Harry Kewell

Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player.

He is currently the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League.

As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United, Liverpool, Galatasaray, Melbourne Victory, Al-Gharafa and Melbourne Heart.

Harry Kewell was born on 22 September 1978 in Sydney, New South Wales, to an English father, Rod, and an Australian mother, Helen.

Harry grew up supporting Liverpool in English football's First Division.

Kewell received his early schooling at Smithfield Public School and secondary schooling at St. Johns Park High School before transferring to Westfield Sports High School.

Before becoming a teenager he played junior football for Smithfield Hotspurs (now Fairfield Hotspurs) before switching to Marconi Fairfield as a teenager.

At age 14, Kewell travelled to Thailand, Italy and England with the successful Marconi under-14 team that had recently won the state titles.

The team played games against the junior team of Milan, as well as apprenticeship sides in England.

This was the first time Kewell had been out of the country but provided him his first taste of football in Europe, having also attended a Premier League match for the first time as a spectator.

At age 15, Kewell was offered the opportunity to travel back to England and trial with Premiership football club Leeds United for a period of four weeks as part of the Big Brother Movement in Australia.

Kewell travelled to England with his future Socceroo teammate Brett Emerton.

Both were successful during their trials at Leeds, however only Kewell was able to take up the club's offer due to his father's English heritage, which satisfied the visa requirements.

Kewell played for three seasons in the Leeds United youth team.

Kewell has represented Australia at the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, where Australia finished runners-up, the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, which Australia claimed for the fourth time, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, where Australia finished runners-up.

His first match for the youth team was against Sunderland in 1995, and he scored his first hat-trick against Rotherham on 7 December 1996.

Kewell was handed his first team debut at age 17 in a 1–0 home defeat against Middlesbrough on 30 March 1996.

In 1997, Kewell was part of the Leeds United youth-team that claimed the 1996–97 FA Youth Cup final in a 3–1 aggregate win against Crystal Palace.

The first goal he scored for Leeds came some time later, in October 1997, in a 3–1 League Cup victory over Stoke City.

Around that time, he was flatmates with Leeds goalkeeper Nicky Byrne, who would later become a member of boyband Westlife.

Kewell was sent off in the Leeds United-Galatasaray 1999–2000 UEFA Cup semi-final match.

Playing mostly in a left midfield role and in attack, Kewell became one of Leeds' young stars in a troop of highly promising youngsters, eventually playing alongside fellow Australian Mark Viduka.

In the 1999–2000 season, on the back of his most successful season at Leeds where he also won PFA Young Player of the Year was selected in the PFA Team of the Year, Italian giants Internazionale had bid £25 million for Kewell, but Leeds rejected the offer, citing his value to their side.

While at Leeds he was named the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2000.

Internationally, he received 58 caps, and scored 17 goals while playing for Australia.

A left winger also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or second striker, he is often regarded within the media as "Australia's finest soccer export", despite his career being blighted with injury.

The high point of this period was when Kewell helped Leeds to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League in 2000–01.

The club, however, began to suffer financial difficulties and, by 2002–03, having sold many of their best players, Kewell's efforts in front of goal merely delayed Leeds' slide from being relegated from the Premiership.

Kewell's efforts at Leeds United gained him international recognition for his talents.

He scored 45 goals in over 180 appearances for Leeds over eight years.

Kewell left Leeds under acrimonious circumstances.

In an interview given to the BBC shortly before his move to Liverpool, Kewell strongly criticised the staff at the club, stating that the medical staff loved Lucas Radebe and that his teammates had ostracised him.

Having rejected more financially enticing offers from Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona, Kewell moved to the club he supported as a boy, Liverpool, for the start of the 2003–04 season.

Kewell was handed the famous number seven shirt, surrendered by Vladimír Šmicer.

Kewell scored a goal against Croatia which took Australia through to the knockout stages of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Australian national team's second World Cup.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Australian Professional Footballers' Association.

Kewell also has a British passport through his father's heritage.

Former Middlesbrough midfielder-turned pundit Robbie Mustoe named Kewell as one of the greatest players he had played against but questioned his consistency and attitude after his initial injuries.

Former German international Michael Ballack has also highlighted Kewell's ability and inconsistency.

In 2012, Kewell was named Australia's greatest soccer player in a vote by Australian fans, players and media.