You had two Aussies in the Liverpool squad, Brad Jones and Dean Bouzanis. Good guys?

Great guys. So upbeat. It’s hard what these guys do because they are essentially stand-in keepers but they are always smiling, always laughing. Dean especially is your typical Aussie lad, full of jokes and full of laughs.
 

Did you have any Ashes banter over the winter, then?
Plenty. We have loads of Australian staff at Liverpool. Lots of the backroom staff and sports scientists are from Down Under, so the banter was flying most days. It’s not often we get to gloat, is it?
 

You’re a keen student of football and sport. What do you make of the Australian outlook and how they create champions?
You have to be so impressed. I’m adamant that their way of doing things is how England as a country should be looking to operate. If we want to improve, we need to take a lot from how they do things over there.
 

Who’s the best Australian you’ve faced in the Premier League?
Tim Cahill is a great player and has scored a few against us. Mark Viduka was a handful. Not the quickest, but he was a big unit, great with his back to goal and a fine finisher. He got four against us back in 2000 at Elland Road. That Leeds team was very good but it was Mark and Harry Kewell who were there two main threats.
 

What about Harry Kewell? A wasted talent?
I’m not sure about that. He was unlucky with injuries and that the manager who signed him (Gerard Houllier) left a year later. He
had bad injuries but the record books show that he started in a Champions League Final and an FA Cup Final and has the winners’ medals to prove it.  He had all the talent but I guess it didn’t quite go for him here. It’s a shame.
 

What are your thoughts on the Australian national team?
I was very impressed with them in Germany back in 2006 and they were unlucky to lose against Italy. They didn’t progress last summer but actually were a little unlucky early on against Germany and had a shot kicked off the line early doors. If that goes in, who knows?
 

You’re mates with Robbie Fowler. Did he enjoy life Down Under?
He loved it. His family loved the lifestyle over there, the beach and the sun. But he’s not tanned – he goes red like all proper scousers!
 

Could you see yourself doing that?
I never want to stop playing for Liverpool but if the opportunity came along and the time was right who knows? It looks lovely.

 

This article appeared in the June 2011 issue of Australian FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.