Mark Viduka signed for Celtic in December 1998 after impressing for Croatia Zagreb in the Champions league play of victory over the Hoops. The club parted with a cool £3.5 million for the Australian international so high expectations were placed upon him.
Things got off to a strange start as Mark ‘quit’ the club without even kicking a ball, citing stress as his reason. Yes, a bumper signing on fee and decent salary really raises the stress levels. There was also problems regarding the transfer fee, with Zagreb saying they had not received the agreed fee for Viduka.
These problems were thankfully soon resolved and Mark made his Celtic debut in late February 1999. He soon found the net and showed why the club paid £3.5 million for him. Not only did he have a great eye for goal, he could hold the ball up well and bring others into the game. He looked like the complete centre forward.
He scored an exceptional 27 goals in all competitions in his only full season at the club. Big Mark’s weakness though was his commitment issues, or lack of them. He would sometimes look disinterested and at a club like Celtic, that is unforgivable. The Celtic support demands nothing less than one hundred and ten percent no matter how talented you are.
Things of course took an eventful turn on 8th February 1999. The infamous night we were dumped out the Scottish cup by Inverness Caley Thistle, yes the Super Caley go ballistic game. Legend has it Mark threw his boots in the bin and refused to come out for the second half after an altercation with first team coach Eric Black.
More than one person has since spoke of it many times, so there must be some substance to such claims. If true, it’s totally unforgivable and he should have been immediately put on the transfer list and not played for the club again. As it happened he did play for the club again and he won his only honour with the club a month later. The League Cup under the leadership of caretaker boss Kenny Dalglish – John Barnes was sacked immediately after the Inverness shambles.
Mark would leave for Leeds United in a £6 million move in the summer of 2000 despite the intentions of Martin O’Neill to keep him. In the end he wanted to leave so it was pointless even asking him to stay. It turned out to be the right move as Martin swooped to land Chris Sutton for £6 million. A player with more talent and work ethic than the big Aussie.
Mark was a hit in the EPL with Leeds and Middlesbrough, and he showed he belonged in that sort of company, but again his lack of commitment held him back from being a much better player. He could have been so much more had he been bothered.
Looking back he was a superb player, when he wanted to be. Mark Viduka. All the talent in the world, but never always showed it. Which was a shame and a waste too.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
Mark Viduka holds aloft the league cup 2000. His only honour as a Celtic player pic.twitter.com/uqs29SSy8Z
— JustAnOrdinaryBhoy (@ordinarybhoy) August 8, 2023
