'I love Leeds, but the club couldn't afford for me to stay'

Mark Viduka, 25 years on from four goals against Liverpool, on a journey taking in civil war and owning a coffee shop

- Sam Dalling

It started how it finished: with a delicate chip. Twenty-five years ago today, Mark Viduka scored all four goals in Leeds's 4-3 victory against Liverpool at Elland Road.

While those around furiously pedalled, Viduka remained Buddha-esque, bookending his efforts with deft wedges over Sander Westerveld.

"I had to learn it over time," Viduka says when asked whether his serenity was a superpower. "I played a lot of games where I was very nervous. When I was younger, I might just have belted it and hoped for the best."

Viduka chuckles as he recalls a game early in his time at Croatia Zagreb. He joined in 1995 and in the Eternal derby against Hajduk Split he was one-on-one with Tonci Gabric. He admits he panicked. "There was huge expectation, and a roar from the crowd. Somehow, I hit it with the outside of my foot and it went through the keeper's legs. All the commentators thought I did it on purpose and I'm thinking: 'Thank God that went in.'"

That was one of 52 goals he scored for Zagreb. Viduka is back in the city now, serving in the coffee shop he runs with his wife. His parents had migrated from Croatia to Melbourne before he was born. He says he got "a bit of stick" growing up: "They used to call us wogs. But what do you expect? My parents had it worse when they came - but you know what, who's complaining? Sometimes you've got to take it on the chin. I'm proud of Australia. Australia is one of the best countries in the world. It gave my parents everything. It gave them an opportunity to raise their kids in a safe environment."

Viduka's builder dad loved football and they were regulars at Melbourne Croatia, now Melbourne Knights. At 16, Viduka left home on a two-year scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport. By age 18, he was in the Knights' first team.