From the stunning four-goal display that once left Liverpool rocking, to the late Highbury winner that broke Arsenal hearts, to serving espresso in a tranquil surrounding north of Zagreb. Life in the limelight may not have lasted for Premier League icon Mark Viduka, but that’s just the way he likes it.
The former Australian striker, who scored 92 times in England’s top flight for the likes of Leeds United, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle, is now based north of the Croatian capital of Zagreb, an area more accustomed to serenity than glitz or glamour.
And amid the steep roads, ample forestry and eerie hills, lies a remote coffee shop he’s made his own.
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Viduka, 49, is best remembered on these shores for that famous day just over 24 years ago, when he single-handedly destroyed the Reds at Elland Road. The 4-3 Leeds win has since been cemented in Premier League folklore, as has Viduka’s status as a cult hero at Elland Road.
His contribution to the club reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League the following season was equally telling. And although hard times in Yorkshire followed, his late winner at Arsenal at the tail-end of the 2002/03 campaign not only saved his own club from relegation, but duly handed the title to Manchester United.
But it seems he has no interest in capitalising on his profile with further involvement in the game. The man who once famously declared him pleased to be away "b****cks" of top-flight football, now couldn’t be further away from that very notion.
And he’s now explained why it’s Croatia, where he spent four years of his professional career after coming through the ranks at Melbourne Knights, and not his homeland down under where he’s chosen to settle. “I left Australia to sign for Croatia Zagreb aged 19 and fell in love with the lifestyle,” he told the Daily Mail.
“And we’d always wanted to run a cafe, for fun really, one where everyone was welcome. So here we are. Listen, my missus does all the work, I just sit here and drink coffee.”
Remarkably though, he isn’t the only global superstar who can be found in the area. Tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic, who won Wimbledon in 2001, is among the regular visitors to the Non Plus Ultra cafe - which means No Higher Point.
And it’s not just locally made coffee that the former coach of Novak Djokovic can sip on. “You know what else we have?” added Viduka. “The manager of UB40 runs a local brewery. We’ve got his beer, it’s lovely.”
Viduka, who spent two seasons at Celtic before heading to England, also played in Middlesbrough’s 2006 Uefa Cup final defeat to Sevilla. The final move of his career would prove a controversial one, angering Boro fans by joining north-east rivals Newcastle before retiring in 2009 - having racked up 259 career goals in 509 club games.
