "unfair" attitude towards other players. It was recommended by Martin Grainger that he ease up on some of his "stupid" challenges. Muscat ignored these comments and had an outstanding season. Only receiving 2 red cards and 8 yellows. His best since 1996.

In 2004, a lawsuit on Muscat brought by former Charlton Athletic F.C. player Matty Holmes resulted in a settlement of £250,000 plus costs in favour of Holmes, bringing the estimated settlement to around £750,000. Holmes had to have four operations on his leg following a tackle by Muscat in 1998, and there were initial fears that his leg might have to be amputated. The claim was settled at the High Court without any admission of liability.

In December 2005, he was banned for three matches by the A-league disciplinary panel on grounds of "violent conduct", the first player to be suspended in such a manner.

During his time at Rangers, he was never selected for inclusion in an Old Firm encounter, due to the tense and aggressive nature of the match.

In September 2006, Iwan Roberts admitted in his book All I Want For Christmas that he had deliberately stamped Muscat as an act of revenge in a match against Norwich City over his attempt to seriously injure Craig Bellamy back in 1999. Like the Roy Keane scandal over Alf-Inge Haaland, Roberts was charged by the FA for bringing the game into disrepute.

On Sunday the 15 October 2006 Muscat was involved in an incident with then Adelaide United coach John Kosmina. Muscat entered Adelaide's technical area and knocked Kosmina over while he was retrieving the ball from under his chair. Kosmina responded by grabbing Muscat by the throat. Kosmina was sent to the stands and Muscat received a yellow card. Kosmina was later suspended for a further four matches.

As of November 2006, Muscat has been suspended twice in the A-League 2006-07 season for four yellow cards and a red card. His dominant personality and aggressive style has equally won him admirers and detractors back home in the A-League.

Honours

With Australia national football (soccer) team:
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup (Runners-Up)
- OFC Nations Cup: 2000 OFC Nations Cup, 2004 OFC Nations Cup
With Melbourne Victory:
- A-League Championship: A-League 2006-07
- A-League Premiership: A-League 2006-07
With Rangers FC:
- Scottish football champions: 2002-2003
- Scottish Cup: 2002-2003
With Millwall F.C.:
- FA Cup: 2004 (Runners-Up)
Personal Honours:
- National Soccer League Papasavas Medal (U-21): 1991-1992
- Melbourne Victory Victory Medal: Melbourne Victory season 2005-06, Melbourne Victory season 2006-07