harrykewell

Six months ago,the football player Harry Kewell was one of English soccer's most maligned players. Injuries had curtailed his appearances over three seasons with Liverpool and, when he did make it on to the park, he looked only a shadow of the player who had created such a name for himself at Leeds.

The nadir came in May last year, on that remarkable night when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down against the mighty AC Milan soccer club to claim their fifth European Cup tournament. Kewell limped out of the game inside the first 20 minutes, his groin torn and his Liverpool career seemingly in tatters. The chatrooms and fan sites were full of experts telling Reds' manager Rafa Benitez to offload the perennial under-performer to anyone who would take him.