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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
RSS