Which Revie-Era players later played in Australia?Which former Leeds youth player is now a Sydney policeman?Which former Leeds United players are currently playing in Australia?Just how many bloody Aussies have we had at Leeds United?Find out the answers to all these questions and more inside!
Mark Viduka & Harry Kewell are remembered as an iconic pairing for both Leeds United & Australia's men's football team: the Socceroos. These two players left lasting connections between Leeds United and Australia... but did you know there are more than 60 other footballers with a connection to both Leeds United & the land Down Under?
This book details all the players who have played both for Leeds United, and are Australian, or played in Australia, or managed in Australia. We've also added the New Zealanders for good measure.
From Revie Era players who subsequently played in Australia: Allan Clarke, Paul Reaney, and Bobby Collins, to ex-Leeds United players currently plying their trade in Australia, including players like Neil Kilkenny and Scott Wootton all feature. Former players are also working as coaches and managers in the Australian Leagues such as Haydon Foxe, Shane Cansdell-Sheriff, Nick Montgomery, and Patrick Kisnorbo. Kiwi Danny Hay is now the manager of the New Zealand National Team.
Leeds has also had a fair share of managers, coaches and backroom staff with an Antipodean connection. Terry Venables famously managed Australia, and former Leeds coach Brian Green did too. From the backroom staff, Harold Wilkinson's right-hand man Mick Hennigan played in Australia, and Geoff Sleight, Wilkinson's scout, played for the Socceroos in their first-ever World Cup qualifier against North Korea. Currently, Australian Peter Lowy, son of Sir Frank Lowy sits on the board of his "beloved" Leeds United.
At the turn of the Millennium, Leeds United could have almost fielded a full Antipodean side: Jacob Burns, Danny Milosevic, Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Shane Cansdell-Sheriff, Jamie McMaster, Paul Okon, and Kiwi Danny Hay would have made a fairly formidable team on their own!
Leeds United first played a friendly in Melbourne in 2002. It would be a long 17 years before they came back in 2019. With a surprise return in July 2022, Leeds United played their sixth game in Australia by the time they faced Crystal Palace in Perth.
This book serves not just as an interesting addition to the vast published history of Leeds United, but also as a celebration of the strong and ever-growing bond between LUFC and Australia.
Authors Marcus Russell & Sam Gibbard are both Yorkshiremen who ended up Down Under. This is their first book.
With a forward by former Leeds United physio Alan Sutton.
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