Mark Viduka

Mark Anthony Viduka (born October 9, 1975 in Melbourne) is an Australian football (soccer) striker of Croatian and Ukrainian descent. He currently plays for Middlesbrough in the English Premier League, and has also played for Croatia Zagreb, Celtic and Leeds United.

Club football career

Viduka started his career in Australia with Melbourne Croatia (Knights) in 1994, and he also became an Australian international the same year. 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 the 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 Boro 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.

International football career

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 will be at the event; on May 21, 2006 he was named as the Australian captain for the World Cup.