'Wouldn't even look at each other': Mark Viduka's ugly feud with Harry Kewell
Beloved Australian icon Mark Viduka has let rip at former teammates in a candid interview more than a decade after he retired.
Widely considered the nation’s greatest ever striker, the V-bomber - as he was nicknamed - captained Australia and played in the nation’s Golden Era of football alongside the likes of Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill and Tim Cahill.
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But the quiet Aussie, who runs a cafe in a small town in Croatia, has revealed a tense relationship with both Kewell and Neill at points during his career.
Viduka and Kewell formed one England’s most frightening forward lines during their time at Leeds after the big forward joined in 2000.
The pair, along with mastermind coach Guus Hiddink, guided Australia to the World Cup quarter-final against Italy in the Golden Era of football for the country.
But Viduka has revealed the pair shared a horrible relationship during their time in England and could barely look at each other in the dressing room.
"I had a problem with Bernie Mandic - (who) was my agent when he took me from Celtic to Leeds," he said.
"I would have thought that Bernie would have been in H's ear the whole time just in case I would've told him about what happened between me and him (Mandic).
"I think maybe our relationship at Leeds wasn't that good because - I can't say for sure that's it - but I think (Mandic) probably affected the way that (Kewell) viewed me, definitely."
Viduka said he and Kewell were now on good terms.
"I think Harry's been burnt by him (Mandic) as well," he said.
‘Tried to undermine me’: Viduka on Neill
However, not all of Viduka’s relationships were repaired.
The V-bomber talks of a tension with Neill during the Asian Cup tournament.
Viduka claimed teammates came into the tournament more worried about themselves than the national team.
One player he singled out was Neill, who Viduka believed was distracted after the coach at the time, Graham Arnold, offered him the captaincy unsure of the big forward would play.
"I think Lucas tried to undermine me. His priority was to be captain - more because of his other activities off the pitch rather than on the pitch stuff,” he said.
“That's my opinion. That was the main reason I stopped playing for the national team.”
Viduka said he didn’t regret retiring from national duties because he felt the current generation was more worried about making deals on the side than concentrating on football.
AC Milan tried to sign Viduka
He revealed AC Milan had been keen to secure his services, but after negotiations Leeds decided not to sell their star striker.
"I had the chance to join AC Milan - that was after the 2001 season, when we got to the semi-final of the Champions League," Viduka told ESPN.
"The club was negotiating with Milan and Leeds wanted PS38 million.
"I was friends with (Milan's) Zvonimir Boban at the time, and we were sort of negotiating terms through him. In the end, (Milan) offered them PS38 million, and Leeds didn't want to sell. And that was that.
"I was a huge AC Milan fan as a kid. I grew up watching (Marco) van Basten, (Frank) Rijkaard and (Ruud) Gullit.
"I loved AC Milan. They were my favourite team."
Viduka said there had also been discussions with Ferguson's Manchester United.
"Manchester were interested in signing me ... and it was in the air," he said.
"With transfers it's always like that - there's interest and the clubs have to agree terms and things like that.
"It ended up not happening."
Viduka ultimately departed Leeds for Middlesbrough after they were relegated at the end of the 2003-04 season.
With AAP
