Mark Viduka Bio Send To Friend  

Viduka joined Newcastle United following the expiration of his deal at Middlesbrough in the summer of 2007. His first season was by no means the best in a decent career and Toon fans must hope there is more to come from a player who possesses undoubted class.

Tall and powerful Viduka started his career in Australia with Melbourne, before moving to Croatia Zagreb, by virtue of his Croatian parentage, and then joining Celtic in a £3.5million deal.

He made his debut for Melbourne Knights in 1994, making 22 appearances and scoring 18 goals.

That same year he was handed his first cap with Australia in the 1-0 victory over South Africa in Adelaide.

In 1995 Viduka transferred to Croatia Zagreb, scoring 40 goals in 84 games in a three-year spell.

When joining Celtic, in November 1998, he was actually known as Marko Viduka.

His move to Celtic was held up as 'Marko' claimed he was under stress from the war that had taken place in Croatia. He returned to Australia to 'get his head together'.

In December, Celtic announced Viduka had quit the club without kicking a ball complaining of stress.

He finally made his first appearance in Celtic colours on February 16.

His appearances in 1998/99 were curtailed by the transfer saga - which angered many at Parkhead.

The Australian was voted the Scottish Premier League Player of the Year in 1999/2000 after scoring 27 goals in his first full season at Celtic.

Viduka was bought by Leeds United £6million after another protracted transfer saga during the summer of 2000.

He made his Premiership debut in a 2-1 win at Middlesbrough.

After a couple of free-scoring years, Leeds looked to sell to solve their cash flow problems, but by the start of the 2002/03 season he was still a Leeds player. Viduka continued to shine amid the financial chaos that wracked Leeds.

And he had his worst season in terms of goals in 2003/04 as Leeds' financial woes finally caught up with them and they were relegated.

In January, Middlesbrough made a concerted effort to take him to the Riverside, but Viduka insisted on staying put to help Leeds battle against the drop.

At the end of the season Boro finally got their man, spending £4.5million to capture the Australian, on a three-year deal.

He scored on his Boro debut in a 2-0 win at Fulham but his first season was beset by injuries.

Viduka was back to fitness for 2005/06 and scored 16 goals in all competitions that season as Boro lost to FC Sevilla in the final of the UEFA Cup.

The striker was subsequently part of the Australia squad which performed superbly to reach the second round of the World Cup.