The Premier League is regarded as arguably the greatest football league in the world, due to its global audience, presentation, competition amongst teams, and types of managers and players present in the league, to mention but a few.
The league, which began in 1992, has spanned over 28 seasons, and during this period a total of 51 Australian footballers have made at least one appearance in the league. Within this article, we take a look at the five players we consider to be the greatest Australians to play in the English Premier League.
Tim Cahill
No surprises here, in fact, if we had to do this list 100 times, I am sure he would appear in the top five on every occasion. Everyone’s favorite Australian footballer moved to England in 1998 signing for Millwall on a free transfer from Sydney United. Helping the English club reach the final of the illustrious FA Cup in 2004 where they lost to Manchester United. Cahill’s love story with the Premier League began in 2004 after he joined Everton for a fee of around £1.5 million.
After finishing his first season as the club’s top scorer and fan’s Player of the Season, he was rewarded with a new contract reflecting the impact he made at the club. An attacking midfielder by trait, Cahill’s ability to play as a striker or just off the striker saw him finish with 68 goals in 278 appearances in all competitions. In 2006 Cahill was voted in the top 50 of the prestigious Ballon D’Or Awards. Becoming the first Toffees player in almost two decades to be nominated, and the only player from a country in the Asia football federation.
Cahill’s trademark corner flag goal celebration and love for the game earned him a legendary status amongst the Toffees faithful, ensuring his eight-year spell at Goodison Park would never be forgotten.
Cahill also had an outstanding career on the international stage. His 50 goals make him Australia’s all-time leading scorer, and he was the first Australian to score in a World Cup. Cahill scored five World Cup goals in total, scoring in the 2006, 2010, and 2014 editions of the biggest football fiesta.
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka started his professional football career in Australia playing for Melbourne Knights in 1993 before moving to Croatia two years later. Viduka earned his move to Dinamo Zagreb after finishing as the top scorer and best player in the National Soccer League (NSL). Viduka’s first taste of the English Premier League came as a Leeds United player, after joining them from Celtic just before the 2000-01 season.
The big Aussie finished with 22 goals in his first season as Leeds United secured a top-four finish and a place in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League campaign. Viduka’s performances attracted interest from the likes of AC Milan and Manchester United in the summer of 2001, but a move to either failed to materialize.
Following Leeds United’s relegation in 2004 and their financial crisis, Viduka joined Middlesbrough, where he became an instant success. Helping Boro qualify for the 2005-06 UEFA Cup, where they lost to Sevilla in the final, after a very impressive campaign.
Viduka’s time in the Premier League came to an end following a two-year spell with Newcastle United, whom he joined in the summer of 2007 -scoring just seven goals in 37 appearances for the Tyneside outfit.
Harry Kewell
Arguably, the most gifted Australian to step on a football field. Harry Kewell was already a touted sensation at the young age of 15, having already had trials and featured in youth games in Thailand, Italy, and England. Signed by Leeds United as a youth team player in 1993, Kewell made his first-team debut at the age of 17 in a 1-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough on 30 March 1996. In the year 2000, on the back of a successful campaign that saw Kewell win the PFA Young Player of the year award as well as get selected in the PFA Team of the Year. Leeds rejected a bid of £25 million from Italian giants, Inter Milan, citing Kewell as a star of the future and an important player to the club.
The former Australian winger also helped Leeds reach the semifinals of the 2000-01 UEFA Champions League season, before unceremoniously departing for Liverpool in the summer of 2003, as Leeds’ financial difficulties worsened.
Kewell turned down a host of clubs to complete a controversial transfer to Liverpool, as the Merseyside club was accused of paying his agent £2m of the proposed £5m transfer fee by Gary Lineker. Kewell sued Lineker for defamation in 2005, but both parties settled out of court.
The current Oldham Athletic manager won the UEFA Champions League in 2005, and the FA Cup a year later during his time at Liverpool. His five-year spell at Anfield was plagued by injuries, making just 93 appearances in all competitions. Kewell left the Premier League in 2008 but returned in 2015 as the manager of Watford’s youth team.
Mark Schwarzer
Regarded as one of the greatest Premier League goalkeepers of all time, Mark Schwarzer began his professional career at age 19 in the National Soccer League (NSL) at the young age of 19. He moved to Germany in 1994, making a handful of appearances for both Dynamo Dresden and Kaiserslautern before joining Bradford City in England two years later. His impressive performances ensured he only spent a year at Bradford before joining Middlesbrough in 1997 where he spent 11 years as their first-choice goalkeeper.
Schwarzer left Boro in the summer of 2008, joining London-based club, Fulham on a free transfer. The former Australian shot-stopper later revealed he had offers from Juventus and Bayern Munich that summer, but failure to guarantee him regular playing time ensured he moved to Craven Cottage. Schwarzer ended his first season with Fulham as the club’s Player of the Year award winner and also appeared in the goal as the Cottagers lost narrowly to Atletico Madrid in the 2009-10 UEFA Cup final. Making that Schwarzer’s second final loss in the same competition, as he also was between the sticks when Middlesbrough lost to Sevilla in 2006.
Schwarzer had a brief 18-month spell with Chelsea, whom he joined in the summer of 2013 before calling time in the Premier League with Leicester City in the summer of 2016.
Lucas Neill
When the name Lucas Edward Neill pops up, you wouldn’t think of a man with over 250 Premier League appearances to his name. That’s how much of an impact Neill had during his 15-year spell in English football. The tough-tackling, no-nonsense center-back moved to England in November 1995 joining Millwall on a free transfer from the Australian Institute of Sport, where he was a scholar.
After six years at The Den, Neill joined Blackburn Rovers in 2001 for a fee of £600,000 before going on to achieve cult hero status at Ewood Park. His relationship with the Blackburn faithful started to suffer after he turned down a four-year contract in 2006 following interest in his services from Liverpool and Chelsea (rumored).
In January 2007, Neill turned down a move to Liverpool to join West Ham, citing that the Hammers made him feel more wanted than the Merseyside club did. He made 79 appearances for West Ham in all competitions before joining close friend Tim Cahill at Everton in the summer of 2009. Neill’s time in the Premier League came to an end a year later, after featuring in just 12 games for the Toffees.
Conclusion
It has become harder to find Australians playing in the Premier League. Tyrese Francois of Fulham is the only Australian player currently playing in the Premier League team. However, Australian Cameron Peupion does play in premier club Brighton’s youth squad. We are hoping that if Australia is successful at the 2022 World Cup there will be more opportunities for Australian players to participate in the Premier League. You never know,
