Kewell calls on lessons of career
IT says a lot that Harry Kewell is sitting on a bench at the side of a football pitch not long after 8am, talking about himself as a player but ready to get out on to the training ground as a coach.
On the day he turns 40, and as driven now as he was as a flying teen for Leeds United and the Socceroos, Kewell is about to be decorated for one part of his sporting life while he sets out on another.
It’s for an outstanding playing career that Kewell is to become the sixth footballer to be inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame next month, after winning the UEFA Champions League, playing at two World Cups and two Asian Cups, and six years ago being voted this country’s finest player.
It’s no surprise that memories of that career will inspire the way he sets about building his coaching profile, beginning with his explosion into the Leeds United team that challenged Europe’s elite more than 20 years ago.
“We had a young group of players with no fear,” Kewell said. “Our training sessions at Leeds were that rough and tough, there was probably a fight every week.”
At Liverpool Kewell won the Champions League and FA Cup, though he suffered cruel injuries — which may explain why he looked happiest and most relaxed when playing.
“I say something similar to my players,” Kewell said. “I tell them, you should fear training and then on the weekend it should be fun.
“You should be that happy to go out there, knowing you’ve worked on what you needed to, and then to go out there and showcase it.”