With no regrets and with his farewell in sight, retiring Melbourne Heart FC captain Harry Kewell has revealed nothing was going to stop him playing his last game as a professional footballer on Saturday at AAMI Park.
With no regrets and with his farewell in sight, retiring Melbourne Heart FC captain Harry Kewell has revealed nothing was going to stop him playing his last game as a professional footballer on Saturday at AAMI Park.
Kewell, 35, announced his retirement two weeks ago but has missed Melbourne Heart-s last two matches following his announcement due to an abdominal injury.
But Kewell was determined to play tomorrow and has worked himself in to shape for the last game of the Hyundai A-League 2013-14 regular season against the Western Sydney Wanderers tomorrow.
“I was always going to go out there,” Kewell said. “With all the stuff I have played through my whole career it was not going to stop [me] in my last game.
“It was a shame that it [abdominal injury] happened because I would have liked to have played all the games coming in to this but it wasn-t meant to be.
“I-ve been working hard off the pitch to get right for this game and I-m ready to go.”
Kewell says he has no regrets about his decision despite describing the football pitch as his home.
“I get out on the park and it-s like my home,” Kewell said. “Yes I am going to miss it, but again, everything has to come to an end.
“And what a way to end. At home, playing in front of my home crowd, playing against my home town… I don-t think you can beat that.”
Despite the celebrations surrounding the match, Kewell knows it is still a regular season match, with the Wanderers looking to secure a home semi-final.
“We don-t want to finish at the bottom of the table,” Kewell said. “It-s going to be a great game, a feisty game and hopefully every can come to see a perfect game.
“It is my last game but it-s a game that Melbourne Heart must win and I-m going to professional to the very end.
“It doesn-t matter who scores as long as we win.”
Kewell also praised his Melbourne Heart teammates with whom he has enjoyed a number of ups and downs this season.
“I came here and I knew what the Club was about,” Kewell said. “I knew how the Club was structured and I knew what kind of players they had.
“It hasn-t been the greatest year for me as I-ve [had] a few injuries, but every single player every day has been fantastic.
“They-ve always put a smile on my face. They-re a great bunch of guys to work with and for me it-s been a great pleasure to play with them.
“For me to finish with a bunch of guys like this is a pleasure for me.”
