Harry Kewell

Early career (1993)

At age 14, Kewell travelled to Thailand, Italy, and England with the successful Marconi under-14 team that had recently won the state titles. The team played matches against the junior team of Milan as well as apprenticeship sides in England. This was Kewell's first time out of the country, providing his first taste of football in Europe; he also attended a Premier League match for the first time as a spectator. At age 15, Kewell was offered the opportunity to travel back to England and trial with Premiership club Leeds United for a period of four weeks as part of the Big Brother Movement in Australia. Kewell travelled to England with his future Socceroo teammate Brett Emerton. Both were successful during their trials at Leeds; however, only Kewell was able to take up the club's offer due to his father's English heritage, which satisfied the visa requirements.

Leeds United (1993–2003)

Kewell played for three seasons in the Leeds United youth team. His first match for the youth squad was against Sunderland in 1995, and he scored his first hat-trick against Rotherham on 7 December 1996. Kewell made his first-team debut at age 17 in a 1–0 home defeat against Middlesbrough on 30 March 1996. In 1997, Kewell was part of the Leeds youth team that won the 1996–97 FA Youth Cup final in a 3–1 aggregate victory over Crystal Palace. His first senior goal for Leeds came in October 1997 during a 3–1 League Cup victory over Stoke City. Around that…

Kewell became the third youngest player to debut for the Australia national team when he played against Chile on 24 April 1996, aged 17 years and 7 months.

1998 FIFA World Cup

Qualification

In November 1997, Kewell was selected to play for Australia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Iran. At the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000, Kewell scored his first goal for his country, giving Australia a 1–0 lead. Iran eventually drew level, and the game resulted in a 1–1 draw, which set up a tense return game in Melbourne. A then-record crowd for a football match in Australia of 85,513 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground witnessed the second leg of the World Cup qualifier against Iran, and Kewell's second international goal. The Socceroos eventually stretched their lead to 2–0, but Iran fought back to draw 2–2, qualifying for the 1998 World Cup in France on away goals.

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup

A few months after failing to qualify for the World Cup, Kewell joined Australia as it competed in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. After advancing past the group stage, Australia faced Uruguay in the semi-final. Kewell scored a golden goal two minutes into extra time, giving Australia a 1–0 victory. Australia then faced Brazil in the final, losing 6–0.

2002 FIFA World Cup

Qualification

Kewell joined Australia as they faced Uruguay in both legs of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification…

Following his retirement, Kewell worked with junior players through his academy in Australia for a few months, and in 2015 he successfully completed his UEFA B and A licences.

Watford

On 23 July 2015, Kewell was appointed head coach of the Watford Under-21 team. On 10 August 2015, Kewell coached his first game for the club, ending in a 0–0 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Crawley Town

On 23 May 2017, Kewell was appointed head coach of League Two club Crawley Town, becoming the first Australian to coach a professional English side. Warren Feeney was appointed assistant manager to Kewell. Kewell's managerial debut on 5 August was a 3–1 home loss to Port Vale. Kewell guided Crawley Town to a 14th-place finish in League Two, with his most successful spell consisting of 10 wins in 14 league games between 9 December 2017 and 17 February 2018. Six games into the 2018–19 season, with Crawley sitting 14th in League Two, Kewell left to take over at Notts County.

Notts County

On 31 August 2018, Kewell was appointed manager of fellow League Two club Notts County. Officially announced three days later, he became the club's fifteenth permanent manager in 10 years, inheriting a team sitting at the bottom of the league. On 13 November 2018, he was dismissed after 11 league games in charge; he had won three, leaving the team in 22nd place, just above the relegation zone.

Oldham Athletic

On 1 August 2020, Kewell was appointed as manager of Oldham Athletic…

Harry Kewell was born on 22 September 1978 in Sydney, New South Wales, to an English father, Rod, and an Australian mother, Helen. Growing up, Kewell supported Liverpool in English football's First Division. He received his early education at Smithfield Public School and St. Johns Park High School before transferring to Westfield Sports High School. Before his teenage years, he played junior football for Smithfield Hotspurs (now Fairfield Hotspurs) before switching to Marconi Fairfield.