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The Making of Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka arrived at Leeds United in the summer of 2000 for a then club-record £6 million from Celtic. Four years later he left for Middlesbrough, having scored 72 goals in 166 appearances. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Overview
Mark Viduka arrived at Leeds United in the summer of 2000 for a then club-record £6 million from Celtic.
Four years later he left for Middlesbrough, having scored 72 goals in 166 appearances.
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
A striker built for the Premier League
Viduka brought something Leeds urgently needed: size, strength, technique and the ability to hold the ball with defenders around him.
David O'Leary signed him as Leeds prepared for another Champions League campaign, and he immediately demonstrated why the club had paid such a significant fee.
His first season produced 22 goals in all competitions.
Four against Liverpool
The match that established Viduka in Leeds folklore came at Elland Road in November 2000.
Liverpool arrived expecting to compete for points.
Viduka scored all four Leeds goals.
The final score was 4-3, and the Australian had announced himself in spectacular fashion. Leeds were not simply getting a powerful striker. They had acquired a forward capable of changing matches almost by himself.
More than a goalscorer
Viduka's game was more sophisticated than simply finishing chances.
He could receive the ball with his back to goal, bring midfielders into play and create space for runners around him.
That was particularly important in a Leeds team full of attack-minded players.
During his Leeds career he scored 72 goals and supplied 28 assists, while his four seasons included 22, 16, 22 and 12 goals respectively.
The difficult years
Viduka's story also became intertwined with the changing fortunes of Leeds.
The side that reached the Champions League semi-final in 2001 gradually broke apart. By 2002-03 the financial pressure was becoming increasingly obvious and the club was fighting to remain in the Premier League.
Viduka responded with 22 goals in the 2002-03 season, helping Leeds survive by the narrowest of margins.
Why Mark Viduka mattered
Viduka could be frustrating, brilliant, languid and devastating — sometimes within the same match.
His style was distinctive enough that nobody really replaced him.
The statistics are impressive: 166 appearances and 72 goals.
The memories are even stronger.
A four-goal demolition of Liverpool. Goals against the biggest clubs. Champions League nights. A huge Australian striker in a Leeds shirt who seemed capable of making impossible things look straightforward.
That is what made “Big Dukes” a Leeds legend.