​​The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1985, which begs the question, why has it taken this long for Mark Viduka to be recognised? Viduka was one of eight new inductees announced over the weekend, alongside some athletes I’ve never heard of, Sheree Murphy’s husband, and I guess maybe Paul Okon and Neil Kilkenny, or maybe not. Nominees must have been retired for four years to become eligible, which means Viduka should have been enrolled way back in 2013.

Not according to Leeds United’s official website, though, that published a story on Viduka’s prestigious accolade stating the striker joined Leeds in 2015. Only fifteen years out! At least they made up for this faux pas by posting a compilation of Viduka’s best goals for Leeds, featuring all the hits and a couple of b-side gems.

The finishing throughout is a thrilling reminder of what Viduka looked like at his best. He had the cumbersome build of a heavyweight slugger who was always happier floating like a butterfly but never afraid to sting like a bee. His four goals against Liverpool, the net-breaker against Chelsea and that backheel against Lazio always come quickest to mind, but the 1:13 mark of the video kicks off two masterful moments of goalscoring that had faded from my memory.

???????? Congrats to former #LUFC striker Mark Viduka on being inducted into the @sportaushof Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/8v5qVPHtjR

— Leeds United (@LUFC) November 14, 2021

Of all the goals in Leeds’ 3-1 win at West Brom in the second match of the 2002/03 season, only Lee Bowyer bending the ball into the far corner like a set-piece from open play made it onto the Leeds United 100 Greatest Goals DVD. The joy of Bowyer’s goal is in the speculative nature of the attempt; the ball was there to be hit, so hit it he did. The opposite is true of Viduka’s genius. Controlling Bowyer’s pass unmarked in the West Brom penalty area, the ball is there to be hit, but that would be too crude. Why speculate when you can use mind control? He dummies and waits for goalkeeper Russell Hoult to start gently falling over to his left, caressing the ball to the goalkeeper’s right and scoring into an open goal with what Amy Lawrence described in her report for The Observer as a ’soft-shoe shuffle’.

Straight after that in the video is another overlooked moment of Viduka brilliance, likely forgotten due to it happening in the second half of the campaign when Leeds went top of the league on New Year’s Day before finishing 5th, costing David O’Leary his job. After failing to win in the league for two months, Leeds ended the season with seven wins in ten, including a 1-0 win at Villa Park as Viduka scored his fourth in five games and sixteenth of the season. Leeds’ compilation video excludes O’Leary yawning from the touchline just before David Batty is intercepting a pass and driving forward from midfield, the ball reaching Viduka via a short pass from Robbie Keane. Pause the video as Viduka takes a touch and see there are five Villa players rushing back into the penalty area to surround him. A Cruyff turn leaves them running to the wrong place, and the outside of Viduka’s boot leaves the ball nestling in the back of the net.

Sport Australia have finally righted their wrong of overlooking Mark Viduka for this long, but Leeds’ compilation underlined it should have been done the second he became eligible. Seriously, when was the last time Don Bradman scored a goal as good as either of those? ⬢