Mark Viduka to Sportal.bg: You Have to Love the Game – Everything Else Follows

Meeting Mark Viduka is like a trip down memory lane, back to an era when strikers didn't just score goals, but dominated defenses with character and class. The former Leeds, Celtic, and Australia international striker spoke candidly about his beginnings, career highs, and the tough moments off the pitch. From the streets of Melbourne to Champions League nights, the legend recounts his journey, his goals, and the lessons learned from football.

"It all started when I was three or four years old," Viduka recalls. His first contact with the game came thanks to his father and the matches of Melbourne Knights (then known as Melbourne Croatia). It was there that his dream of becoming a professional footballer was born.

His transition to European football began with Dinamo Zagreb, followed by Celtic. "The level was much higher – the intensity, the quality, everything. It was a huge change and a pivotal moment in my career," he shares. In Scotland, Viduka shared a dressing room with Stiliyan Petrov, for whom he holds warm memories: "He was a great guy. I helped him with the language at the beginning – Scottish English isn't easy. He was quiet and shy, but on the pitch, he performed excellently."

The real breakthrough came with his transfer to Leeds United, when the team was competing in the Champions League. "We were a young team with energy and we reached the semi-finals. It was a time when we simply enjoyed our football."

One cannot talk about Viduka without mentioning his famous four-goal haul against Liverpool.

Among his 92 Premier League goals, one remains the most special – against Arsenal in 2003.

Retiring from the game isn't easy: "It takes time. You're used to constant stress and structure. When that disappears, it's hard to adapt."

Finally, Viduka offered an important message to young footballers: