Harry Kewell

Biography

Harry Kewell (born 22 September, 1978), is an Australian-born football player regarded by many as Australia's all-time best. He currently plays for Liverpool FC where he wears the number 7 shirt.

Born in Smithfield, Sydney, he joined the English Premiership football club Leeds United on trial at 16 from New South Wales Academy . He made his Leeds debut as a 17-year-old on 30 March 1996 in a 1-0 home defeat by Middlesbrough. He made his Australia debut in April 1996 in 3-0 defeat by Chile. The first goal he scored for Leeds came some time later, in October 1997, in a 3-1 League Cup victory over Stoke City.

Playing mostly in a left midfield role and in attack, he became Leeds' best player, eventually forming a striking partnership with fellow Australian Mark Viduka. The high point of this period was when they helped Leeds to the semi-final of the Champions League in 2000-01. Unfortunately, however, the club began to suffer financial difficulties and, by 2002-03, the efforts in front of goal of Kewell and Viduka prevented a mediocre Leeds side from being relegated from the Premiership.

Disillusioned with the plight of cash-strapped Leeds, Kewell moved to Liverpool for the start of the 2003-04 season. The transfer was highly controversial, with claims that Liverpool paid Kewell's agent a substantial fee to ensure that he ended up at Anfield. In moving to Liverpool, Kewell reportedly snubbed an offer by rivals Manchester United.

His performances in the first half of his debut season for Liverpool were exceptional, although it is generally believed that Kewell has failed to acheive these heights since. As of October 2004, his inconsistent form has cost him guaranteed first-team football, although given Liverpool's current shortage of attacking options, that looks set to change.

In each of the last two seasons (2002-3 and 2003-4) Kewell has been the leading scorer in the Premiership of left-footed goals.

Kewell has not always turned out for the Australian national team, but when he has his efforts have been outstanding, scoring on a regular basis against strong teams and helping in victories against France, Brazil, and — probably more importantly to most Australians — against England.