Socceroos
Brett Emerton: The Quiet Australian
Not every footballer who turns down a personal invite to play for Sir Alex Ferguson survives to tell the tale. But Brett Emerton’s United snub is par for the course for a player who likes to stay both grounded and loyal.
Back in 1999, we get this phone call at home one night and it’s Sir Alex Ferguson,” recalls Michael Emerton, the father of Brett. “Sir Alex asked me could I bring my boy over to Manchester United.”Emerton Jr idolised Ryan Giggs. The then-NSL star had also played for Australia “B” against the treble champions Manchester United that year in a tour match in Sydney.
“He knew all about Brett through [former Socceroo coach and friend] Eddie Thomson. Sir Alex said I know your boy play can play, I want to bring him over to see what his demeanour is like. We’ll pay for all your family to come over.
“So I asked Brett and he thought about it for a few minutes and said, ‘No Dad, I’m not ready.’ My son had promised to stay in Australia until the Olympics. And because he’d been to the Australian Institute of Sport, he felt he needed to repay Australia. This is where values come in.
“Brett told me, ‘I said I’d stay in Australia till the Olympics and I’m a man of my word. If he wants to ring back after the Olympics, then fine.’ So I rang back Sir Alex and said, regretfully, these are the reasons. It was amicable and he said, ‘good luck to your boy.’ But he never rang back...”
Seven years later, Brett Emerton snuck back into Sydney. His decision to hold out on a dream move to Manchester United seemingly vindicated. He is a World Cup hero and has been a regular Premier League star with Blackburn. And that unassuming, down-to-earth nature has not been swayed by success, fame and money in the intervening years.
While other Socceroos were happily fronting the frenzied media, Emerton was at home with his family in Macquarie Fields, the unfashionable western Sydney suburb where his family has lived for 36 years.
The Socceroo flyer owns property in the glamorous part of Sydney, but the anonymity of the west is how he likes it.
“If Brett walks into a room, he’ll be the one who’ll stand in the corner and not be centre of attention. He’s always been that way,” says Emerton Sr, slightly bemused but proud.
“He’s given up a lot family-wise over the years, pretty much from since he was nine. But he always knew what he wanted to do.”
The soon-to-be-retired plumber tells the story of how his famous son was driving near the family home recently when he happened upon a stray dog. He rang his father to see if he could come to pick up the animal. No luck with Dad, so Emerton – World Cup hero, Premiership star – knocked on the door of a nearby stranger’s house in the middle of the night with dog in tow to ascertain if anyone knew the stray.
The householders – stunned that a Socceroo they’d seen a week earlier at the World Cup was on their doorstep – agreed to hold onto the dog till the morning, when Emerton would drop by personally to take the stray to a dogs’ home. The owner was eventually reunited with the pooch but never knew it was rescued by Brett Emerton.
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This article appeared in the December, 2007 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.
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