Kevin Muscat was branded “the most hated man in football” by an opponent during his playing days, but the Australian hopes perceptions are changing after making his mark as a coach.
England-born Muscat had a successful playing career as a tough-tackling defender with the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Millwall and Crystal Palace, and won 46 caps for Australia.
However, he was also involved in a series of controversial on-field incidents and was sent off 12 times.
Photo: AFP
In 2001, France coach Roger Lemerre described a crunching Muscat tackle that injured forward Christophe Dugarry as an “act of brutality.”
Now 48 and manager of a Yokohama F Marinos side playing attacking soccer in Japan’s J-League, Muscat said that he is keen to “be judged separately,” adding that “the perception is maybe starting to change in people.”
“I want to be involved in teams that play a certain brand of soccer and that maybe contradicts what most people perceive to my playing days,” Muscat said.
“I’m trying to forge my own way in terms of the way I coach, the way I manage and the way my teams play... That’s really all I can do,” he said.
Muscat began his managerial career at Melbourne Victory, and following a stint in Belgium, took over J-League champions Yokohama last summer after fellow Australian Ange Postecoglou left to join Scottish giants Celtic.
Muscat took Yokohama to a runner-up finish last season ahead of Vissel Kobe, and after seven games this season they are second again, having snuck four goals past champions Kawasaki Frontale and winning plaudits for their fluid attacking style.
However, more than changing impressions about himself, Muscat also hopes the same can be said about Australian coaches, and he wants to see more of his compatriots given the chance to manage overseas.
After a slow start in Scotland, Postecoglou has propelled Celtic above fierce Glasgow rivals the Rangers and taken the Bhoys to a Scottish League Cup title.
“It’s not doing any harm that Ange is at the forefront of people’s minds now, and hopefully that transcends,” Muscat said. “Hopefully, over a period of time, more Australians get opportunities not only in Europe but also in Asia.”
Muscat’s two worlds collide tomorrow when Australia play Japan in a crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier in Sydney.
He said that he is “a little bit torn.”
Muscat has been mentioned as a potential future Australia manager, but he said he is enjoying the “good challenges” of managing in the J-League and believes the change in environment “adds more to your armory in the way you coach.”
“I haven’t found it difficult, because I look upon these things as a challenge,” he said of working “90 percent through translators.”
“What gets removed is the one-on-one emotion side of things with the players, but I’m working with a very good translator and I’m able to transfer as much of the emotion in the conversation as possible,” he added.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS