Kevin Muscat will always be remembered as the man they loved to hate.
A controversial Wolverhampton Wanderers defender who angered opposition fans and lived up to his controversial hard man tag.
The Australian international was actually born in Crawley but his early career was in Australia where he notched up nearly 100 games for Sunshine George Cross, Heidelberg United and South Melbourne.
It was from here that he caught the eye of Crystal Palace who he signed for and then later Wolves.
He played 180 times for the Molineux outfit between 1997 and 2002 and controversy was never far away from him.
Birmingham City player Martin Grainger dubbed him ‘most hated man in football’ in 2000 after a tackle on his international teammate, Stan Lazaridis.
He also injured Christophe Dugarry in an international match prompted France manager Roger Lemerre to call it an ‘act of brutality’.
The roll of shame also included seriously injuring Craig Bellamy, being taken to the High Court by former Charlton Athletic midfielder Matty Holmes after he had to have operations on his leg following a tackle by Muscat.
It was initially feared that his leg might have to be amputated.
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At Millwall he was sent off for stamping on an opponent and his chairman threatened to sack him if he didn’t clean up his act.
Numerous red cards and suspensions plagued his career in England including a five-match ban for a tackle from behind against Ashley Ward, a challenge that sparked a brawl between both teams.
After his brief spells at Millwall and Rangers he returned to Australia to play for Melbourne Victory and Sunshine George Cross.
His return to Australia wasn’t any less controversial.
He became the first A-League player to be suspended for three games for violent conduct.
He caused serious injury to Melbourne Heart’s Adrian Zahra, a review panel found him guilty of serious foul play and he was banned for 8 games.
The Sun called the tackle one of the worst they had ever seen and former Aston Villa goalkeeper Mark Bosnich labelled it ‘a disgrace’.
In a professional career spanning 19 years he received 123 yellow cards and 12 red cards.
He is currently out of work having managed most recently manager at Belgian top tier side Sint-Truidense, whom he left in June because of a run of poor results.
“I had had an unbelievable ride, one that couldn’t be scripted at Victory; worked with unbelievable people and we all enjoyed success as a whole,” he said.
“But something in me, I just felt I needed a fresh challenge away from Australia.
“I had been at the club 15 years and I still speak to the chairman and directors and employees, I’ve still got a great affiliation, but I just felt I wanted an overseas job and challenge while I had that energy in me.
“So I took the bull by the horns.”
Muscat took his first steps into management with Melbourne Victory in his native Australia having been a coach there from 2009 to 2013.
He has since had managerial roles at Sint Truiden, Yokohoma, and Shanghai Port.
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