Celtic first team coach Harry Kewell has outlined the importance of the Sydney Super Cup with the Hoops set to jet out to Australia for the four-team friendly tournament when the domestic season takes a break for the World Cup. And he also tells the tale of a moment that wowed him when he first walked through the doors at Parkhead.
Kewell was born in a suburb of Sydney and admits he's proud to get the opportunity to showcase a huge club like Celtic in his neighbourhood. The Scottish champions are set to face FC Sydney and Everton during their time Down Under and boss Ange Postecoglou is taking the trip seriously after denying his stars leave to join their international teams for upcoming friendlies. Instead, he wants to give fans in his homeland the chance to see the best of his side and use it as ideal preparation for the season resumption in December.
Kewell believes that's the correct decision because it's important for his countrymen to get a taste of what European football is really like. He told Celtic TV: "For me it's important because, I talk on a personal note here, where I'm from we grew up playing the game and we watch a lot of football on the TV and when you had an opportunity as a youngster to come and see a team live, it was important to us to see what the stars over in Europe were doing.
"So to be able to come out now with a huge a club like Celtic, not only in my country but in my state and virtually in my neighbourhood... I'm proud to be part of Celtic and I can't wait to get out there and show the Australian public and all the Celtic fans what they actually are missing by watching it on TV when they come out to see football live. It's a completely different game."
Kewell was asked if he was hoping to get some minutes on the pitch Down Under which Hoops midfielder Aaron Mooy replied: "He easily could." And the 44-year-old coach responded blushing while he opened up on how taken aback he was at the high standards set at Celtic when he was appointed as first team coach alongside Postecoglou in June. He said: "Thanks mate, I appreciate that. After today's performance, I don't know if you saw I was a little bit off today which was kind of strange, I don't know why. But the standard's really high here from the moment I walked in, the levels I've been working at previously and then when you step up to this level, I was taken back and I was thinking 'wow'.
"From the first moment they work hard, they very rarely lose the ball, I mean if one of the teams get three or four passes in the opposition ain't really seeing it for another 15 or 16 passes so could I be involved in that? I could probably be a manikin somewhere in the middle and just probably conducting it but no I don't think so. I've had my time, it's his (Mooy) time now to go out there and shine."
And the former Leeds United and Liverpool star revealed that Australian's love to keep tabs on teams that are successful and with Celtic riding high after winning the Scottish Premiership for the bulk of the past decade, he expects a big following to turn out for the two friendly clashes.
He added: "We had heard about it, again in Australia we have certain teams we do follow. Certain teams that have been successful and when you get a team that's been successful we usually get the following. Celtic are a very successful team and again we are hoping all these people do come out and watch us live.
"From where we are going, where we are going to be playing our games, football is quite big a lot of the young kids play it. Don't get me wrong we are out-dominated by the NRL which is a fantastic sport it's own right but football is a global sport and we are trying to compete with the A-League to make it a competitive league so we can produce better players to play at the higher level and it is a good league."
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