Not every ex-player could make it to last month’s reunion of the Socceroos’ golden generation of 2005-06.
Only eight were able to attend; most of those who didn’t had valid excuses. John Aloisi, for example, coaches in China. Harry Kewell is based in Vietnam these days, where he coaches Hanoi FC. Vince Grella runs a club in Italy. Zeljko Kalac is on Graham Arnold’s staff with the Iraq national team, and they were busy trying to qualify for the World Cup. The list goes on.
But there was one face nobody was expecting to see: Lucas Neill. He was invited, but Football Australia didn’t hear back.
For most of the last 10 years, the former Australian captain has chosen to stay out of not only the spotlight, but out of contact with the vast majority of his ex-teammates. Through his PR agent, he continues to politely reject all media inquiries, including from this masthead; his only public comments were to The Times in 2023, in which he opened up about going bankrupt in the UK and the impact that had left on his family and wellbeing.
Twenty years since leading the Socceroos at the 2006 World Cup, and the controversial penalty he gave away against Italy that ended their campaign in heartbreaking fashion, Neill hasn’t so much breathed a word about the Australian game.
Those who shared the pitch with him would love to see him again.
“I haven’t spoken to him for years. Years and years and years,” Mark Schwarzer said.
“I don’t know his circumstances. I don’t know why we are where we are today … hopefully one day, that’ll change.”
Meanwhile, there’s good news: Neill’s latest contribution to the cause of the Socceroos has arrived.
Meet Marcus Neill, a 19-year-old striker on the books of Premier League club Sunderland who dreams of following in his old man’s footsteps. He once had a Socceroos shirt with ‘DADDY’ printed on the back; these days, he has an Australian jersey of his own, proudly bearing their famous surname, having made big strides in his junior international career.
“Growing up and seeing him play football – it just inspired me for obvious reasons,” Marcus told this masthead.
“And then ever since, I had a ball at my feet.”
Most of what he knows about the game, his father showed him in their backyard. “And he didn’t take it easy,” he said.
Marcus started as a defender, like Lucas, whose glittering career included a decade in England’s top flight with West Ham United, Everton, and Blackburn Rovers, and a total of 96 caps for the Socceroos, putting him fourth on the team’s all-time appearances list.
But it became apparent at an early age that his instincts better suited a role at the other end of the field – which unlocked another side of Lucas’ football brain.
“He knows what strikers do, and he tells me what he used to hate, and different things like that,” Marcus said.
“It’s good to see that perspective with him, and be able to ask questions. He’s taught me an awful lot. I can just see how his mentality got him to the top, and that’s why I push myself to do the best every day.”
There’s a bit of his father’s swagger, too, in the way Marcus answers a question about what kind of striker he is.
“Don’t give me a gap, don’t give me space to run into. Otherwise, it’s one-nil,” he said.
“I’m just always on the move – don’t be easy to mark, keep the defenders on the toes all the time. Dad taught me a lot about that. I guess I’m very confident in one-v-one situations … my composure and my work ethic, I think, is what makes me who I am and is why I’m where I’ve got to today. It’s just about the consistency now and staying humble.”
Marcus speaks with a northern English accent – he was born and mostly raised there – but feels deeply and passionately Australian, even though he has only been to the country a handful of times. He could never fathom the thought of wearing a different shirt; he has caps at under-15 and under-16 level and, as of last year, plays for the Young Socceroos, Australia’s under-20s men’s team.
“Since I was young, it’s always been green and gold,” he said.
“That’s all I remember – growing up in England, but always had the green and gold on, watching and supporting all Australian sports, and not even just football. Cricket, everything.”
At club level, too, he is firing. After stints in the academies of Liverpool and Blackburn, Marcus moved to Sunderland two years ago and is thriving in one of England’s most productive youth set-ups, inching closer to first-team involvement. He banged in 30 goals in 41 appearances for the under-18s, and has scored five since being promoted to their Premier League 2 team, a major endorsement given his age – but back home, the awareness of his encouraging trajectory is almost non-existent.
Marcus is refusing to put the cart before the horse, and is focusing on his development and his form before he allows himself to think too much about a senior debut for the Black Cats.
“But I think if I was to get a taste in that senior level, I think I’d probably score,” Marcus said.
There’s that Neill swagger again.
As for Lucas, and how he’s keeping? Marcus said his old man is “anti-social media”, so that makes him a little disengaged from everything, but he’s well aware of how much love there is for him back home.
“He respects and loves Australian football and Australian fans,” he said.
“He knows the love he’s got, and he’s grateful and thankful for it, because he’s worked so hard for the country to make him, his family proud, and the country proud. He’s grateful for everything.”
